Michael Duek: WSOP Main Event Finalist and Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller
POKER HALL OF FAME
Inducted 2014
Michael Duek emerged as a major tournament name during the 2022 World Series of Poker, when he recorded two third-place finishes in marquee events within less than two weeks. His run included third place in the WSOP Main Event for $4 million, and his subsequent results have established him as a regular competitor in high-stakes Pot-Limit Omaha and mixed-game tournaments.
As of August 26, 2026, the Global Poker Index profile for Michael Duek listed $9,415,056 in live tournament earnings and a career-best score of $4 million. The World Series of Poker player database listed Duek with zero WSOP bracelets and zero WSOP Circuit rings.
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Who Is Michael Duek?
Michael Duek is an Argentine-born, United States-based tournament poker player whose most prominent results have come in No-Limit Hold'em, Pot-Limit Omaha and high-stakes mixed-game events.
Hendon Mob lists Buenos Aires, Argentina, as Duek's birthplace and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as his residence. His recorded live tournament results date back to 2017, but his career changed dramatically during the 2022 WSOP.
Before that summer, Duek had only a small number of recorded tournament cashes. Within a matter of days, he made deep runs in two of the most prestigious events on the WSOP schedule and collected more than $4.5 million between them.
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Michael Duek's Breakthrough at the 2022 WSOP
Duek's first major breakthrough came in the 2022 $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed Championship.
The tournament attracted 683 entries and generated a prize pool of more than $6.3 million. Duek advanced to the final three before finishing third for $548,015, then the largest recorded live cash of his career.
That result proved to be only the beginning of his summer.
Duek entered the $10,000 WSOP Main Event shortly afterward and survived a field of 8,663 entries to reach poker's most recognized final table.
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Third Place in the 2022 WSOP Main Event
Duek finished third in the 2022 World Series of Poker Main Event for $4 million, the largest live tournament score of his career.
He reached the final stage alongside Australian professional Adrian Attenborough and eventual champion Espen Jorstad.
Duek's tournament ended when Attenborough made a nut straight against his top pair during three-handed play. The result left Duek behind only Jorstad, who earned $10 million for the championship, and Attenborough, who collected $6 million as runner-up.
The $4 million payout transformed Duek's career earnings and gave him one of the most recognizable tournament results available to any player who has not won the WSOP Main Event.
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Pot-Limit Omaha Becomes a Major Part of Duek's Career
Although Duek demonstrated his No-Limit Hold'em tournament ability with the Main Event run, his results before and after that final table have shown an especially strong connection to Pot-Limit Omaha.
His 2022 WSOP PLO Championship final table was followed by numerous high-stakes PLO cashes on the PokerGO Tour, at the WSOP and in other major series.
In October 2022, Duek defeated Dylan Weisman heads-up in a $10,000 Bellagio High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha event. The 23-entry tournament paid Duek $105,800 and gave him a PokerGO Tour victory.
His later results continued to reinforce that specialization rather than making the Main Event finish a one-time breakthrough.
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High-Stakes Results After the Main Event
Duek remained active on the high-stakes tournament circuit after 2022.
In 2023, he recorded several more Pot-Limit Omaha final-table results, including second place in a $10,500 PLO High Roller at the Wynn Millions series for $161,700.
His 2024 season included another collection of deep PLO runs. Duek finished fourth in the $25,200 PGT PLO Series II Championship for $155,000 before traveling to the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series in Monte Carlo.
There, Duek finished second in a $50,000 six-max Pot-Limit Omaha event for $736,000. The result became one of the largest scores of his career outside the WSOP.
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Duek Nearly Wins a WSOP Bracelet in 2025
Duek came within one heads-up match of winning his first World Series of Poker bracelet in June 2025.
The $25,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha event drew 489 entries and created an $11,491,500 prize pool. Duek reached heads-up play against Germany's Dennis Weiss after navigating a final table that also included players such as Phil Ivey, Ben Lamb and Bryn Kenney.
Weiss defeated Duek for the bracelet, leaving Duek with second place and $1,528,077.
The finish was Duek's second-largest recorded tournament cash behind his 2022 Main Event result and further established his record in elite PLO competition.
Earlier in 2025, Duek also finished third in the $25,300 PokerGO Tour 10-Game Championship for $196,000 and fifth in a $10,100 PGT Pot-Limit Omaha event for $76,700.
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Michael Duek's Career Earnings
Michael Duek had more than $9.4 million in recorded live tournament earnings by late August 2026.
The Global Poker Index listed his total at $9,415,056 following a cash at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open in August 2026. Hendon Mob listed $9,405,356 when its Duek profile was most recently indexed, illustrating why live tournament earnings should always be treated as a changing statistic rather than a permanent career total.
Duek's $4 million third-place finish in the 2022 WSOP Main Event remains his largest individual score.
His other seven-figure result came from the 2025 WSOP $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller, where he earned $1,528,077 as runner-up.
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Does Michael Duek Have a WSOP Bracelet?
Michael Duek had not won a World Series of Poker bracelet as of September 5, 2026.
The official WSOP player database listed Duek with zero bracelets and zero WSOP Circuit rings.
He has nevertheless come close multiple times. Duek finished third in the 2022 $10,000 PLO Championship and second in the 2025 $25,000 PLO High Roller.
His 2022 Main Event third-place finish was also a bracelet-event final table, although only the champion receives the Main Event bracelet.
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Does Michael Duek Have a WPT Title?
Michael Duek had not won a World Poker Tour Main Tour title as of September 2026.
The official World Poker Tour player profile lists one WPT Main Tour cash, with zero wins and zero final tables. That cash came when Duek finished 57th in the 2023 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown for $16,500.
His victory in the October 2022 Bellagio Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller occurred during the WPT Five Diamond festival, but it was a high-roller side event rather than a WPT Main Tour championship title.
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Michael Duek's Playing Profile
Duek's tournament record points most clearly toward Pot-Limit Omaha as a primary strength.
Many of his largest finishes outside the WSOP Main Event have come in PLO, including deep runs at the World Series of Poker, PokerGO Tour events, Triton Poker festivals and Las Vegas high rollers.
His mixed-game results also show experience beyond Hold'em and Omaha. The 2025 PGT 10-Game Championship third-place finish and a cash in the 2025 WSOP Paradise 8-Game event demonstrate that his tournament schedule includes multiple poker disciplines.
That versatility matters when evaluating Duek's career. He first became widely known because of a No-Limit Hold'em Main Event run, but much of his sustained high-stakes success has come in PLO and mixed formats.
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Michael Duek's Current Poker Activity
Duek remained active in major live tournaments through 2026.
PokerNews reported him in action during the 2026 WSOP $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship, continuing the pattern of playing championship-level PLO events.
His most recent result reflected in the Global Poker Index as of late August 2026 was a 78th-place finish in the $5,300 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship for $9,700.
Those appearances show that Duek continues to compete rather than being defined solely by his 2022 Main Event breakthrough.
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Why Michael Duek Matters in Tournament Poker
Duek's career stands out because his breakthrough combined two very different tests of tournament poker.
Within the same 2022 WSOP, he finished third in a championship-level Pot-Limit Omaha event and then third in the No-Limit Hold'em Main Event. He later backed up those performances with additional high-stakes PLO final tables, a Triton runner-up finish and another near-bracelet run at the 2025 WSOP.
The Main Event made Duek recognizable to a worldwide poker audience. His results since then have provided stronger evidence that the performance was part of a broader high-stakes tournament career.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much has Michael Duek won in live poker tournaments?
The Global Poker Index listed Michael Duek with $9,415,056 in live tournament earnings as of August 26, 2026. Tournament earnings change as new results are recorded.
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What is Michael Duek's biggest poker cash?
Michael Duek's largest live tournament cash is $4 million, earned for finishing third in the 2022 World Series of Poker Main Event.
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How many WSOP bracelets does Michael Duek have?
Michael Duek has zero WSOP bracelets as of September 5, 2026. He came closest when he finished second in the 2025 $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller.
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Where did Michael Duek finish in the 2022 WSOP Main Event?
Michael Duek finished third out of 8,663 entries in the 2022 WSOP Main Event and earned $4 million. Espen Jorstad won the tournament, while Adrian Attenborough finished second.
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Is Michael Duek a Pot-Limit Omaha player?
Pot-Limit Omaha has been a major part of Michael Duek's tournament career. He has recorded numerous high-stakes PLO final tables, including third place in the 2022 WSOP $10,000 PLO Championship, second in the 2025 WSOP $25,000 PLO High Roller and second in a 2024 Triton $50,000 PLO event.
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Where is Michael Duek from?
Hendon Mob lists Michael Duek as born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and residing in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Current poker databases generally identify him as a United States-based player.