Tony G: High-Stakes Player, APT Champion and PokerNews Founder
POKER HALL OF FAME
Inducted 2014
Antanas “Tony G” Guoga has built one of poker’s most distinctive careers, combining more than $11.2 million in recorded live tournament earnings with major international victories, high-stakes cash-game appearances, poker-media entrepreneurship and years in European politics.
Known throughout the game simply as Tony G, the Lithuanian-born player became especially recognizable during poker’s television boom for an aggressive style and relentless table talk. His tournament résumé extends well beyond the personality that made him famous. He won the 2005 European Poker Championships Main Event, became the inaugural Asian Poker Tour champion in 2006 and later established himself as a serious competitor in short-deck and super-high-roller tournaments.
As of September 5, 2026, The Hendon Mob lists Guoga with $11,295,296 in live tournament earnings and a career-best cash of $1,389,436.
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Who Is Tony G?
Tony G is the poker nickname of Antanas Guoga, a Lithuanian-born poker player, entrepreneur and former politician.
Guoga was born in Lithuania in 1973 and moved to Australia at age 11. PokerNews reports that he began playing poker a few years later, eventually building a career that would take him through major tournaments in Europe, the United States, Australia and Asia.
His public identity has always extended beyond tournament poker. Guoga founded PokerNews in the early 2000s and later became involved in other technology, gaming and investment ventures. He also served as a member of the European Parliament representing Lithuania from 2014 through 2019.
Those pursuits periodically reduced his tournament schedule, but poker remained part of his public life. His return to major events produced some of the biggest scores of his career.
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How Tony G Built His Poker Career
Tony G’s recorded live tournament results date to the early 2000s. One of his first major international breakthroughs came on the World Poker Tour.
In 2004, Guoga reached the final stage of the WPT Grand Prix de Paris and finished runner-up. The result established him as more than a television personality and placed him among the recognizable tournament professionals of the poker-boom era.
His first major championship victory followed in 2005.
Guoga won the £5,000 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event at the European Poker Championships in London, earning £260,000. The victory became one of the defining tournament results of his early career.
A year later, he added another title that gained greater historical importance as poker expanded throughout Asia.
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Tony G Became the First Asian Poker Tour Champion
In November 2006, Tony G won the inaugural Betfair Asian Poker Tour championship in Singapore.
The event was one of the earliest major international poker tournaments staged in the region. Guoga captured the $5,000 championship for $451,700, becoming the first champion in Asian Poker Tour history.
The achievement remains part of the tour’s history two decades later. In 2026, the Asian Poker Tour featured Guoga while commemorating its 20th anniversary and revisited the importance of that first Singapore event.
Guoga followed his APT victory by winning the inaugural Moscow Millions Main Event in 2007. He collected $205,000 for that result.
These victories helped establish a tournament record that eventually stretched across multiple generations of the game.
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Tony G’s High-Stakes and Short-Deck Success
Some of Tony G’s largest results came years after his original rise to prominence.
Following a period in which politics occupied much of his attention, Guoga returned to major poker competition and became particularly successful in high-roller and short-deck events.
In 2019, he won the partypoker LIVE MILLIONS Europe Triton Short Deck event for €237,250. He also finished fourth in the €250,000 WSOP Europe Super High Roller that year, earning €799,045.
His 2021 results demonstrated that the comeback was more than a brief return.
At Super High Roller Bowl Europe in Cyprus, Tony G won a $25,000 Short Deck event for $382,500. He then captured a $100,000 Short Deck event at the same festival for $1,196,000.
The latter victory was one of the first seven-figure tournament cashes of his career.
Guoga produced an even larger result at the 2022 Triton Poker Series Madrid.
He reached heads-up play against Stephen Chidwick in the €100,000 Short Deck Main Event. Chidwick ultimately won the tournament, while Tony G finished second for €1,305,000.
The Hendon Mob converts that result to $1,389,436, which remains Guoga’s largest recorded live tournament cash as of September 5, 2026.
Later in 2022, he won the $10,400 Mediterranean Poker Party High Roller for $257,500. He then finished 10th in the $200,000 Coin Rivet Invitational at Triton Poker Cyprus for another $485,000.
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How Much Has Tony G Won in Poker Tournaments?
As of September 5, 2026, The Hendon Mob lists Tony G with $11,295,296 in recorded live tournament earnings.
That figure places him first on the database’s Lithuania all-time money list as of the same date.
Tournament earnings do not represent a player’s profit. Public databases record cashes rather than subtracting tournament buy-ins, re-entries, travel expenses, staking arrangements or other costs.
They also do not include the complete financial results of private or televised cash games.
Tony G has participated in high-stakes cash games throughout his career, so his tournament total represents only one part of his poker activity.
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Does Tony G Have a WSOP Bracelet?
Tony G has not won a World Series of Poker bracelet.
The World Series of Poker lists him with zero bracelets and zero WSOP Circuit rings.
He has nevertheless recorded several significant WSOP and WSOP Europe finishes. Among them was a fourth-place result in the €250,000 WSOP Europe Super High Roller in 2019.
Earlier in his career, Guoga also reached WSOP final tables and made deep runs in variants beyond standard No-Limit Hold’em, including H.O.R.S.E. and No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw.
The absence of a bracelet distinguishes his career from many other players with comparable earnings, but his résumé includes major victories on several other international stages.
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Has Tony G Won a World Poker Tour Title?
Tony G has not won a WPT Main Tour title.
The World Poker Tour lists Guoga with seven Main Tour cashes, two final tables and zero wins.
His closest finish came at the 2004 Grand Prix de Paris, where he placed second. That performance remains one of his most notable early tournament results.
Tony G’s broader tournament record includes championships outside the WPT, most notably the European Poker Championships, the inaugural Asian Poker Tour event, the Moscow Millions and later short-deck high rollers.
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Tony G’s Playing Style and Table Talk
Tony G became one of televised poker’s most recognizable personalities because he rarely treated the table as a quiet environment.
His game has long been associated with aggression, pressure and extensive table talk. He has used conversation, provocation and psychological pressure as visible parts of his approach, particularly in televised cash games and made-for-television events.
Several of his most replayed poker appearances involved verbal exchanges with opponents, including Ralph Perry and Phil Hellmuth.
The confrontational presentation sometimes overshadowed his technical results, but Guoga’s longevity across tournament formats provides a broader measure of his ability. His career includes success in No-Limit Hold’em, short deck and high-buy-in events against elite international fields.
His later high-roller results also showed an ability to compete after spending substantial time away from a full tournament schedule.
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Tony G’s Role in Poker Media and Business
Tony G’s influence on poker extends beyond his results at the table.
Guoga founded PokerNews in the early 2000s, helping establish what became one of the industry’s major poker news and tournament-reporting publications. PokerNews has documented that history in interviews with Guoga, including a 2024 Life Outside Poker appearance in which he discussed the site’s beginnings and his development as an entrepreneur.
He later pursued numerous business interests while remaining connected to gaming and technology.
That combination of poker, media and entrepreneurship has made his career unusually broad. Few prominent tournament players from the poker-boom era also played a direct role in building a major poker publication.
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Tony G’s Career in Politics
Guoga temporarily shifted much of his attention from poker to politics during the 2010s.
He was elected to the European Parliament in 2014 and represented Lithuania through 2019. PokerNews has noted that his reduced poker activity during that period coincided with his political responsibilities.
After leaving European-level politics, Guoga became more visible in major poker events again.
The timing is reflected clearly in his tournament record. His return produced high-roller victories in 2019 and 2021 followed by several major results in 2022, including the largest live tournament score of his career.
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Is Tony G Still Playing Poker?
Tony G remains connected to high-stakes poker, although his recorded tournament schedule is much lighter than during several earlier stages of his career.
The Hendon Mob’s listed results currently end with his September 2022 cash in the $200,000 Coin Rivet Invitational. That means the database does not show a newer live tournament cash as of September 5, 2026.
That should not be interpreted as retirement.
PokerNews reported in 2025 that Guoga continued playing high-stakes poker and had appeared in major cash games and livestreamed poker environments. The Asian Poker Tour also featured him in 2026 as part of its 20th-anniversary coverage.
His business and investment activities remain a significant part of his public life, making his poker appearances less frequent than during the height of his tournament career.
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Tony G’s Place in Poker History
Tony G occupies an unusual place in modern poker history.
His tournament record includes more than $11.2 million in live cashes, significant victories spanning from the mid-2000s to the high-roller era and the distinction of becoming the first Asian Poker Tour champion.
His public reputation, however, was built just as much through television.
At a time when poker programming helped introduce professional players to a global audience, Guoga’s aggressive table talk made him instantly recognizable. His confrontations, celebrations and willingness to pressure opponents helped turn him into one of the game’s most memorable television personalities.
His influence also reaches beyond playing. Founding PokerNews gave Guoga a direct role in the growth of poker media, while his later move into European politics created a career path unlike that of most professional players.
Tony G may never be defined by a WSOP bracelet or WPT Main Tour championship. His significance comes from the combination of major tournament success, high-stakes longevity, media influence and a public persona that has remained recognizable across more than two decades of poker.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Tony G’s real name?
Tony G’s real name is Antanas Guoga. He was born in Lithuania and moved to Australia at age 11.
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How much has Tony G won in live poker tournaments?
As of September 5, 2026, The Hendon Mob lists Tony G with $11,295,296 in live tournament earnings.
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What is Tony G’s biggest tournament cash?
Tony G’s largest recorded live tournament cash is $1,389,436, according to The Hendon Mob. The result came from his runner-up finish in the €100,000 Short Deck Main Event at Triton Poker Series Madrid in 2022.
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Does Tony G have a WSOP bracelet?
No. The World Series of Poker lists Tony G with zero WSOP bracelets.
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Does Tony G have a WSOP Circuit ring?
No. The World Series of Poker lists Tony G with zero WSOP Circuit rings.
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Has Tony G won a WPT title?
Tony G has not won a WPT Main Tour title. The World Poker Tour lists him with zero Main Tour wins, although he finished second in the 2004 Grand Prix de Paris.
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What major tournaments has Tony G won?
Tony G’s notable victories include the 2005 European Poker Championships Main Event, the inaugural Asian Poker Tour championship in 2006, the 2007 Moscow Millions Main Event and multiple high-stakes short-deck events.
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Is Tony G still playing poker?
Tony G remains involved in high-stakes poker, although his live tournament schedule has become less frequent. His latest result currently listed by The Hendon Mob is from September 2022, while later PokerNews and Asian Poker Tour coverage shows that he remains connected to the game.
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What is Tony G known for in poker?
Tony G is known for aggressive play, outspoken table talk, televised confrontations, major international tournament results and his role in founding PokerNews.