Stephen Chidwick has become only the second poker player in history to pass $80 million in recorded tournament earnings, reaching another extraordinary milestone during Triton Jeju II.
The English high-stakes star collected $279,000 for finishing fifth in the $30,000 NLH 8-Handed event in South Korea. That result lifted his recorded career earnings to $80,243,075 and left only Bryn Kenney ahead of him on poker’s all-time money list.
Stephen Chidwick Joins Poker’s $80 Million Club
Crossing $80 million puts Stephen Chidwick into territory occupied by remarkably few tournament players.
Kenney remains above him with more than $92 million in recorded earnings, but Chidwick has now separated himself further from the rest of the chasing pack. The numbers are particularly striking given that the Englishman built his career through sustained success across poker’s toughest tournaments rather than one enormous result.
Chidwick’s biggest recorded score remains his $5.38 million fourth-place finish in the £1.05 million Triton Million for Charity in London in 2019. His career also includes two WSOP bracelets and numerous victories and final tables across the high roller circuit.
The latest milestone arrived at a particularly appropriate venue.
Triton has become one of the most important stages of Chidwick’s career, and Triton Jeju II has again assembled high-stakes poker’s biggest names. Chidwick has been competing throughout a festival where five and six-figure buy-ins regularly create fields packed with many of the world’s strongest tournament players.
$279,000 Takes Chidwick Beyond $80 Million
Chidwick’s landmark cash came in the same $30,000 tournament that saw Daniel Dvoress defeat Xuan Liu for the title.
The event attracted 135 entries and generated a $4.05 million prize pool. Chidwick reached a final table featuring Dvoress, Liu, Gytis Lazauninkas, Lin Meng-Ling, Jingyao Yan, Lun Loon and Ben Tollerene.
His tournament eventually ended in fifth place when ace-king failed to beat Lazauninkas’ pocket jacks. The Lithuanian improved to a set on the river, sending Chidwick to the payout desk with $279,000 and a place in poker history.
Dvoress eventually collected $942,000 after beating Liu heads-up, with the seventh Triton title for Daniel Dvoress providing another major storyline from the same final table.
For Chidwick, however, fifth place was worth considerably more than another entry on an already enormous tournament résumé.
How Chidwick Built an $80 Million Poker Career
Chidwick has been recording live tournament cashes since 2008, but the explosion of super high roller poker transformed the scale of the numbers available to the game’s elite players.
Few have taken advantage as consistently.
Chidwick has accumulated hundreds of recorded tournament cashes while competing across the WSOP, Triton Poker, European Poker Tour and other major high roller series. His results span No-Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha, Short Deck and mixed formats, making longevity and versatility important parts of his career.
His 2019 Triton Million result remains his largest individual payday, but his career total has been built through repeated deep runs rather than dependence on that one score. He has recorded numerous seven-figure results and continues to compete regularly in tournaments costing $25,000, $50,000, $100,000 or more to enter.
That consistency is particularly relevant at Triton.
Even a player arriving in Jeju through a freeroll recently found himself competing against Stephen Chidwick and the rest of poker’s high roller elite. It illustrates the level at which the Englishman has operated for much of his career.
Can Chidwick Catch Bryn Kenney?
The next milestone is considerably more difficult.
Kenney remains poker’s all-time tournament earnings leader with more than $92 million, leaving a gap of almost $12 million between the two players. At almost any other level of tournament poker, that would represent an enormous career in itself.
Super high roller poker makes the gap at least theoretically bridgeable.
Triton regularly awards seven-figure prizes, while the biggest invitational and special events can produce payouts worth several million dollars. Chidwick also remains an active presence in exactly those tournaments.
For now, the race for first place can wait.
More than 18 years after recording his first live tournament cash, Stephen Chidwick has become the second player in poker history to reach $80 million in recorded tournament earnings. One more landmark result has been added to a career already defined by them.
