How to get an unknown word before a known one with Regex in PHP

Question

I have this text:

andres wins Pot (9.50) with a Full House

and i want to get the word "andres". This is a player name (variable), that is always shown before the word "wins".

I need to use preg_match_all function, and i am trying with:

%(?:\S+\s)?\S*wins%

But it returns me:

andres wins

I need only, andres.

Thank you !

Answer 1

Use a capturing group instead of a non-capturing group. This should be enough to match the preceding word.

(\w+)\s*wins

You need to reference $matches[1] to return your match result.

Answer 2

(\w+)(?=\s*wins)

You can also use this.Grab the match[1].This will not capture anything else.See demo.