7 Poker Players Without WSOP Bracelets 2025 Edition

Maria Ho

It’s hard to believe, but Maria Ho played her first WSOP series all the way back in 2005. She made a deep run in the 2007 WSOP Main Event, finishing in 38th place as the last woman standing in the tournament.

Over the years, Maria Ho has delivered outstanding results at the WSOP, amassing a total of $2.4 million in prize money. She plays the full series, and last year, she cashed 16 times. So, she has every chance to finally claim the coveted bracelet this year.

Maria Ho’s Top Five WSOP Cashes 

Steve O’Dwyer

Steve O’Dwyer ranks 14th on the All-Time Money List for live tournament earnings, with an astronomical $46,225,002 in prize money. Interestingly, he plays all over the world, having cashed in 29 different countries, but he stopped playing the full WSOP series in Las Vegas after 2013. Why? In one interview, O’Dwyer mentioned that he doesn’t like the WSOP due to the large crowds.

“I like places like this where if I have a break, I’m in the room in 20 seconds.”

Who knows? Maybe Steve O’Dwyer will finally claim the coveted trophy at WSOP Europe, which will take place from September 17 to October 8, 2025.

Steve O’Dwyer’s Top Five WSOP Cashes 

Dan Shak

Dan Shak deserves an honorable spot on our list for one simple reason: he has won two WSOP tournaments but hasn’t received a bracelet for either of them.

Shak won the $5K Ante Up for Africa Charity Event at the WSOP 2007 — a charity tournament. The event attracted 167 entries and was officially part of the WSOP schedule, though not as a bracelet event. Shak earned $193,369, which he donated entirely to charity.

In 2017, he took down the €25K Super High Roller at WSOP Europe, a tournament with 21 entries. His heads-up opponent was Mikita Badziakouski. Coincidentally, this was the only event on the 2017 WSOP Europe schedule that didn’t award a bracelet.

Dan Shak continues to compete at the WSOP. Whether it’s a massive-field $500 event or a $50K nosebleed High Roller, Hold’em, Omaha, Stud, or 2-7 Lowball — Shak is ready to battle in any of them. By the way, he cashed in events with buy-ins ranging from $500 to $50K during the last series. 

Dan Shak’s Top Five WSOP Cashes 

Christoph Vogelsang

Unlike the other players on our list, Christoph Vogelsang focuses exclusively on high-roller events. He even played the $1,000,000 The Big One for One Drop in 2014, where he finished 3rd for $4,480,001 — his best WSOP result, though not his biggest career cash (in 2017, he won the $300K Super High Roller Bowl for $6,000,000).

Throughout his career, he has reached eight final tables in tournaments with buy-ins of $25K or more but has yet to secure a victory. Could 2025 be the year he finally breaks through?

Christoph Vogelsang’s Top Five WSOP Cashes 

Ben Tollerene

Ben “Ben86” Tollerene is another unique player on our list. In 2025, he celebrates 20 years as a professional poker player. From 2005 to 2009, he climbed the stakes from $0.10/0.25 to $25/50, mastering Omaha at a time when there were no solvers or advanced software — everything had to be figured out through sheer intellect and experience.

Tollerene briefly retired from poker but made a comeback in 2022, surprising many by not only competing but also winning in a format outside his specialty — NLHE tournaments.

He made a huge splash in 2024. First, he finished runner-up in the $250K Super High Roller NLHE, losing heads-up to Santhosh Suvarna. Then, at the December WSOP Paradise series, he secured 2nd and 3rd place finishes in the $50K and $100K buy-in PLO events.

We’re betting that Tollerene will win his first WSOP bracelet in a high-stakes Omaha event in 2025.

Ben Tollerene’s Top Five WSOP Cashes 

Seth Davies

Another regular in high-roller events. In WSOP live tournaments, Seth Davies has reached eight final tables but has never finished higher than 4th place.

Davies went on a heater in 2024, recording the two biggest scores of his career outside the WSOP. He has proven to be equally strong in both Hold’em and Omaha:

• $3,206,000 for winning the $300K Super High Roller Bowl Series 7-Max in Kyrenia
• $1,500,000 for winning the $100K Super High Roller Bowl PLO in Las Vegas

That’s why we expect to see Seth Davies’ name next to a WSOP Super High Roller Event title in 2025.

Seth Davies’ Top Five WSOP Cashes 

Niklas Astedt 

The Man, the Myth, the Legend. Niklas “Lena900” Astedt is the strongest online MTT grinder with over $50 million in earnings. He’s won PokerStars EPT Spades, the WPT Online Championship, and dozens of other online MTT titles. The only trophy missing from his collection? A WSOP bracelet. And there’s hardly anyone who would doubt that Lena deserves one.

Niklas Astedt made a huge splash in 2024 by finishing 3rd in the $10K WSOP Main Event, earning $4,000,000. But the bracelet remains “the monkey on his back” — one he’s bound to shake off sooner or later. We have no doubt about that, especially since he has recently started traveling to live series more frequently.

Niklas Astedt’s Top Five WSOP Cashes 

Who else do you think deserves a WSOP bracelet that we didn’t mention in our article? Drop your suggestions in the comments!