The final numbers are in for the 2026 WSOP Main Event after late registration closed on Day 2D.
9,208 players paid $10,000 to enter the Main Event for a shot at what is likely to be a $10 million first prize. That's well short of the record field set in 2024, but it still ranks as the fourth-biggest of all time.
Breaking the 10,000-player barrier has become the benchmark for the WSOP, but only two Main Events have ever reached it.
- 2024 – 10,112
- 2023 – 10,043
- 2025 – 9,735
- 2026 – 9,208
- 2006 – 8,773
- 2022 – 8,663
819 players waited until Day 2D to enter, including Liv Boeree, Patrick Leonard, Nick Schulman and Gus Hansen. Both Leonard and Boeree have chipped up to above six figures. Schulman and Hansen have been eliminated.
Phil Ivey one of the last to enter
Players who entered at the start of Day 2 began with 75 big blinds — enough for Sasha Liu to run up the overall chip lead in just two levels of Day 2ABC.
Players who max late-regged still started with 50 big blinds. 47 players chose that route this year, including Phil Ivey.
Ivey final tabled the Main Event in 2009, finishing seventh as Joe Cada went on to win the bracelet. Can he spin up his 50 big blinds and make a run this year?
UK pro Dara O'Kearney, Bryn Kenney, Eric Wasserson, Wolfgang Poker, and Dzmitry Urbanovich have also taken their seats.
This is where players chose to enter in 2026:
- Day 1A: 771
- Day 1B: 1,038
- Day 1C: 1,573
- Day 2ABC: 312
- Day 2D: 819
The field will combine on Wednesday for the first time on Day 3. The money bubble is expected to burst early on Day 4 (Thursday), and the final nine will be set on Day 8 next Monday.
The final table will play out August 3-5, with a livestream on ESPN2 (first two days) and ESPN for the finale on August 5.
We'll bring you Main Event payouts as soon as they're confirmed by the WSOP.
