Diego Ponce: The Mexican Poker Pro Building Momentum on the International Stage
Diego Ponce de León Silva has emerged as one of Mexico’s most visible tournament poker players after combining a deep run in the World Series of Poker Main Event with strong results in Australia and Las Vegas.
Commonly listed as Diego Ponce, the Mexican professional attracted international attention by finishing 19th in the 2025 WSOP Main Event for $360,000. He followed that performance with an Aussie Millions title in 2026 and another six-figure final-table appearance at the Wynn Summer Classic.
Those results pushed Ponce’s recorded live tournament earnings above $840,000 and established him as a player capable of competing deep into major international events.
Diego Ponce Poker Profile
Full name: Diego Ponce de León Silva
Known professionally as: Diego Ponce
Nationality: Mexican
Residence: Mexico City, Mexico
Primary discipline: No-Limit Hold’em tournaments
Recorded live earnings: Approximately $840,880
Largest recorded live cash: $360,000
WSOP bracelets: 0
WSOP Circuit rings: 0
WPT Main Tour titles: 0
WPT Global ambassador: Yes
Tournament earnings and rankings were current as of July 31, 2026, and may change as additional results are recorded.
Breakthrough at the 2025 WSOP Main Event
Ponce’s most important career breakthrough came during the 2025 World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas.
The $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em World Championship attracted 9,735 entries and generated a prize pool of more than $90.5 million. Ponce navigated through nearly the entire field and reached Day 8 with an opportunity to advance to the final two tables.
His run ended in 19th place when he moved all in holding pocket jacks against the pocket queens of Spain’s Leo Margets. The board produced no help for Ponce, eliminating him for $360,000, the largest recorded live tournament cash of his career.
The result carried significance beyond the payout. Reaching the final 19 players in poker’s most recognized tournament placed Ponce among a small group of Mexican competitors to make a serious run at the world championship.
His performance also demonstrated an ability to withstand the unusual pressures of the Main Event, where players must survive long days, changing table conditions and increasingly valuable decisions as the field narrows.
Key Hands During Ponce’s Main Event Run
Ponce was involved in several important confrontations during the closing stages of the tournament.
With 49 players remaining, he eliminated Mitchell Hynam after reraising with pocket sixes. Hynam committed the remainder of his stack with king-ten suited, but the board failed to improve either player, allowing Ponce’s pair to hold. The pot increased his stack to more than 17 million chips.
Ponce later entered Day 7 with 14 million chips, positioning him in the middle of the remaining field and within reach of the tournament leaders.
Although he ultimately fell short of the final table, the deep finish became the defining result of his career and provided the foundation for his subsequent international success.
Aussie Millions Title Adds Another Career Milestone
Ponce returned to the winner’s circle in April 2026 at the relaunched Aussie Millions Poker Championship in Melbourne.
He defeated a field of 342 entries in Event #7, a A$2,500 No-Limit Hold’em tournament, to earn A$179,665, approximately $130,000 at the time of the event. The victory represented his second recorded live tournament title and his first Aussie Millions championship.
Ponce defeated China’s Weiran Pu heads-up. Pu entered the final table as the shortest stack but recovered to reach the final confrontation before finishing runner-up for A$108,115.
In the final hand, Pu moved all in with pocket sixes and Ponce called with pocket tens. Ponce’s higher pair held, securing the title and completing another significant result outside his home region.
Winning an Aussie Millions event strengthened Ponce’s profile because it showed that his WSOP Main Event performance was not an isolated result. Less than a year after his Las Vegas breakthrough, he defeated another large field at one of poker’s best-known international festivals.
Another Six-Figure Result at Wynn Las Vegas
Ponce continued his productive 2026 campaign at the Wynn Summer Classic.
He reached the final table of a $3,500 No-Limit Hold’em event and finished seventh for $157,082. The tournament attracted a strong final-table lineup that included Joseph Cheong, Scott Bohlman, Jared Jaffee and eventual champion Sebastian Toro Henao.
The result marked Ponce’s third recorded six-figure score in approximately 12 months.
He earned $360,000 for finishing 19th in the 2025 WSOP Main Event, approximately $130,000 for winning the 2026 Aussie Millions A$2,500 event and $157,082 for placing seventh at the 2026 Wynn Summer Classic.
Together, those finishes account for a substantial portion of his recorded live earnings and show a player producing results across different tournament environments and continents.
World Poker Tour Results and WPT Global Role
Ponce is publicly identified as an ambassador for WPT Global, the online poker platform associated with the World Poker Tour brand. His verified social media profile also describes him as a poker player and WPT Global ambassador.
His WPT Main Tour record remains limited compared with his broader tournament résumé. The World Poker Tour lists one Main Tour cash: a 25th-place finish in the 2025 WPT Australia Championship for $11,243. He has not yet won a WPT Main Tour title or reached an official Main Tour final table.
The ambassador role nevertheless gives Ponce a public-facing position within the poker industry. It also reflects his growing recognition among Spanish-speaking and Latin American poker audiences.
Playing Style
Public tournament records provide clear evidence of Ponce’s results, but they do not support a definitive label for his overall playing style.
Live reporting from the 2025 WSOP Main Event showed that he was willing to apply pressure in major pots. In one Day 7 hand, Ponce moved all in on the turn against Kohei Arai after raising before the flop and continuing on an ace-high board. Arai called and doubled through him.
One hand is not enough to classify a player as loose-aggressive, tight-aggressive or primarily exploitative. A reliable assessment would require a much larger sample of observed hands.
The available evidence supports a narrower conclusion: Ponce has shown the willingness to make consequential decisions under deep-tournament pressure and has successfully converted several major runs into six-figure finishes.
Diego Ponce’s Career Earnings
The Hendon Mob lists Ponce with approximately $840,880 in recorded live tournament earnings and a career-best cash of $360,000. The database identifies him as a Mexican player residing in Mexico City.
Poker earnings databases should not be interpreted as a player’s net worth or profit. Recorded totals generally reflect gross tournament prizes and do not account for buy-ins, travel expenses, taxes, staking agreements or unreported private-game results.
Different databases may also display different totals because they use separate reporting standards or include different categories of events. The Hendon Mob provided the most comprehensive figure located for Ponce as of July 31, 2026.
Major Diego Ponce Poker Results
Ponce’s largest recorded tournament result came in the 2025 WSOP Main Event, where he finished 19th for $360,000.
In 2026, he won the Aussie Millions A$2,500 No-Limit Hold’em event for A$179,665.
He also placed seventh in a $3,500 No-Limit Hold’em event at the 2026 Wynn Summer Classic, earning $157,082.
His recorded World Poker Tour result came in the 2025 WPT Australia Championship, where he finished 25th for $11,243.
These finishes highlight Ponce’s most significant verified international results rather than every recorded tournament cash.
Why Diego Ponce Matters
Ponce’s rise is noteworthy because his largest results have come in events with substantial fields and international competition.
A 19th-place WSOP Main Event finish can transform a player’s career, but Ponce added credibility to that breakthrough by winning at the Aussie Millions and reaching another major final table at Wynn. His results suggest a developing tournament résumé rather than one built around a single score.
He also represents Mexico within an increasingly international tournament circuit. As Latin American poker continues to produce more prominent players and events, Ponce has become one of the Mexican competitors most likely to appear in the late stages of globally followed tournaments.
Current Status
As of July 31, 2026, Ponce remains an active No-Limit Hold’em tournament player and WPT Global ambassador.
He has not yet won a WSOP bracelet, WSOP Circuit ring or WPT Main Tour championship. Those achievements remain potential next milestones as his career develops.
His recent trajectory is nevertheless significant. Within roughly one year, Ponce recorded his largest career cash, won an Aussie Millions title and added another six-figure result at Wynn.
That combination has moved him from relative obscurity into a more recognizable position within international tournament poker and given him a foundation from which to pursue the game’s most prestigious titles.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Diego Ponce?
Diego Ponce de León Silva is a Mexican tournament poker player and WPT Global ambassador. He is best known for finishing 19th in the 2025 WSOP Main Event and winning a 2026 Aussie Millions event.
How much has Diego Ponce won playing poker?
The Hendon Mob listed Diego Ponce with approximately $840,880 in recorded live tournament earnings as of July 31, 2026. Tournament earnings are gross prizes and should not be treated as net profit or personal wealth.
What is Diego Ponce’s largest poker cash?
His largest recorded live cash is $360,000, earned for finishing 19th in the 2025 WSOP Main Event.
Has Diego Ponce won a WSOP bracelet?
No. The official WSOP database lists Ponce with no WSOP bracelets and no WSOP Circuit rings.
Did Diego Ponce win an Aussie Millions title?
Yes. Ponce won the 2026 Aussie Millions Event #7, a A$2,500 No-Limit Hold’em tournament, for A$179,665.
Is Diego Ponce a WPT champion?
Ponce is a WPT Global ambassador, but he has not won a World Poker Tour Main Tour championship. His recorded WPT Main Tour result is a 25th-place finish in the 2025 WPT Australia Championship.
Where is Diego Ponce from?
Tournament databases identify Ponce as a Mexican player residing in Mexico City, Mexico.
Sources
World Series of Poker
World Poker Tour
The Hendon Mob
PokerNews
Diego Ponce’s verified public social media profile