On Sunday at noon, in the Paris Ballroom in Las Vegas, high-stakes poker legend Patrik Antonius was named as this year’s inductee to the Poker Hall of Fame.
“In the modern era of poker, few have been as bold and fearless as Patrik Antonius,” said Executive Director of the WSOP Ty Stewart. “A force both online and live, we’re thrilled to see Patrik’s high-stakes career acknowledged by legends who have added the first international player to the Poker Hall of Fame in years.”
From Helsinki, Finland, Antonius, 43, emerged during the poker boom as one of the toughest cash game players in the world who routinely battled, both live and online, with the biggest names in the game before turning into one of poker’s brightest stars himself.
The induction of Antonius is a stiff rebuttal to the commonly held belief that a defined number of World Series of Poker bracelets is needed to win the necessary votes for induction. Having yet to win a bracelet, Antonius’ on-camera, on-the-felt results in both cash games and tournaments were enough to turn the tide in his favor and lock up a spot on the walls of the Hall of Fame Poker Room at Horseshoe Las Vegas.
Even without a WSOP bracelet on his resume, Antonius’ tournament results are more than bona fide for the Hall of Fame. With nearly $23 million in recorded tournament earnings, according to The Hendon Mob, Antonius has six seven-figure scores, that include a runner-up finish in the 2018 Super High Roller Bowl Macau for a career-high score of more than $3.1 million. Additionally, he’s claimed an EPT Main Event and EPT High Roller title, as well as a Triton title in 2022, and a runner-up finish at the Season IV edition of WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic in 2005 – just to note the “test of time” requirement.
Ultimately, it was Antonius’ competitive nature that helped him get to where he is today. From his early days online as a regular in Full Tilt’s nosebleed Rail Heaven cash games, to becoming a fixture on late-night poker TV including Poker After Dark and High Stakes Poker, Antonius has never been one to back down from poker’s biggest stage.
It’s something his fans have enjoyed for more than two decades and something his peers clearly admire, honoring him, in his second nomination, with a spot in the Poker Hall of Fame.