Big One for One Drop

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.

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^[].

History

Canadian entrepreneur Guy Laliberté started the Big One for One Drop in 2012 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.

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.

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.

In 2018, the Big One returned to the World Series of Poker. 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. Runner-up, Mario Mosböck, took home $4,663,950. 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.

In 2013, Anthony Gregg won the $111,111 buy-in High Roller event, defeating Chris Klodnicki heads up and earning $4,830,619. Jonathan Duhamel (2015), Fedor Holz (2016) and Doug Polk (2017) were the subsequent winners of the High Roller for One Drop tournaments.

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. Steve O’Dwyer won the Alpha8 18-player tournament in Jeju, South Korea, taking home $1,009,520.

Results

2012 Big One for One Drop

• 3-Day Event: July 1–3
• Buy-in: $1,000,000
• Number of Entries: 48
• Total Prize Pool: $42,666,672
• Number of Payouts: 9
• Winning Hand: 7♦ 5♠

2013 High Roller for One Drop

• 4-Day Event: June 26–29
• Buy-in: $111,111
• Number of Entries: 166
• Total Prize Pool: $17,891,148
• Number of Payouts: 24
• Winning Hand: 9♦ 2♥

2014 Big One for One Drop

• 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: K♦ Q♥

2015 High Roller for One Drop

• 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: K♣ K♠

2016 High Roller for One Drop

• 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: 8♣ 7♣

2016 Monte-Carlo One Drop Extravaganza

• 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: 6♣ 5♥

2017 High Roller for One Drop

• 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: Q♠ 5♣

2018 Big One for One Drop

• 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: A♠ J♦

2023 WPT Alpha8 for One Drop (Las Vegas)

• 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: 10♥ 10♦

2023 WPT Alpha8 for One Drop (Jeju, South Korea)

• 2-Day Event: July 21-22
• Buy-in: $111,000
• Number of Entries: 18
• Total Prize Pool: $2,219,89
• Number of Payouts: 4

2023 WPT Big One for One Drop

• 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: A♦ 9♠

References

External links

• Official website