WSOP champ Jamie Dwan’s journey from politics to poker
British poker pro Jamie Dwan took down the $50K High Roller at the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) for a career-best $2.2 million. It was the first time he’d ever played a $50K, but PokerStars Blog first met Dwan at EPT Monte Carlo back in 2024 after the then-24-year-old had just played his maiden €10K event.
This article was originally published in May 2024.
If we told you that Dwan was currently ranked 54th in the world in online tournaments, you might be surprised.
“I didn’t know he played online tournaments. I thought he was a cash game guy.”
And if we told you that Dwan was currently ranked 5th in the UK and just hit a million dollars in online earnings, you might be confused.
“I thought he was American… and wasn’t he playing million-dollar pots back in 2009?”
And if we told you that before his career as a poker pro began, Dwan was – and to this day remains – the youngest-ever parliamentary candidate in UK history, you might be angry with us.
“You’re talking about a different Dwan, aren’t you? FFS.”
Yep, sorry about that.
His name’s Dwan. Jamie Dwan. And he’s just broken through in a massive way at the WSOP 2026.
When we were browsing through the chip counts of the France Poker Series (FPS) High Roller in Monte Carlo, the name Dwan – Jamie Dwan – leapt off the page. He’s a 24-year-old Brit who in just three and a half years of playing has climbed up the stakes and played his maiden €10K event on this trip.
“It’s kind of of nominative determinism, isn’t it? That you end up playing poker when your last name’s Dwan,” he says, chuckling. “There aren’t many Dwans around so we are, like, distantly related.”
“YOUR LAST NAME’S DWAN?!”
While Tom Dwan became a poker superstar in his late teens, it was politics that Jamie Dwan was drawn to. He went to Manchester University to study Politics and International Relations at Manchester University when he was 18 and soon found himself running as a Liberal Democrat candidate in the Stalybridge and Hyde constituency.
Dwan won $2.2 million in the $50K High Roller at the WSOP
In doing so, he became the UK’s youngest parliamentary candidate and although his campaign wasn’t successful, it did lead to jobs within the party as a Political Assistant, Field Organiser, and ultimately a role as a Local Assistant for European Parliament.
“Then Brexit happened and we all lost our jobs,” he says. To make matters worse, the COVID pandemic began around the same time and Dwan suddenly found himself with a lot of free time on his hands.
His famous surname helped him find a new passion. “Everyone I spoke to who knew about Tom Dwan would say: ‘Oh your last name’s Dwan?’” he says. “That’s honestly how I found out about poker and why I started playing.”
THE BEST DECISION JAMIE DWAN MADE
One crossover between politics and poker (in an ideal world, at least) is effective spending – bankroll management, if you will. Dwan was only playing poker now and then and hadn’t considered it a potential career path until he enjoyed his first big online score. Newly flush, Dwan reinvested “a load of it” into coaching. He hasn’t looked back since.
“[Getting coaching right away] was one of the best decisions I made,” he says. “The best way to get better at poker now is to speak to people who are better than you and surround yourself with a network of players who are better than you and have the experience. Absorb stuff from them.”
This interview with Dwan took place at EPT Monte Carlo 2026, where Dwan was playing his first 10K buy-in
Dwan grinded his way through the Covid pandemic and the results kept coming. Throughout 2023 he enjoyed some impressive live results on the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) – a tour known for nurturing UK talent – but 2024 has been something else.
“This year has been insane,” Dwan says. “I’ve been doing really well, kind of from nowhere. Last year I did OK, but this year… I actually just hit a million in online cashes and now I’m ranked around 50th in the world.”
Dwan’s run in the FPS High Roller fizzled out in 19th for €13,740 but it’s yet another impressive result for an up-and-comer playing only his second EPT festival (his first was Paris in February).
“I love PokerStars events, they’re great,” he says. “This is a great event, it’s put on so well, the dealers are great, the tournaments are great. It’s a really good stop, well worth the incredible expenses.”
That quote might sound like it came from a PokerStars spin doctor, but it’s the truth.
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