The Big One for One Drop is a $1,000,000 buy-in No Limit Texas Hold 'em poker tournament hosted first in 2012, and for its first four editions, with the World Series of Poker (WSOP). It became the highest buy-in poker tournament in history as well as the largest single payout offered. The event was hosted again in 2014, 2016 and 2018. The Big One returned in December 2023 and was hosted by the World Poker Tour (WPT) during the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas.
 | |
| Sport | Poker, Texas Hold 'em |
|---|---|
| Founded | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States (2012) |
| Owner(s) | One Drop Foundation (2012–present) |
| Most recent champion(s) |  Mikita Badziakouski |
| Official website | Official website |
The event is well known for its charitable contributions, with a percentage of each player's buy-in donated to the One Drop Foundation. The One Drop Foundation is an international non-profit organization, created by Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté, that works to ensure unconditional access to safe water and sanitation in regions facing the most extreme barriers worldwide[[1]].
History edit
Canadian entrepreneur Guy Laliberté started the Big One for One Drop in 2012[2] as a No-Limit Hold 'em event hosted at the World Series of Poker. The event was hosted again by WSOP in 2014, 2016, and 2018, and will by hosted by the WPT at Wynn Las Vegas in 2023. Big One for One Drop buy-ins are $1,000,000 or €1,000,000.
In 2012, Antonio Esfandiari won the first Big One for One Drop defeating Sam Trickett heads-up and earned $18,346,673.[3][4]
In 2014, the final table consisted of professional players such as Dan Colman, Daniel Negreanu, Christoph Vogelsang, Tobias Reinkemeier and Scott Seiver as well as recreational players Paul Newey, Cary Katz and Rick Salomon. Colman won the tournament defeating Negreanu heads up and earned $15,306,668.[5]
In 2016, the Big One for One Drop Extravaganza was held in Monte Carlo. The €1,000,000 buy-in tournament was open only to recreational players. Chinese Canadian businessman Elton Tsang won the event for €11,111,111, defeating Anatoliy Gurtovoy of Russia heads up.[6][7]
In 2018, the Big One returned to the World Series of Poker.[8] in Las Vegas. 27 players entered for a total prizepool of $24,840,000. $80,000 from each buy-in was donated to the One Drop Foundation for a total donation of $2,160,000.
In 2023, One Drop entered an agreement with the World Poker Tour to host a series of events, including the Big One for One Drop. In December 2023, the fifth edition of the Big One for One Drop was held at the WPT® World Championship at the Wynn Las Vegas. Mikita Badziakouski defeated 16 opponents to win $7,114,500 and become champion of the first-ever WPT® Big One for One Drop. [9] Runner-up, Mario Mosböck, took home $4,663,950.[9] Mikita Badziakouski commented after his win: “The tournament itself is the biggest title I’ve ever had. I just got lucky in a couple big coolers.” _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A smaller event, known during the WSOP partnership as the "High Roller for One Drop," (2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017), and known during the WPT partnership as "Alpha8 for One Drop" (2023), had a buy in of $111,111, of which $11,111 per player was donated to One Drop Foundation charity.[10]
In 2013, Anthony Gregg won the $111,111 buy-in High Roller event, defeating Chris Klodnicki heads up and earning $4,830,619.[11] Jonathan Duhamel (2015), Fedor Holz (2016) and Doug Polk (2107) we the subsequent winners of the High Roller for One Drop tournaments.[12][13][14]
In 2023, two Alpha8 for One Drop tournaments were held. Jonathan Jaffe won the first Alpha8 Las Vegas 45-player event winning $1,537,600.[15] Steve O’Dwyer won the Alpha8 18-player tournament in Jeju, South Korea, taking home $1,009,520. [16]
Results edit
| Year | Event name | Entrants | Winner | Prize (US$) | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop | 48 |  Antonio Esfandiari
|
$18,346,673 |  Sam Trickett
|
| 2013 | $100,000 High Roller for One Drop | 166 | Anthony Gregg
|
$4,830,619 | Chris Klodnicki
|
| 2014 | $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop | 42 | Dan Colman
|
$15,306,668 |  Daniel Negreanu
|
| 2015 | $100,000 High Roller for One Drop | 135 | Jonathan Duhamel
|
$3,989,985 | Bill Klein
|
| 2016 | $100,000 High Roller for One Drop | 183 |  Fedor Holz
|
$4,981,775 | Dan Smith
|
| 2016 * | €1,000,000 Monte-Carlo One Drop Extravaganza * | 28 | Elton Tsang
|
$12,248,912 |  Anatoly Gurtovy
|
| 2017 | $100,000 High Roller for One Drop | 130 | Doug Polk
|
$3,686,865 |  Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier
|
| 2018 | $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop | 27 | Justin Bonomo
|
$10,000,000 | Fedor Holz
|
| 2019 - 2022 | not held | ||||
| 2023 | $111,000 Alpha8 for One Drop, Las Vegas | 45 | Jonathan Jaffe
|
$1,537,600 | Taylor von Kriegenbergh
|
| 2023 | $111,000 Alpha8 for One Drop, South Korea | 18 | Steve O'Dwyer
|
$1,009,520 |  Quan Zhou
|
| 2023 | $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop | 17 | Mikita Badziakouski
|
$7,114,500 |  Mario Mösbock
|
2012 Big One for One Drop edit
- 3-Day Event: July 1–3[17]
- Buy-in: $1,000,000
- Number of Entries: 48
- Total Prize Pool: $42,666,672
- Number of Payouts: 9
- Winning Hand:
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Antonio Esfandiari |
$18,346,673 |
| 2nd | Sam Trickett |
$10,112,001 |
| 3rd | David Einhorn |
$4,352,000 |
| 4th | Phil Hellmuth |
$2,645,333 |
| 5th | Guy Laliberté |
$1,834,666 |
| 6th | Brian Rast |
$1,621,333 |
| 7th | Bobby Baldwin |
$1,408,000 |
| 8th |  Richard Yong |
$1,237,333 |
2013 High Roller for One Drop edit
- 4-Day Event: June 26–29[18]
- Buy-in: $111,111
- Number of Entries: 166
- Total Prize Pool: $17,891,148
- Number of Payouts: 24
- Winning Hand:
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Anthony Gregg |
$4,830,619 |
| 2nd | Chris Klodnicki |
$2,985,495 |
| 3rd | Bill Perkins |
$1,965,163 |
| 4th | Antonio Esfandiari |
$1,433,438 |
| 5th | Richard Fullerton |
$1,066,491 |
| 6th |  Martin Jacobson |
$807,427 |
| 7th | Brandon Steven |
$621,180 |
| 8th | Nick Schulman |
$485,029 |
2014 Big One for One Drop edit
- 3-Day Event: June 29–July 1
- Buy-in: $1,000,000
- Number of Entries: 42
- Total Prize Pool: $37,333,338
- Number of Payouts: 8
- Winning Hand:
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Dan Colman |
$15,306,668 |
| 2nd | Daniel Negreanu |
$8,288,001 |
| 3rd | Christoph Vogelsang |
$4,480,001 |
| 4th | Rick Salomon |
$2,800,000 |
| 5th | Tobias Reinkemeier |
$2,053,334 |
| 6th | Scott Seiver |
$1,680,000 |
| 7th | Paul Newey |
$1,418,667 |
| 8th | Cary Katz |
$1,306,667 |
2015 High Roller for One Drop edit
- 2-Day Event: June 28–29
- Buy-in: $111,111
- Number of Entries: 135
- Total Prize Pool: $14,249,925
- Number of Payouts: 16
- Winning Hand:
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Jonathan Duhamel |
$3,989,985 |
| 2nd | Bill Klein |
$2,465,522 |
| 3rd | Dan Colman |
$1,544,121 |
| 4th | Ben Sulsky |
$1,118,049 |
| 5th | Dan Perper |
$873,805 |
| 6th | Phil Hellmuth |
$696,821 |
| 7th | Anthony Zinno |
$565,864 |
| 8th | Sergey Lebedev |
$466,970 |
2016 High Roller for One Drop edit
- 3-Day Event: July 8–10
- Buy-in: $111,111
- Number of Entries: 183
- Total Prize Pool: $19,316,565
- Number of Payouts: 28
- Winning Hand:
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Fedor Holz |
$4,981,775 |
| 2nd | Dan Smith |
$3,078,974 |
| 3rd | Koray Aldemir |
$2,154,265 |
| 4th | Jack Salter |
$1,536,666 |
| 5th | Brian Green |
$1,117,923 |
| 6th | Joe McKeehen |
$829,792 |
| 7th | Nick Petrangelo |
$628,679 |
| 8th | Niall Farrell |
$486,383 |
2016 Monte-Carlo One Drop Extravaganza edit
- 3-Day Event: October 14–16
- Buy-in: €1,000,000
- Number of Entries: 28 (2 rebuys)
- Total Prize Pool: $27,437,564
- Number of Payouts: 6
- Winning Hand:
| Place | Name | Prize | Prize in EUR (€) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Elton Tsang |
$12,248,912 | €11,111,111 |
| 2nd | Anatoly Gurtovy |
$5,983,597 | €5,427,781 |
| 3rd | Rick Salomon |
$3,307,206 | €3,000,000 |
| 4th | James Bord |
$2,315,044 | €2,100,000 |
| 5th | Cary Katz |
$1,929,203 | €1,750,000 |
| 6th | Andrew Pantling |
$1,653,603 | €1,500,000 |
2017 High Roller for One Drop edit
- 4-Day Event: June 2–5
- Buy-in: $111,111
- Number of Entries: 130
- Total Prize Pool: $13,722,150
- Number of Payouts: 20
- Winning Hand:
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Doug Polk |
$3,686,865 |
| 2nd | Bertrand Grospellier |
$2,278,657 |
| 3rd |  Dario Sammartino |
$1,608,295 |
| 4th | Haralabos Voulgaris |
$1,158,883 |
| 5th | Chris Moore |
$852,885 |
| 6th | Martin Jacobson |
$641,382 |
| 7th | Rainer Kempe |
$493,089 |
| 8th | Andrew Robl |
$387,732 |
2018 Big One for One Drop edit
- 3-Day Event: July 15–17
- Buy-in: $1,000,000
- Number of Entries: 27
- Total Prize Pool: $24,840,000
- Number of Payouts: 5
- Winning Hand:
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Justin Bonomo |
$10,000,000 |
| 2nd | Fedor Holz |
$6,000,000 |
| 3rd | Dan Smith |
$4,000,000 |
| 4th | Rick Salomon |
$2,840,000 |
| 5th | Byron Kaverman |
$2,000,000 |
2023 WPT Alpha8 for One Drop (Las Vegas) edit
- 3-Day Event: July 14-16
- Buy-in: $111,000
- Number of Entries: 45
- Total Prize Pool: $4,612,500
- Number of Payouts: 7
- Winning Hand:
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Jonathan Jaffe |
$1,537,600 |
| 2nd | Taylor von Kriegenbergh |
$1,042,100 |
| 3rd | Dan Smith |
$701,700 |
| 4th |  Aleksejs Ponakovs |
$485,200 |
| 5th | Michael Lim |
$350,100 |
| 6th | Iaron Lightbourne |
$273,200 |
| 7th | Isaac Haxton |
$222,600 |
2023 WPT Alpha8 for One Drop (Jeju, South Korea) edit
- 2-Day Event: July 21-22
- Buy-in: $111,000
- Number of Entries: 18
- Total Prize Pool: $2,219,89
- Number of Payouts: 4
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Steve O'Dwyer |
$1,009,520 |
| 2nd | Quan Zhou |
$560,009 |
| 3rd | Chenxu Zhang |
$390,218 |
| 4th | Anonymous | $260,146 |
2023 WPT Big One for One Drop edit
- 3-Day Event: December 18-20
- Buy-in: $1,000,000
- Number of Entries: 17
- Total Prize Pool: $15,810,000
- Number of Payouts: 4
- Winning Hand:
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Mikita Badziakouski |
$7,114,500 |
| 2nd | Mario Mösbock |
$4,663,950 |
| 3rd | Dan Smith |
$2,806,750 |
| 4th | Isaac Haxton |
$1,224,800 |
References edit
- ^ "One Drop Foundation Mission". One Drop Foundation Mission. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
- ^ "What Ever Happened To Guy Laliberté?". Casino.org. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
- ^ Wise, Gary (2012-07-04). "Antonio Esfandiari wins One Drop, $18.3M". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
- ^ Geller, Shari (2012-07-03). "Antonio Esfandiari Wins $18 Million at WSOP Big One for One Drop $1M Buy-in Poker Tournament". PokerNews. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
- ^ Tuley, Dave (2014-07-02). "Daniel Colman wins One Drop for $15 million". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
- ^ Kirschen, Robert (16 October 2016). "WSOP NEWS: ELTON TSANG WINS 2016 BIG ONE FOR ONE DROP". WSOP. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
- ^ Wright, Nick (2016-10-16). "Elton Tsang Wins the Big One For One Drop Extravaganza for €11,111,111!". PokerNews. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
- ^ Cross, Valerie (2017-11-06). "$1 Million Big One for One Drop Returning to 2018 World Series of Poker". PokerNews. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
- ^ a b "Mikita Badziakouski Wins $7.1 Million in the WPT® Big One for One Drop". World Poker Tour official website. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
- ^ Rodriguez, Julio (2013-06-29). "World Series of Poker -- Bill Perkins Leads One Drop High Roller Final Table". Card Player. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
- ^ Pempus, Brian (2013-08-07). "Anthony Gregg Wins $4.8 Million In 'One Drop' High Roller Event At World Series Of Poker". Card Player. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
- ^ Holloway, Chad (2015-06-30). "Jonathan Duhamel Wins $111,111 High Roller for ONE DROP for $3,989,985". PokerNews. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
- ^ Fast, Erik (2016-07-10). "Fedor Holz Wins 2016 World Series of Poker $111,111 High Roller For One Drop". Card Player. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
- ^ Fiorvanti, Tim (2017-06-06). "Doug Polk wins $3.69MM in WSOP One Drop High Roller". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
- ^ "Jonathan Jaffe wins WPT Alpha8 for One Drop". World Poker Tour official website. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
- ^ Fiorvanti, Tim (2023-08-07). "Away from WSOP, Steve O'Dwyer Spent Summer Amidst Asian Poker Boom". World Poker Tour official website. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
- ^ "Event #55: $1,000,000 The Big One for One Drop". WSOP.com. Caesars Interactive Entertainment, Inc. July 4, 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-04.
- ^ "Event #47: $111,111 One Drop High Rollers No Limit Hold'em". WSOP.com. Caesars Interactive Entertainment, Inc. June 29, 2013. Retrieved 2013-06-29.