Joe Cada

Michigan’s own Joe Cada wasted no time in making a name for himself in the poker world. Known as “The Kid,” Joe Cada turned the poker world on its edge with his exciting play, which he honed online growing up in Michigan.

Cada hails from a family of card players, including his mother who is a blackjack dealer at a Michigan casino, and who took time off to watch her son become the youngest WSOP champion ever. Cada got his start in poker playing online with his brother as a teenager and quickly fell in love with the game.

Shortly after his 21st birthday, he registered for the 2009 WSOP Main Event, hoping for a good run. It turned out to be an unbelievable run, being the youngest player to reach a final table. He entered the final table in the middle of the pack and ended up chip leader, facing off against Darvin Moon. Moon thought the two would play a few hands and then go home, instead the two traded leads and played 88 hands of heads-up poker before Cada won the final hand.

Cada didn’t stop there, since the win he has won another WSOP bracelet in the 2014 WSOP No Limit Texas Hold’em six handed. He has 12 total money finishes at the WSOP, making it to five final tables. With all his wins he has accumulated over $10 million in winnings, and is known as one of the best players of his generation.