The World Series of Poker has finally unveiled the full schedule for the 2026 summer series on Monday – and it's a monster.
All 100 bracelet events kick off on May 26, led by the $550 Mini Mystery Millions, which comes armed with a guaranteed $1 million top bounty.
There's plenty else that's new too: a $10K GGMillion$ High Roller, the $1,700 US Circuit Championship, a $1,500 5-card PLO and a $1,500 Pick Your PLO all join the lineup. And free daily streams up to (but not yet including) the Main Event.
But the real bombshell? The 2026 Main Event final table will be delayed and broadcast at a later date still to be announced.
We asked some of poker’s biggest names, inclduing three Main Event champions, what they make of the changes – and their reactions might surprise you.
Chris Moneymaker - 2003 Main Event Champion
"The structure of many of the events gives something for everyone but reentries make it tough for newer players. Obviously if the Main Event can get out from behind a paywall, that would be monstrous. Speaking of the Main Event, if it had been behind a paywall when I won, we would still all be playing stud poker."
David Baker - 4x WSOP Bracelet Winner
"Overall, the schedule is strong, like always. I loved the $3K limit hold’em 6-max event – I’ll miss that. I also think it’s time for a $5K Women’s event and a $5K badugi. I’m fine with delaying the Main Event [final table]. I think anything good for the promotion of the game is beneficial."
Barny Boatman - 2024 EPT Paris Champion
"I’m always suspicious of changes we are asked to make to suit TV. But, if they get the likes of Nick Schulman, Jamie Kerstetter and Maria Ho doing analysis and focus on what is truly interesting and entertaining, rather than the shallow, clichéd and loud, and if the production team understands and respects the game, then bringing the greatest poker show on earth to the biggest possible audience will be well worth the extra I’m going to have to pay for a week or two hanging about in the US before I play the final table."
Terrance 'TJ' Reid
"There are a lot of wins in the schedule this year. PLO is showcased like never before, which is representative of the game's growth.
"Free streams have been demanded by the people for years, and they get them this year. The plans for the layout with Paris housing a massive stage with more streaming capability will only add to the viewing experience as new hire Jeff Platt leads the way there.
"Finally, the Main Event is untouched except for a planned break after making the final table, which will allow for player rest, better rails, the ability to fly in family and friends, and plenty of time to hype and showcase the most prestigious event in our game. I can't wait to play this summer and bring back my daily vlogs on YouTube."
Dylan Weisman - 2x WSOP Bracelets
"The big thing that sticks out to me is that they are doing multiple flights for the majority of the PLO events. This is a big ‘W’ for the PLO community, as we only get a few large field MTTs a year. The WSOP continuing to show its investment into the great game of PLO is a big win."
Jamie Gold - 2006 WSOP Main Event Champion
"It was really exciting to see the schedule after the announcement of the announcement of the announcement! This year feels particularly special as there are 100 events now, and the entire series will have a YouTube livestream and more support from GGPoker and an expanded executive team.
"I am always most excited about the Main Event, and I’m eager to hear what the big change is. My guess would be one more day off added before the final table.
"There seems to be more opportunities for casual players to enter at a lower buy in level, which is great. There are almost too many events I would like to play on this schedule."
Christina Gollins - Circuit ring winner
"I think it was genius to add a mini version of the mystery bounty event, since the $1K always blows the guarantee out of the water and causes a lot of buzz and hype.
"The delay of the Main Event final table is such good news for the poker world. Hopefully its broadcast on a global network and poker can be watched on local television again.
"I still didn't get a pineapple event, but I digress."
Victoria Livschitz - CEO, Octopi Poker
"The schedule looks great. I love an extra GGMillions $10K at the start. As a pure no-limit player, I love all the $2K-$10K NL events, and of course the $5K Seniors.
"A delayed Main Event final table seems like a good idea to me. In the past, seeing how exhausted the players are by the time it gets to the final table, it felt unnecessarily rushed. Making it a longer celebration should be good for the players, and the community."
Eugene Katchalov - WSOP Bracelet Winner
"The thing I was most interested in was to see what, if any, new player-friendly features would hit the WSOP+ app. I was impressed with it last year and how easy it made the whole process. I assumed that a year later we may see even more new features that would continue to enhance the whole experience.
"The structure itself seems to be quite similar to other years in most ways. The delay to the Main Event final table seems reasonable to me and gives the WSOP time to market the event properly. I always thought November was way too long to wait, but if it’s a matter of just a few weeks or something along those lines, I think it’s a good thing."
Patrick Leonard - WSOP Bracelet Winner
Joey Ingram - GTO Wizard pro
"I would say that after having a meeting at WSOP HQ a couple weeks ago I am very excited to see what they have in store for the final table streams, the new daily show and what the Main Event final table might end up looking like.
"It looks like they are lining up a partnership to bring the Main Event to a bigger audience and showcase the final table with an added delay similar to November 9 where they can have the game in a primetime spot on a big platform.
"I think the new owners have more control over the final product this year so it could look very different. I'm always excited to see the schedule and the $25K Heads-Up is the event I'd be most excited to play."
Jonathan Tamayo - 2024 WSOP Main Event Winner
"It looks like they stuck with the 10am starts on the non-afternoon tournaments with the same late reg times as last year or similar which I know will annoy some people (not me).
"I've always been a big-field NLHE guy so a lot of the high rollers won't be for me. Priorities for me will be the usual suspects – the Milly Maker, the Monster Stack, the Main, both versions of the Mystery Millions, and the new Circuit Championship.
"My guess for the Main Event final table is that they are going to do something like the November Nine. It could go all the way to December as a prologue to WSOP Paradise. It would give them a natural flow which I think they are striving for."
Justin Saliba - 2x WSOP Bracelet Winner
"I love this schedule – I think that there are several awesome changes. The thing I'm most excited about is the daily live stream — what an awesome investment to continue building the WSOP series and following the storylines that emerge each summer.
"Moving the $25K Heads-Up event to a multi-flight format is awesome. This will be the first year I play that event. I love the changes for the large-field $1,500s and the addition of another marquee $10K event. The multi-flight $10K GGMillion$ is great as well.
"I have no idea what's happening with the Main Event final table, but I'm pretty optimistic. Hopefully, it will help push the best final table of the year to more viewers. From my point of view, nothing is missing from the schedule, and I can't wait to chase bracelets all summer."
Chris Moorman – 2x WSOP Bracelet Winner
"Overall, I feel like the WSOP schedule is pretty similar to the last few years. This isn’t a bad thing though as I’ve felt like it has had a good balance to it for a while now.
"I’m most excited for the 6-max no-limit hold’em events because I’ve always had a lot of success in them and feel like they really suit my playing style.
"Also, I’m excited about the new TV tables and daily free broadcasts because this is an area which has had a large room for improvement for a long time. Watching final tables in recent years has been quite a painful experience because it is so hard to see what is going on. I’m hoping they make great strides to fix that this year.
"One thing I wish they would change is to go back to the longer 60-minute levels on day 2 of the $3K 6-Max as I felt like it was quite crapshooty last year when I went semi-deep.
"As for the Main Event it appears that they are bringing back some version of the November 9. I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand I think it is good because it has the potential to increase the exposure of the event and also allows the players to play closer to their A-game by being fully rested.
"However, I don’t like the fact that players can do a lot of studying and get intense coaching before the final table because I feel like it destroys the purity of the game."
Jeremy Ausmus - 6x WSOP Bracelet Winner
"I saw they took out a couple of 6-max tournaments and the shootout – those are some of the most fun events in my opinion so I don't like to see those go.
"It's a little bittersweet for me reading through the schedule because the classic big buy-in events are there but with the tax law change, I’m on the fence about most of them. I've debated just playing lower stakes.
"I guess they are delaying the Main again to build up some hype which seems like a good idea. Maybe they'll do a shorter delay than they used to. I thought it was too long years before and it allowed the final nine to become different players through intense coaching."
Matt Salsberg
"I like the Monster Stack being at the beginning because it's a deeper event and you're fresher, so grinding it then beats mid-summer when you're fried.
"My only gripe is that a lot of these tourneys need renaming to reflect a more accurate version of them. The opening event should be 'The Summer Saver', the Mystery Millions should be renamed the 'Which Already Rich Prick Is Pulling Another Milly This Year', The Colossus should just go away entirely, and the Seniors should be 'The Colitis'."
Allen Kessler
"Actually, the schedule is nearly identical to last year. I’m excited about two starting day big O event with both flights combining on day 2.
"There's also a better spread of mixed events with more mixed events this year after the Main Event. With the huge success of the TORSE event last year, I was disappointed that there wasn't a $1,500 and $10K version added to supplement the already scheduled $3K version. But the structures for mixed events are better this year, and I can literally play a mixed variant every day.
"Overall, a great job by Jack Effel and his team!"
Dara O’Kearney
"I think the most exciting aspect is the free daily stream – I think poker has really suffered from moving that stuff behind a paywall.
"Back when I final-tabled my first event in 2015 the fact the final table stream was free meant it was watched in clubs all over Ireland and really was a communal experience.
"I also like the idea of delaying the Main Event final table: I think it’ll make for a better spectacle. Since November 9 was shelved, the excitement kind of peters out as people leave town, and you end up with some very tired players, which adds an additional obstacle for older players, and non-pros.
"I’m not certain I will even be attending this year: I’ve heard that changes to ESTA have made it more onerous, so it’ll depend somewhat on that."
Brian Hastings - 6x WSOP Bracelet Winner
“I think a potential network deal for the final table is a very exciting thing. It hasn't had the same buzz or reach post-ESPN.
"I'm intrigued by the new Paris stage and daily streams as well. As far as events, it seems overall pretty similar. The new $10,000 GGMillion$ has the potential to be huge. Pick your PLO is a fun concept as well.”
The 2026 WSOP plays out May 26 to July 15 – check out our complete player's guide.
