Chris Moneymaker

2003 was the year of the rise of internet poker, and many players in events such as the World Series of Poker (WSOP) has used this medium to get a place in this tournament. This includes Chris Moneymaker (that's his real name!). He registered for a satellite tournament with a $35 buy-in on Pokerstars.com, won the tournament and earned his ticket to the main event. He surprised the world by winning this live tournament as well. His victory doesn't just symbolize the rise of online poker, it also goes to show that anyone can become a top player.

Moneymaker's victory caused a revolution in the poker world and increased the popularity of the game enormously. Chris only started playing poker three years before his huge victory. Until then, he was an accountant in Tennessee, who had two jobs to support his wife and his three months old daughter. He didn't have to keep both his jobs when he took home $2.5 million by winning the WSOP.

Moneymaker, who donated $25.000 of the prize money to cancer research, said: "People underestimated me because no one knew me. If I can win it, anyone can win it."

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