Justin Liberto

Justin Liberto was born and raised in Fallston, Maryland. He attended Virginia Tech, where he studied marketing and played sports before starting a career in sales. During the online poker boom, he began playing seriously, but his live career took off after a massive score in the 2013 WSOP Millionaire Maker. That result gave him the bankroll to leave his sales job and pursue poker full time. He currently lives in Baltimore with his family and remains a staple at major East Coast stops and in Las Vegas.

Liberto first put himself on the map at the 2013 World Series of Poker (WSOP), finishing fourth in Event #6: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Millionaire Maker out of a massive 6,343-entry field, earning $400,408. This deep run allowed him to bypass many steps that most players normally have to go through, as he later remarked. Two years later, at age 26, he won his first gold bracelet in WSOP Event #51: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed, topping a field of 1,043 entries for a career-high $640,711. He also made another deep run in the Millionaire Maker in 2018, finishing fifth for $303,294. In 2023, he placed fourth in the $10,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em Championship for $306,555. Other notable scores include a fourth-place finish in the 2022 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open $5,300 Championship for $305,955, and sixth in the 2015 WPT Borgata Winter Open for $140,878.

After an 11-year wait for a second WSOP bracelet, Liberto captured one in 2026, winning Event #14: $1,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo (PLO Hi-Lo 8, Omaha Hi-Lo 8, Big O) for $265,297. Reflecting on the win, he said, "Yeah, I've been itching to close one out. I've gotten every spot at the final table, except first, since I got (my first bracelet), so, I feel well overdue, and I'm really happy." Earlier in the same series, he finished second in Event #33: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship for $511,580. He also made final tables in multiple 2026 WSOP events, including a fifth-place in the $10,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em Championship ($215,270) and a fourth in the $1,500 Pick Your PLO ($64,007).

In February 2026, Liberto won his first PokerGO Tour (PGT) title at the PGT Mixed Games, taking down Event #2: $5,100 8-Game for $127,400 and 191 PGT points. He defeated a tough final table that included Calvin Anderson (runner-up), Johannes Becker, and Brian Rast. This victory was his sixth-largest career cash and moved him to second on the PGT Mixed Games leaderboard. He also won the 2019 WPTDeepStacks Maryland $1,500 Main Event for $116,363 and the 2019 Wynn Summer Classic $1,100 NLH for $94,659. Through early 2026, his total live tournament earnings exceed $8.3 million, according to The Hendon Mob.

Liberto is known for his extreme versatility, having transitioned from a No-Limit Hold'em specialist to an elite mixed-game player. His style is described as steady and methodical, avoiding major mistakes while navigating high-pressure final tables. He is particularly effective in deep-stacked situations and large-field tournaments, using his experience to outplay less seasoned opponents. Liberto has won four WSOP Circuit gold rings and was named "Best All-Around Player" at the WSOP Circuit stop in his hometown of Baltimore in 2015. He currently ranks 48th in the Global Poker Index and sits third on Maryland's all-time money list.

At the 2026 World Series of Poker, Liberto came close to a second bracelet earlier in the series, finishing runner-up in Event #33: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship for $511,580. He then captured his second bracelet in Event #14: $1,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo for $265,297. He also made two other final tables: fifth in the $10,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em Championship ($215,270) and fourth in the $1,500 Pick Your PLO ($64,007). These results pushed his lifetime earnings past $8.3 million.

In February 2026, Liberto won his first PokerGO Tour title at the PGT Mixed Games, taking down Event #2: $5,100 8-Game for $127,400 and 191 PGT points. He defeated a tough final table that included Calvin Anderson (runner-up), Johannes Becker, and Brian Rast. This victory was his sixth-largest career cash and moved him to second on the PGT Mixed Games leaderboard. The win was part of a strong 2026 season that also saw him finish fifth in the $25,000 10-Game Championship for $120,000.