Lex Veldhuis: Poker Streaming Pioneer, SCOOP and WCOOP Champion
POKER HALL OF FAME
Inducted 2014
Lex Veldhuis has built a poker career that spans high-stakes cash games, major live tournaments, online championships and more than a decade at the forefront of poker streaming. The Dutch professional became one of poker's most recognizable online personalities while also recording major results that include SCOOP and WCOOP titles and a career-best live cash of $277,939.
As of September 2026, The Hendon Mob lists Veldhuis with $707,775 in live tournament earnings. His influence, however, extends well beyond those live results. He helped establish livestreaming as a major form of poker entertainment, built a large international audience around his online tournament sessions and created the Lex Live festival as a way to bring that community together in person.
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Who Is Lex Veldhuis?
Alexander "Lex" Veldhuis is a Dutch professional poker player and streamer from Vlissingen, Netherlands. He is also widely associated with the online screen name "RaSZi."
Before poker became his profession, Veldhuis was a competitive video gamer. His background in strategy games, particularly StarCraft, became important to his eventual poker career. Through gaming he developed connections with other future poker professionals, including Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier.
Veldhuis began playing online poker in the mid-2000s and developed into a high-stakes cash-game player. His career later expanded into live tournaments, televised cash games, Pot-Limit Omaha and online multi-table tournaments.
That ability to move between different parts of poker became a defining feature of his career. Veldhuis eventually found his largest audience not simply by playing online poker, but by broadcasting the experience and explaining his decisions to viewers in real time.
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Lex Veldhuis' Early Poker Career
Veldhuis' competitive gaming background provided a natural route into online poker. PokerStars has documented his early connection to the StarCraft community and his transition into poker, where he began building a reputation in online cash games.
By the late 2000s, he was also producing significant results in live tournaments.
His most lucrative live score came at the 2009 World Series of Poker in the $40,000 No-Limit Hold'em 40th Anniversary event. The tournament attracted 201 entries and featured many established professionals. Veldhuis reached the final table and finished seventh for $277,939.
That remains his largest recorded live tournament cash according to The Hendon Mob.
The following year brought one of the most important live victories of his career. Veldhuis won the 2010 Dutch Poker Open Main Event at Holland Casino Rotterdam, defeating a 200-entry field and earning €61,200. The victory made him a Dutch Poker Open Main Event champion and remains his largest recorded live tournament win.
Other notable live results include an 11th-place finish in a $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em event at the 2011 WSOP and deep runs in European Poker Tour Main Events in Monte Carlo and Sanremo.
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WSOP Results and the Search for a Bracelet
Veldhuis has recorded numerous World Series of Poker cashes, but a WSOP bracelet has remained one of the major titles missing from his résumé.
According to the WSOP's player database, Veldhuis has no live WSOP bracelets or WSOP Circuit rings. His 2009 seventh-place finish in the $40,000 40th Anniversary event stood as his deepest WSOP bracelet-event finish for more than 17 years.
That changed during the 2026 WSOP Online series.
In September 2026, Veldhuis reached the final table of the $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty Pot-Limit Omaha event on GGPoker. The tournament attracted 721 entries and generated a $1,027,425 prize pool. Veldhuis finished fifth for $41,465 including bounties, giving him his best finishing position in a WSOP bracelet event.
The result was part of a strong stretch during the 2026 WSOP Online festival. PokerNews reported that he cashed in eight of the first 14 completed bracelet events, including a 10th-place finish in the $1,000 Mystery Bounty Pot-Limit Omaha and 16th in the $2,500 Turbo NLH Championship before making the PLO final table.
Later in September 2026, Veldhuis finished 14th in the $5,000 WSOP Online Main Event for $154,203. PokerCity's September 24 report documents the result, which is also identified in a clip from his own Twitch broadcast. The online payout is separate from his recorded live tournament earnings.
As of September 2026, Veldhuis is still seeking his first WSOP bracelet.
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SCOOP and WCOOP Championships
While Veldhuis' live tournament record established him as an accomplished professional, some of his most significant victories have come online.
In May 2024, he captured his first PokerStars Championship of Online Poker title by winning SCOOP Event #41-H, the $5,200 NLHE Titans. Veldhuis defeated a 128-entry field and collected $140,279.
The result was particularly significant because Veldhuis had spent years competing in PokerStars' major online championship series without winning a COOP title.
Only a few months later, he added his first World Championship of Online Poker title.
Veldhuis won WCOOP Event #9-H, a $5,200 No-Limit Hold'em Bounty Builder Super High Roller, in September 2024. The tournament attracted 89 entries, and he earned $130,081 including bounties.
The victories gave Veldhuis both SCOOP and WCOOP titles in the same calendar year and reinforced his standing as more than a poker broadcaster. He was still competing successfully against high-level online tournament fields while streaming the action to his audience.
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How Lex Veldhuis Became a Poker Streaming Pioneer
Veldhuis' largest contribution to modern poker may be the role he played in turning online poker streaming into a spectator product.
He began regularly streaming poker on Twitch during the 2010s and developed one of the largest audiences in the poker category. Instead of presenting edited highlights after tournaments ended, his streams allowed viewers to experience long sessions, tournament decisions, eliminations and deep runs as they happened.
One of the defining moments came during the 2020 Spring Championship of Online Poker.
Veldhuis made a deep run in the $10,300 SCOOP Main Event and finished 15th for $62,620. During the run, his Twitch stream reached a peak audience of 58,799 concurrent viewers. PokerStars reported that his channel became the most-watched channel across Twitch during the broadcast.
The significance went beyond one tournament result. Poker streaming gave viewers access to the decision-making process of an experienced professional while allowing them to follow the emotional swings of tournament poker in real time.
Veldhuis became closely identified with that format, and his success demonstrated that poker streams could attract audiences far beyond a traditional televised final table.
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Lex Live and His Poker Community
Veldhuis eventually extended his online community into live poker through Lex Live.
The festival was created around the idea of bringing members of his streaming community together for live tournaments and social events. Early editions were held in locations including Namur and London, turning relationships formed through Twitch chat and online poker into an in-person poker festival.
Lex Live has continued beyond those first events. Lex Live 4 took place in Bratislava in June 2025, where Veldhuis also recorded a cash in the festival's High Roller.
The series illustrates an important part of Veldhuis' influence on poker. His audience has not been built solely around watching tournament results. Community interaction became a central part of his poker identity, helping connect online viewers with live poker experiences.
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Playing Style and Poker Reputation
Veldhuis became known early in his career for aggressive poker, particularly during televised appearances and major live events.
His willingness to apply pressure and play large pots helped make him a memorable presence during poker's television era. He appeared on programs including High Stakes Poker and The Big Game while competing against established high-stakes professionals.
His career has also required considerable adaptation.
Veldhuis has played No-Limit Hold'em and Pot-Limit Omaha at high stakes, competed in cash games and tournaments, and later shifted much of his attention toward online multi-table tournaments. His 2026 WSOP Online final table in Pot-Limit Omaha further demonstrated that his tournament activity is not limited to No-Limit Hold'em.
Rather than defining his career through a single format, Veldhuis has repeatedly changed games and formats as poker and his own interests evolved.
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PokerStars Career and 2026 Departure
Veldhuis spent approximately 17 years associated with PokerStars, becoming one of the company's longest-serving and most recognizable poker ambassadors.
That relationship ended in January 2026.
Veldhuis announced his departure as he returned to regular poker streaming after a quieter period in 2025. PokerNews reported that he entered 2026 without a new poker sponsorship and resumed playing online tournaments on GGPoker.
His return produced an immediate result. During his first poker stream back, Veldhuis won a $108 Bounty Hunters Special tournament for $2,541.22.
The change marked a significant transition after a long period in which his public poker identity had been closely connected with PokerStars.
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Lex Veldhuis' Live Tournament Earnings
As of September 2026, The Hendon Mob lists Lex Veldhuis with $707,775 in live tournament earnings and a largest live cash of $277,939.
Those figures require context because Veldhuis' career cannot be measured solely through live tournament databases.
A substantial portion of his poker career has taken place online, including high-stakes cash games, major online tournament series and streamed events. His SCOOP and WCOOP victories, for example, are significant career accomplishments but are separate from the traditional live tournament earnings total.
Live earnings databases also change as additional results are recorded, so career totals should be treated as a current snapshot rather than a permanent figure.
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Why Lex Veldhuis Matters in Poker
Veldhuis occupies an unusual position in poker because his career connects several different eras of the game.
He emerged from the generation of online players who built their skills during poker's rapid internet expansion, competed in high-stakes cash games and appeared on major televised poker programs. He then successfully transitioned into the streaming era, where personality, communication and community became increasingly important parts of poker media.
His tournament résumé includes a Dutch Poker Open championship, a SCOOP title, a WCOOP title, major WSOP final-table appearances and more than $700,000 in recorded live earnings.
His broader influence comes from making the experience of playing professional online poker accessible to an audience. Viewers have been able to watch the decisions, variance, long sessions and emotional swings that are normally hidden behind an online screen name.
That combination of professional experience and broadcasting reach has made Veldhuis an important figure in the development of modern poker content.
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Where Is Lex Veldhuis Now?
Veldhuis entered 2026 in a new phase of his career after ending his long PokerStars relationship and returning to regular poker streaming.
By September, he was actively competing in the WSOP Online series on GGPoker. His fifth-place finish in the $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty Pot-Limit Omaha event was his first WSOP final table since 2009 and his best finishing position in a bracelet event.
The result also showed that, more than two decades after beginning his online poker career, Veldhuis remains an active tournament player rather than solely a content creator or former high-stakes professional.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much has Lex Veldhuis won in live poker tournaments?
As of September 2026, The Hendon Mob lists Lex Veldhuis with $707,775 in live tournament earnings. Online poker winnings are not fully represented by that live tournament total.
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What is Lex Veldhuis' biggest live poker cash?
Veldhuis' largest recorded live tournament cash is $277,939 for finishing seventh in the $40,000 No-Limit Hold'em 40th Anniversary event at the 2009 World Series of Poker.
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Does Lex Veldhuis have a WSOP bracelet?
No. As of September 2026, Veldhuis has not won a WSOP bracelet. He finished fifth in a $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty Pot-Limit Omaha event during the 2026 WSOP Online series, his best finishing position in a bracelet event.
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Has Lex Veldhuis won a SCOOP title?
Yes. Veldhuis won his first SCOOP title in May 2024 when he captured the $5,200 NLHE Titans for $140,279.
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Has Lex Veldhuis won a WCOOP title?
Yes. Veldhuis won his first WCOOP title in September 2024 in the $5,200 NLHE Bounty Builder Super High Roller. He earned $130,081 including bounties.
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What is Lex Veldhuis' poker nickname?
Veldhuis has long been associated with the online poker and gaming screen name "RaSZi."
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Is Lex Veldhuis still a PokerStars ambassador?
No. Veldhuis announced in January 2026 that his long relationship with PokerStars had ended. He subsequently returned to regular online poker streaming and has competed on GGPoker.
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Why is Lex Veldhuis famous for poker streaming?
Veldhuis became one of the leading figures in poker livestreaming by broadcasting online tournament sessions to a large Twitch audience. During his deep run in the 2020 SCOOP Main Event, his stream peaked at 58,799 concurrent viewers.
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Sources
World Series of Poker — Lex Veldhuis Player Profile
The Hendon Mob — Lex Veldhuis Results and Statistics
PokerStars — Lex Veldhuis: All You Need to Know About the Twitch Superstar
PokerStars — SCOOP 2024 Results and Lex Veldhuis Titans Victory
PokerStars — WCOOP 2024 Coverage
PokerNews — Lex Veldhuis Poker Player Profile
PokerNews — Lex Veldhuis Leaves PokerStars & Returns to Poker Streaming
PokerNews — Lex Veldhuis Comes Closest Yet to Winning a WSOP Bracelet
PokerNews — Lex Veldhuis Wins First WCOOP Title
PokerNews — 2009 WSOP $40,000 No-Limit Hold'em Coverage