The podium of poker players is more than disputed, with professional poker figures who have achieved great feats in recent years and have tasted the sweetness of victory in the main poker competitions in the world.
Money, fame and prestige is what titles such as the WSOP have given to those who have made poker their lifestyle. But, beyond the particular triumphs, there are players who have managed to transcend for their technique, their charisma and their long career.
In this post, we are going to dedicate a few lines to those who have been considered the best poker players in the world. Did they really deserve it? The debate is served.
Daniel Negreanu: the best poker player in the world?
There are true living legends of professional poker, but Daniel Negreanu has crossed all limits for poker critics and a good part of the fans. Yes, the Canadian player has been considered by many as the best poker player in the recent history of this game of skill.
Negreanu was, in the last years of the 20th century, an established player despite his youth. In 1997 he went on to win two events at the World Poker Finals, as well as several cash prizes and various distinctions that put him in the spotlight.
With almost 40 World Series played, and with 6 WSOP titles won (dated 2013, when Negreanu was consecrated as a figure of relevance in the world professional poker scene), there was no doubt that we were in front of the best poker player in the world at that time. And he still is, despite his flirtations with retirement and having reduced the pace of competitions in which the Canadian makes an appearance.
His career has served as inspiration for the publication of poker manuals, books and films. The combination of his tight style, his forcefulness against imposing opponents, his sixth sense to read the games and his extraordinary training and ability that he showed at the poker tables since the beginning of the 21st century have made him the best poker player in the world, and rightly so.
The best poker players in the world, after Negreanu
If we forget for a moment the world scene and look at the national talent, in poker we also have great representatives who deserve all the praise received so far.
Adrian Mateos is, in all likelihood, the best Spanish poker player currently active, having faced the best in the world and having accumulated a total of 30 million euros in winnings in his first ten years of career as a professional poker player.
Mateos has also participated in poker games with Spanish professional poker players, such as Leo Margets, giving us duels to remember. The innate talent for poker that our professional players have has led them to stand out in poker competitions around the world and to measure themselves one on one with the best professional poker players.
For Adrian Mateos, poker is one of the most complete games in existence. He himself put the focus on the importance of combining psychological strength and mathematical skills with the ability to self-manage and control the bankroll.
This, together with hours of training, is the foundation on which his career is based. With an average dedication of between eight and ten hours a day, six days a week, poker for Adrian Mateos is like any other job, in which the desire to improve and the desire to improve his skills is a constant.
Other world-renowned professional poker players
In addition to Negreanu or Mateos, names like Justin Bonomo, Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth or Erik Seidel are known for the quality of their game and for having made poker their successful lifestyle.
Professional poker is full of names and great milestones, as well as very different personalities, some more mediatic and controversial than others, but always guaranteeing a show at the highest level on the table. All of them have been seen in some of the most laureate poker contests in the world, and have managed to make a place for themselves among the exclusive group of players who have been able to develop their skills to rub shoulders with the best poker players in the world.
Others like Fedor Holz, Stephen Chidwick or Bryn Kenney have also stood out in recent years, accumulating important rewards and establishing themselves as professional players with still a lot of potential to develop.