GGPoker breaks online poker Guinness World Records title

GGPoker announced Wednesday it has broken the Guinness World Records title for the largest prize pool for an online poker tournament with a $27,559,500 prize pool in World Series of Poker Online Event 77: $5,000 Main Event at GGPoker on September 6, 2020.

Michael Empric, Official Adjudicator for Guinness World Records, informed GGPoker ambassador Daniel Negreanu that the record was verified and in the books.

The $5,000 Main Event was the marquee tournament of the 54-gold bracelet event World Series of Poker (WSOP) Online 2020 Series at GGPoker. Bulgaria’s Stoyan Madanzhiev defeated the 5,802-player field to earn the $3,904,685 top payout and his first World Series of Poker bracelet. Madanzhiev’s prize was the largest individual prize ever awarded in an online poker tournament. The record $27,559,500 prize pool was shared among the top 728 finishers in the tournament. Each prize winner earned a minimum of $11,834 payout.

“This Guinness World Records title was on our radar from the very beginning,” said Steve Preiss, Head of Poker Operations at GGPoker. “Players and fans of poker expect nothing less than record-breaking prizes when it comes to the World Series of Poker, and GGPoker delivered.”

The Main Event lasted 150 hours, 9 minutes and 13 seconds from the start of the first starting flight to the end of the last hand. Surviving players from all Day 1 starting flights combined for Day 2 of the tournament on August 30, during which the field shrunk from 1,171 players to just 38. A week later, the final 38 players battled it out over a long Day 3 until Madanzhiev won the final hand of the tournament and claimed the winner’s share of the record-breaking prize pool.

“Breaking a Guinness World Records title shows what happens when you combine GGPoker’s amazing platform with the World Series of Poker brand,” said Ty Stewart, WSOP Director. “This will be a tough record to beat.”