Shaun Deeb Wins Bracelet in 38-Entry Event — Where Does it Rank Among Smallest Ever?

Last week, Shaun Deeb won a bracelet in a 38-entry field at World Series of Poker Europe in Rozvadov. Deeb himself reportedly accounted for three of those entries, or almost 8% of the field.

PokerScout decided to delve into history and see where Deeb’s win ranked among the smallest WSOP events.

Deeb Defeated the Sixth-Smallest Field of Modern Era

Deeb’s win, which came in a €25,000 event, saw him defeat the sixth-smallest field in modern WSOP history, which PokerScout is defining as any events after Chris Moneymaker won the 2003 WSOP Main Event.

Three of the five smaller events also took place at King’s Resort in Rozvadov. Numbers there have stagnated, leading some to call on the WSOP for a change in venue.

The other two were the 2018 Big One for One Drop $1 Million No-Limit Hold’em (27 entries) and the 2021 $250,000 Super High Roller No-Limit Hold’em (33 entries).

Here’s a look at the 10 smallest WSOP fields since 2004.

*Prize converted to USD

Every single event was either a high roller, located abroad, or both. These events have produced an incredible shortcut to a bracelets for well-bankrolled players. One might argue that these events have distorted the bracelet tally. Of course, many of them feature players who are far tougher on average than those found in a large-field event.

On the other hand, small-field bracelet events have a very long history. Deeb is certainly not the only one to benefit from them.

Smallest Fields in WSOP History

Below, readers can find a full list of every WSOP event in history that attracted fewer than 40 entries. Digging into the history of these events unearths some fascinating tidbits of poker history. For the purposes of this article, note that any event winner will be described as having a bracelet, since that’s the way WSOP tracks them officially, even though they weren’t actually awarded until 1976.

Two players — Perry Green and Bill Boyd — each won bracelets in two-player fields.

In fact, Boyd won four bracelets, all in Five-Card Stud, which hasn’t been dealt at the WSOP since 1973. Various sources have described his 1973 win in $10,000 No-Limit Five-Card Stud as having come in a one-entry field. However, WSOP now lists five entries in that event, though it still only records Boyd as having earned $10,000 in prize money. WSOP lists Boyd as having won his four bracelets in fields totaling 25 entries.

Speaking of defunct games, two players, David Angel and Mike Cox, won bracelets in formats where the deck included a joker.

Two players, including famed poker author Steve Zolotow, won bracelets in Chinese Poker, even though that arguably isn’t even poker because there’s no bluffing or betting.

Several of the events, particularly the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha and 2-7 No-Limit Draw events in the 1990s, featured rebuys. Nowadays, these would be included in the total entries. However, the WSOP didn’t tally these as official entries back then, so the numbers for those look artificially low.

Many legends of the game such as Bobby Baldwin and Billy Baxter have padded their bracelet totals with multiple wins in events that had fewer then 20 entries. So even if today’s players have an opportunity to pad their totals in small fields, that makes them no different than the titans of the game’s early days.

Note that the table below is sortable by clicking on the headings.