Gaëlle Baumann: French Poker Pro and 2012 WSOP Main Event Standout
POKER HALL OF FAME
Inducted 2014
Gaëlle Baumann is a French poker player best known for finishing 10th in the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event, one place short of the official final table. The run earned her $590,442 and established her as one of the most recognizable French players of her generation.
Her career extends well beyond that breakthrough. Baumann built her game in online cash games before becoming a regular on the international tournament circuit, later recording deep finishes at the WSOP, World Poker Tour and European Poker Tour. She also spent 13 years as a Team Winamax professional before leaving the sponsored team in January 2025.
As of September 5, 2026, The Hendon Mob lists Baumann with $1,482,475 in live tournament earnings and a career-best cash of $590,442. Her database includes tournament results as recently as May 2026, showing that she has continued to play selected live events after stepping away from a full-time professional schedule.
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Who Is Gaëlle Baumann?
Gaëlle Baumann is a French poker player associated with Strasbourg, France. PokerNews reports that she began playing poker in 2007 and initially made her mark as a cash-game player before emerging on the live tournament scene.
That background is important to understanding her career. Baumann did not become internationally known because of a long list of major tournament titles. Instead, her reputation developed through cash-game experience, consistency in major no-limit hold'em events and several deep runs on some of poker's largest stages.
Her international breakthrough arrived in 2012. During the first half of that year she cashed in the European Poker Tour Grand Final in Monte Carlo, then traveled to Las Vegas for a World Series of Poker that would permanently change her profile within the game.
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Gaëlle Baumann's 2012 WSOP Main Event Run
Baumann's defining tournament performance came in the 2012 $10,000 WSOP Main Event.
The tournament drew 6,598 entries, and Baumann became one of its central stories. PokerNews reported that she entered Day 3 as the overall chip leader, making her the first woman to hold the overall Main Event lead at that stage of the tournament.
She remained in contention deep into the event and ultimately reached the unofficial final table of 10 players. With the official final table requiring nine survivors, Baumann was eliminated in 10th place by Andras Koroknai.
PokerNews' official payout record lists Baumann's prize at $590,442. It remains the largest recorded live tournament cash of her career.
Her finish was especially notable because no woman had reached the WSOP Main Event final table since Barbara Enright finished fifth in 1995. Baumann came within one elimination of ending that drought in 2012.
The milestone was eventually reached in 2025, when Leo Margets became the first woman since Enright to make the Main Event final table. Baumann's 2012 run nevertheless remains one of the deepest Main Event finishes by a woman and one of the signature results of her career.
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Another Deep WSOP Main Event Run in 2016
Baumann returned to the later stages of the Main Event four years after her 2012 breakthrough.
At the 2016 WSOP, she again became the last woman remaining in the Main Event. The World Series of Poker records her finish as 102nd out of 6,737 entries for $49,108.
PokerNews noted that it was the second time in five years she had earned the distinction of being the last woman standing in the Main Event.
Repeating a deep Main Event run helped demonstrate that the 2012 performance was not Baumann's only success in poker's world championship. She later cashed the Main Event again in 2022, finishing 302nd for $40,900.
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Does Gaëlle Baumann Have a WSOP Bracelet?
Baumann has not won a World Series of Poker bracelet.
As of September 2026, her official WSOP player record lists:
0 WSOP bracelets
0 WSOP Circuit rings
37 WSOP cashes
$1,083,653 in WSOP earnings
Her career is therefore better defined by deep championship runs and sustained tournament participation than by bracelet victories.
The 2012 Main Event accounts for more than half of her recorded WSOP earnings, but Baumann has accumulated additional WSOP cashes across multiple years of competition.
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Gaëlle Baumann on the World Poker Tour
Baumann has also produced a significant World Poker Tour result.
Her strongest WPT Main Tour finish came at the 2015 WPT Vienna Main Event, where she reached the final table and finished fifth. PokerNews lists the result at €35,500, while the World Poker Tour's player database records the converted payout at $37,262.
As of September 2026, the WPT lists Baumann with zero Main Tour wins, two Main Tour cashes and one final table.
That Vienna performance adds another major-tour final table to a career more commonly associated with her WSOP Main Event achievements.
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European Poker Tour Results
Baumann has recorded numerous cashes on the European Poker Tour without winning an EPT Main Event title.
One of her strongest EPT performances came in Barcelona in 2019. Baumann navigated a large EPT Main Event field to finish 20th for €61,710, worth approximately $68,627 at the time according to The Hendon Mob.
She also continued producing EPT results during the following years, including a 26th-place finish in the 2022 EPT Barcelona Main Event for €41,290 and additional cashes in Monte Carlo, Prague, Paris and Cyprus.
Those results illustrate the geographic range and longevity of her tournament career. Although her largest score came in Las Vegas, much of Baumann's live record was built across major European festivals.
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Career Earnings and Largest Poker Cash
As of September 5, 2026, The Hendon Mob lists Gaëlle Baumann with $1,482,475 in live tournament earnings.
Her largest recorded cashes and notable results include:
10th in the 2012 WSOP Main Event for $590,442
102nd in the 2016 WSOP Main Event for $49,108
20th in the 2019 EPT Barcelona Main Event for €61,710
302nd in the 2022 WSOP Main Event for $40,900
26th in the 2022 EPT Barcelona Main Event for €41,290
5th in the 2015 WPT Vienna Main Event for €35,500
Tournament earnings are continually updated as players record new results, so Baumann's career total may change with future appearances.
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Baumann's Cash-Game Background and Playing Career
Baumann entered the public tournament spotlight with a foundation in cash games.
PokerNews reported during her 2016 Main Event run that she started playing poker in 2007 and established herself as a cash-game player before her tournament breakthrough. That progression distinguishes her from players whose careers developed almost entirely through live tournament competition.
Her tournament history has been concentrated largely in no-limit hold'em, particularly Main Events and other large-field championship tournaments. Rather than relying on an unverified description such as aggressive or tight-aggressive, her documented career is better characterized by its combination of online cash-game experience and sustained no-limit hold'em tournament results.
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Thirteen Years With Team Winamax
Baumann became closely associated with Winamax during much of her professional career.
She joined Team Winamax in 2012 and remained with the sponsored professional roster for approximately 13 years. Her tenure covered the period in which she produced her famous WSOP Main Event run and became a familiar presence at major European and international poker festivals.
In January 2025, Baumann announced that she was leaving Team Winamax and moving away from the demands of the professional circuit. Contemporary coverage described the change as a decision to devote more attention to other projects rather than continue the travel-heavy schedule associated with being a sponsored professional.
The move should not be interpreted as a complete retirement from poker. Her subsequent tournament record shows that she continued to enter selected live events.
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Recent Tournament Activity
Baumann's results after leaving Team Winamax demonstrate a more selective relationship with tournament poker.
The Hendon Mob records a 54th-place cash at the Winamax Poker Tour Grand Final in Aix-en-Provence in March 2025, followed by a 45th-place finish in the Winamax SISMIX Main Event in Marrakech that May.
She returned to recorded tournament action in Portugal in May 2026. Baumann cashed the Estoril Poker Fest Main Event and then finished eighth in the festival's Navegador event two days later.
Those results are important when describing her current status. Although Baumann stepped away from her long-term Team Winamax role and the schedule of a full-time sponsored professional, available tournament records show that she still plays live poker on occasion.
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Why Gaëlle Baumann Matters in Poker
Baumann's place in poker history rests primarily on how close she came to one of the game's most difficult milestones.
Her 10th-place finish in the 2012 WSOP Main Event put her one position from becoming the first woman since Barbara Enright to reach the championship final table. Four years later, she again became the last woman standing in the Main Event and reached 102nd place.
Those performances helped make Baumann a prominent figure in European poker even without a WSOP bracelet or WPT title. Her long tenure with Winamax and repeated appearances at WSOP and EPT events also gave her a level of visibility that extended well beyond one tournament result.
By 2026, her career had evolved away from the full-time professional circuit, but her occasional tournament appearances continued. Her record remains anchored by one of the most memorable Main Event near-misses of the modern era.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much has Gaëlle Baumann won in live poker tournaments?
As of September 5, 2026, The Hendon Mob lists Gaëlle Baumann with $1,482,475 in live tournament earnings. Tournament databases are updated as new results are recorded, so that total can change.
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What is Gaëlle Baumann's biggest poker cash?
Baumann's largest recorded live cash is $590,442, earned for finishing 10th in the 2012 WSOP Main Event.
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How did Gaëlle Baumann finish in the 2012 WSOP Main Event?
Baumann finished 10th out of 6,598 entries in the 2012 WSOP Main Event. She was eliminated one place short of the official nine-player final table.
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Does Gaëlle Baumann have a WSOP bracelet?
No. As of September 2026, the WSOP lists Baumann with zero bracelets and zero WSOP Circuit rings.
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Has Gaëlle Baumann won a WPT title?
No. The World Poker Tour lists Baumann with zero Main Tour wins. Her best WPT Main Tour result was fifth place at WPT Vienna in 2015.
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Was Gaëlle Baumann the last woman standing in the WSOP Main Event?
Yes, on multiple occasions. Baumann was the final woman remaining in the 2012 Main Event, when she finished 10th, and again in 2016, when she finished 102nd.
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Is Gaëlle Baumann still a professional poker player?
Baumann left Team Winamax in January 2025 after approximately 13 years and stepped away from the schedule of a full-time sponsored professional. She should not be described as completely retired, however, because The Hendon Mob records additional live tournament cashes in both 2025 and 2026.
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When did Gaëlle Baumann start playing poker?
PokerNews reports that Baumann began playing poker in 2007. She initially developed as a cash-game player before becoming widely known for her live tournament results.
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What is Gaëlle Baumann best known for?
Baumann is best known for finishing 10th in the 2012 WSOP Main Event for $590,442. The performance left her one place short of the official final table and became the defining tournament result of her career.