We’ve been shouting about it for a while now, but if you haven't been listening, the 2026 WSOP starts on May 26. That’s coming fast.
There are 100 bracelet events in total, and you can look forward to free daily livestreams on YouTube, with a stream for every final table. That’s a big leap up from last year.
It means that in less than two weeks you can forget about the rest of your life and immerse yourself in wall-to-wall poker.
If that’s not possible, here are five essential dates to keep in your diary.
Monday, May 25 – $25K Fantasy livestream
Daniel Negreanu’s $25K Fantasy livestream is the best way to get yourself in the mood for the WSOP itself the next day.
Negreanu and friends will be drafting the players they want on their $25K Fantasy teams this summer – each player is auctioned, and team owners have to fill eight slots while staying within a $200 budget.
Jeremy Ausmus was drafted for $141 last year. This year, we think Shaun Deeb could top the board.
If you’ve got a spare $25K, there’s still time to join them. If not, we’ve got a way you can play for free – the PokerOrg WSOP Fantasy Freeroll is back.
You get the same $200 budget, and you have to pick an eight-player team from the drafted players to play for you in Vegas this summer. You score points whenever they cash.
The PokerOrg WSOP Fantasy Freeroll will open after the $25K Fantasy livestream finishes, with the same players and prices. The deadline to submit your team will be 1pm PT on May 27. Watch out for more details over the coming week.
It’s the perfect way to have a sweat right through the summer without spending a cent.
Saturday, June 13 – $250,000 Super High Roller
The biggest buy-in event of the summer will guarantee the biggest names in the game battling it out for one of the biggest first prizes and one of the most prestigious bracelets of the summer.
Last year, Seth Davies waited to win his first bracelet in the right event, taking home an incredible $4,752,551 after beating Alex Foxen into second place.
It boasted 63 entries last year. We think 2026 might top that.
Sunday, June 21 – $50,000 Poker Players Championship
It might only be the second-most prestigious bracelet on offer this summer, but it’s the one that means the most to some of the very best players in the world. Negreanu shed a tear or two when he won it in 2024 for his seventh career bracelet.
The winner is arguably the best poker player in the world – playing through nine different formats, including no-limit hold’em, seven card stud, PLO, razz, limit hold'em, and no-limit 2-7 lowball draw.
The most prestigious bracelet? That’ll be the Main Event. Michael Mizrachi decided to win both of them last year in a feat that is likely to remain unprecedented. He said he was ready to do it again in 2026.
Thursday, July 2 – $10,000 Main Event
There’s one poker prediction market running on Kalshi at the moment, and it’s on the size of the field for the 2026 Main Event. It’s currently 34% to record over 10,000 runners. We quite like those odds.
Yes, it only had 9,735 players last year, but Mizrachi winning gave it another level of kudos, and ESPN is back this year to drive it back into the mainstream.
Either way, it will be close to a field of 10,000. You can watch daily livestreams on ESPN as one player will survive the largest field of their life to win the most coveted prize in poker and a place in the history books.
The final nine will be decided on Monday, July 13 – and that final table bubble is one not to be missed. Will we get another big name on the final table?
Monday, August 3 – Main Event final table LIVE
Later than usual and on ESPN, where it belongs, this year’s Main Event final table is going to be a spectacle.
The WSOP has spent money this year to ensure that the poker looks as good as it possibly can. And it’s not going to hold back on its first Main Event final table back on ESPN. Expect to be impressed.
Action will play out over three days, August 3-5, starting at 9pm ET each day.
It’s set to be a suitably spectacular end to what we hope will be an incredible summer of poker.
