Bodog Beat

In 2008, Peter Eastgate became the youngest WSOP Main Event champion in history. (ImageMasters DPI Images)

1. WSOP Main Event is still the premier tournament of the year. It was the biggest prize pool of the year, and second biggest of all time. The final eight players all became millionaires, with a first-place prize of $9 million.

2. WSOP $50,000 HORSE Event should be the most highly regarded tournament because it’s the best professionals playing five different forms of poker. This year first place winner Scotty Nguyen won almost $2 million.

3. WPT World Championship $25,000 event at the Bellagio is the final event of the season. First place money of $3.3 million went to professional David Chiu.

4. The Aussie Millions main event is always a popular tournament. First-prize money of $1,250,000 AUS went to Howard Lederer.

5. The WSOP Europe has to make the list after the popularity it showed this year. John Juanda took home the £868,800 first-place prize.