Daniel Smiljkovic: WSOP Bracelet Winner and German High-Stakes Poker Professional

Daniel Smiljkovic has developed into one of Germany’s most accomplished tournament poker professionals, building a résumé that spans online championships, World Series of Poker success, international high rollers, and major live victories.

Best known for winning a WSOP bracelet in 2021, Smiljkovic has also recorded seven-figure finishes at Triton Poker and WSOP Paradise, captured the season-ending PokerGO Tour Championship, and continued adding titles during the 2026 Wynn Summer Classic. His results reflect an ability to compete in two very different environments: elite high-stakes tournaments and large-field events with thousands of entries.

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Daniel Smiljkovic Poker Profile

Full name: Daniel Smiljkovic
Nationality: German
Hometown: Filderstadt, Germany
Primary discipline: No-Limit Hold’em tournaments
WSOP bracelets: 1
WSOP Circuit rings: 1
Largest recorded tournament cash: $1,450,000
Notable titles: 2021 WSOP Online bracelet, 2023 PGT Championship, two 2026 Wynn Summer Classic titles

Career-earnings figures for Smiljkovic vary by database because some sources combine live results with online tournaments played under a verified real name. Card Player listed more than $9.2 million in recorded earnings as of August 2026, while the WSOP database showed more than $6.1 million earned across WSOP-operated events and affiliated brands. Those totals should not be treated as interchangeable with live-only earnings.

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From Online Poker to the International Tournament Circuit

Smiljkovic established his reputation through online tournament poker before becoming a regular presence at major live festivals. That background placed him among a generation of professionals whose development was shaped by high-volume online competition, where players repeatedly encounter changing stack depths, compressed decision times, and opponents from across the world.

His early live results began appearing during the late 2010s, and by 2021 he had converted his online experience into one of poker’s most recognizable achievements: a World Series of Poker bracelet.

Rather than remaining identified exclusively as an online specialist, Smiljkovic gradually expanded his schedule to include the WSOP in Las Vegas, PokerGO Tour events, Triton Poker festivals, WPT tournaments, WSOP Paradise, and major series at Wynn Las Vegas.

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Smiljkovic Wins His First WSOP Bracelet

Smiljkovic’s breakthrough championship came during the 2021 World Series of Poker Online on GGPoker.

He entered the final day of the $5,000 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em Championship as the chip leader and maintained that advantage through the conclusion of the tournament. The victory earned him $423,426 and his first WSOP gold bracelet.

The six-handed championship format was an appropriate setting for a player with extensive online experience. Short-handed tournaments generally create more frequent blind pressure and require competitors to contest a wider range of hands than they would at a full table.

Winning the event established Smiljkovic as more than a productive online grinder. It gave him a permanent place among Germany’s WSOP bracelet winners and provided the first major title on a résumé that would soon include several high-stakes live results.

According to the WSOP’s current player database, Smiljkovic has one bracelet, one Circuit ring, more than 250 recorded cashes across WSOP-affiliated competition, and over $6.1 million in earnings within the organization’s expanded tournament ecosystem.

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A $1.45 Million Score at Triton Vietnam

Smiljkovic recorded the largest tournament payday of his career in March 2023 at the Triton Super High Roller Series in Vietnam.

Competing in the $100,000 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event, he reached a final table containing several of the game’s leading high-stakes professionals. Smiljkovic finished third for $1,450,000, behind champion Talal Shakerchi and runner-up Michael Soyza. Adrian Mateos, Fedor Holz, Timothy Adams, Nick Petrangelo, Winfred Yu, and Roman Hrabec also reached the nine-player final table.

The result remains important for more than its size. Triton events routinely attract professionals accustomed to competing in tournaments with five- and six-figure buy-ins. Reaching the final three of the series’ Main Event demonstrated that Smiljkovic’s success could transfer from online fields and conventional tournament series to one of poker’s most demanding high-roller environments.

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Another Seven-Figure Finish at WSOP Paradise

Later that year, Smiljkovic produced another major result at the inaugural WSOP Paradise festival in the Bahamas.

He finished third in the $25,000 GGMillion$ High Roller Championship, earning $1,192,300. Smiljkovic entered the final day as the chip leader before ultimately finishing behind Samuel Mullur and Frank Brannan.

Recording two seven-figure scores in the same calendar year significantly strengthened his live tournament profile. The Triton result showed his ability against a concentrated high-roller field, while the WSOP Paradise performance came in a large international championship carrying another WSOP bracelet.

He also finished fourth in a $50,000 WSOP High Roller in Las Vegas during 2023, adding another major result during what became a defining year in his career.

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Winning the PokerGO Tour Championship

Smiljkovic carried that momentum into January 2024 by winning the season-ending 2023 PokerGO Tour Championship at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas.

The $1 million freeroll brought together leading performers from the PokerGO Tour season and selected Dream Seat qualifiers. Smiljkovic began the televised final table with the chip lead and eventually defeated actress and poker player Arden Cho heads-up to win the $500,000 first prize.

The final table also included Leon Sturm, 2022 WSOP Main Event champion Daniel Weinman, Artur Martirosyan, and four-time WPT champion Darren Elias.

Unlike an open tournament in which any eligible player can pay the entry fee, the PGT Championship rewarded players who had earned their positions through the tour’s qualification system. Winning against that lineup reinforced Smiljkovic’s standing among the professionals competing regularly in high-stakes No-Limit Hold’em events.

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Back-to-Back Titles at the 2026 Wynn Summer Classic

Smiljkovic added another notable chapter to his career during the 2026 Wynn Summer Classic in Las Vegas.

He first defeated a field of approximately 1,910 entries in the $1,100 No-Limit Hold’em $1.5 Million Guaranteed event, earning $311,935 from a prize pool of more than $1.84 million. The following day, he won a second $1,100 event for $47,719, completing two victories in approximately 48 hours.

Those victories highlighted a different part of his tournament skill set. High rollers often feature small fields filled with established professionals, while a tournament attracting nearly 2,000 entries requires surviving several days of play and adjusting to a much broader range of opponents.

Smiljkovic’s ability to win in both settings helps explain why his résumé cannot be reduced to a single bracelet or one major high-roller score.

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Daniel Smiljkovic’s Playing Reputation

Smiljkovic is primarily recognized as a No-Limit Hold’em tournament specialist with extensive experience in online and live competition.

Public tournament results do not provide enough evidence to assign him a rigid label such as “loose-aggressive” or “tight-aggressive.” His career record instead supports a broader assessment: he has demonstrated the adaptability required to succeed across short-handed online championships, large-field mid-stakes tournaments, invitational-style competitions, and $100,000 high rollers.

His strongest results have come in structures that reward sustained pressure, stack awareness, and comfort playing against experienced opposition. The 2021 six-handed bracelet, the Triton Main Event final table, the PGT Championship victory, and his Wynn double all required different strategic adjustments.

That range has become one of the defining characteristics of his career.

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Why Daniel Smiljkovic Matters in Modern Poker

Smiljkovic represents the increasingly common path from online tournament success to the highest levels of the live game.

His career illustrates how skills developed online can translate into major live achievements, but it also shows that long-term success requires more than technical preparation. Live high rollers, enormous open fields, and televised final tables each place different demands on a player.

By August 2026, Smiljkovic had won a WSOP bracelet, earned a Circuit ring, captured the PokerGO Tour Championship, recorded multiple seven-figure finishes, and accumulated millions of dollars in documented tournament results.

He has not depended on one exceptional result to define his career. His résumé now includes championships and deep finishes across several of poker’s most important tournament brands.

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Daniel Smiljkovic’s Current Status

Smiljkovic remains an active tournament professional and continued competing at major festivals through the summer of 2026.

His two Wynn Summer Classic victories showed that he remains capable of winning large-field events while maintaining a schedule that includes WSOP tournaments and other high-level competition. The current WSOP database lists more than 250 affiliated cashes, reflecting a volume of results that extends well beyond his best-known final tables.

Future earnings totals, rankings, and title counts will change as additional results are recorded. His established career milestones, however, already place him among the leading German tournament professionals of his generation.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Daniel Smiljkovic?

Daniel Smiljkovic is a German professional poker player from Filderstadt. He is an online and live tournament specialist who has won a WSOP bracelet, a WSOP Circuit ring, the PokerGO Tour Championship, and several major live events.

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How many WSOP bracelets has Daniel Smiljkovic won?

Smiljkovic has won one WSOP bracelet. He captured it in the $5,000 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em Championship during the 2021 WSOP Online series.

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What is Daniel Smiljkovic’s largest poker cash?

His largest recorded tournament cash is $1,450,000. He earned it by finishing third in the $100,000 Triton Poker Vietnam Main Event in March 2023.

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Did Daniel Smiljkovic win the PokerGO Tour Championship?

Yes. Smiljkovic won the season-ending 2023 PGT Championship in January 2024, defeating Arden Cho heads-up and collecting $500,000.

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How much has Daniel Smiljkovic won playing poker?

Published totals vary according to which tournaments a database includes. Card Player listed more than $9.2 million in recorded earnings as of August 2026, including online events reported under his verified real name. The WSOP database listed more than $6.1 million earned in WSOP and affiliated events.

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Is Daniel Smiljkovic still active?

Yes. Smiljkovic remained active in 2026 and won two tournaments on consecutive days during the Wynn Summer Classic in Las Vegas.

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Sources

• World Series of Poker

• Triton Poker

• PokerGO

• PokerNews

• World Poker Tour

• Card Player

• Wynn Poker