All other WSOP bracelet events will be live-streamed for free on the official WSOP YouTube channel. Thousands of poker players from all over the world have already made the trip to Las Vegas, helping kick off what is set to be one of the most pivotal WSOPs in recent years. During the 20-day hiatus, ESPN will air specially curated prime-time episodes to build momentum and introduce the final table competitors to a global audience. In a strategic return to a “cliffhanger” television format, once the tournament reaches the final table on July 13, play will be paused. There are 100 live bracelet events scheduled for the 2025 WSOP. Today, CardPlayer.com is the best poker and gambling information portal for free poker and casino content, offering online poker site and casino reviews and exclusive online gambling bonus deals.
Starting on May 29, live streams will emanate from a brand new streaming stage in the Paris ballroom, after years of content being streamed from the Horseshoe side of the convention space. After airing content on PokerGO in recent years, everything beyond the scope of ESPN later in the summer is set to air on WSOP-branded platforms throughout the summer. The WSOP has also cracked down on patches and logos that will be allowed during WSOP play.
With over $2 million in live tournament winnings, Margets looks to not only add $10 million to her career total but also become the first woman to ever win the WSOP Main Event. Leonore Margets (Barcelona, Spain) – 53,400,000 ChipsLeonore “Leo” Margets, 41, is not only the last woman standing in the 2025 WSOP Main Event but is also the first woman to reach the WSOP Main Event final table since 1995. Dunaway’s $1.5 million in live tournament earnings could increase tenfold by winning the $10 million top prize in the 2025 WSOP Main Event.
Its storied poker room and upgraded amenities make it the perfect setting for this year’s poker spectacle. A true landmark in Las Vegas poker history, Horseshoe Las Vegas combines decades of tradition with modern flair. Whether you’re aiming to play or follow the action, PokerNews is your ultimate hub for all things WSOP.
The third and final day began with five players remaining and Frank in the lead. Earlier this series, he became the first player to surpass $25 million in bracelet-event cashes. It has been a truly incredible week at the 2026 World Series of Poker, with four players near the very top of the all-time bracelet leaderboard adding to their legacies with massive wins in Sin City.
The overall chip leader heading into day 8 is Australia’s Malcolm Trayner, with 63,200,000 (105 big blinds). The average stack of 3,176,206 represents 39 big blinds when play resumes. @TheGrinder44 puts his Main Event life on the line as he looks to keep his title defense alive on Day 5 of the 2026 WSOP Main Event. I had my A-game on day 5, I controlled a lot of pots, and I’m still in.”
A Revitalized Tournament Format & Live Finale
Today, we continue that tradition with fresh daily updates, breaking news, tournament coverage, player stories, and expert insights that keep you connected to the fast-moving poker world. But high-stakes poker players typically have large amounts of cash and casino chips. Just eight players remain, with bracelet winner Eric Rodawig and former German Soccer pro and poker enthusiast Max Kruse rounding out the top three. A few days later, Super High Roller Bowl XI rolls out on Oct. 8 with a $103,000 buy-in for no-limit hold’em players. Have you talked to American players about coming to play APT events? While the other students in her graduate program spent the summer teaching or taking classes, Welman headed to Las Vegas under the extremely convenient premise that the trip would further her research into poker players.
- Defending champion Junjie He won’t be defending his crown after starting the day with 88,500 and hitting the rail before night’s end.
- Liu called to the 6♠ turn, which both players checked.
- Outside of the Main Event, the WSOP schedule would also continue to grow, with 15 events scheduled in 1990.
- Las Vegas, Nevada (May 26, 2026) – After a festive Memorial Day weekend here in Sin City, the biggest poker series of the year is ready to get underway!
- “The success of the spring championship reaffirmed what makes The Venetian Resort a premier destination for tournament poker,” said Tommy LaRosa, director of poker operations at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas.
The WSOP portfolio of events includes approximately 50 WSOP Circuit Events annually across five continents, WSOP Europe (since 2007), WSOP Paradise (since 2023) and the record-breaking WSOP Online festival. Featuring a comprehensive slate of tournaments in every major poker variation, the WSOP is poker’s longest-running tournament dating back to 1970. The World Series of Poker® is the largest, richest and most prestigious gaming event and poker brand in the world, having awarded more than $4 billion in prize money over the past six decades. Lucas Jumalon of Spokane, Wash., holds a commanding chip lead entering the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event. Lucas Jumalon will battle Lauri Saaskilahti in heads-up play when the World Series of Poker Main Event continues Wednesday at Horseshoe Events Center. Lucas Jumalon defeated Lauri Saaskilahti during heads-up play and outlasted a field of 9,208 entrants to win the World Series of Poker Main Event on Wednesday.
Registration for all summer events will open soon, streamlining the path to the podium. Play will proceed until the final table is reached on July 13, with specifics on the Main Event final table play dates and broadcast coverage to be announced at a later date. In 2024, the flagship event in Las Vegas attracted 229,553 entrants and awarded more than $438 million in prize money – both all-time records for the series. For the historic achievement of winning his fourth Poker Players Championship as well as the Main Event in the same summer, the now nine-time WSOP bracelet winner was informed by his peers that, via a unanimous vote, he would become the 65th member of the Poker Hall of Fame. Cate Schiller is a Global Content Coordinator for The Sporting News affiliate and commercial content team, focused on partnerships supporting live events, entertainment and travel.
Most other poker rooms around town will have a regular offering of daily tournaments, and they can be convenient if you are staying nearby. But it’s Las Vegas, and we don’t stop playing poker just because the WSOP left town. I’ve won every tournament I’ve ever played heads-up in PLO. You don’t get punished for that as you would in no-limit, because the crux of the game is played post-flop. The way I would describe it is that preflop, when you’re playing no-limit hold’em, you can make some really big mistakes.
Stay connected with PokerNews for the latest updates and event information as it becomes available. You’ll also be able to track daily results and navigate the series with ease, with access to structure sheets, schedules, chip counts, payouts, and more. With nearly 100,000 square feet of gaming space, over 2,900 rooms, and iconic replicas of the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe, Paris Las Vegas delivers both grandeur and excitement. Also operated by Caesars Entertainment, this French-themed casino has been a standout venue since it opened in 1999.
David Yedvobnick was the first final table casualty, finishing in 10th after falling to Nakai’s runner-runner straight. With the average stack around ten big blinds, every player was just one hand away from either building a stack or heading to the payout desk. I’ll go back to Hong Kong, maybe play tournaments in Asia, and come back here in December.” “I’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” he eventually said. But Negreanu has fared worse in some of the higher buy-in events. The 2025 WSOP Paradise schedule once again leaned into scale, with every event on the slate awarding a coveted gold bracelet and a mix of massive fields and ultra-high-stakes showpieces.
In December 2023, the Bahamas hosted a WSOP bracelet series for the first time. With essentially every poker game and format to choose from, and buy-ins from $300 up to $250,000, this year’s schedule has something for every player and fan. Those survivors will lock up at least $1 million before returning to Las Vegas on August 3 to play for poker’s most coveted title, the gold bracelet and the $10 million first-place prize. Zhao Liu, who started third in chips, was the final player to fall. Gaston was the only player to finish Saturday with more than 20 million chips, yet his big stack translated into a 36th-place finish. Deeb, meanwhile, continues to treat poker’s biggest tournament like it’s just another day at the office.
His team is currently leading the 25K Fantasy with 871 points, largely thanks to Josh Arieh’s stellar summer and recent runner-up finish in the PPC. That happened in 2024, when he won the most prestigious title of his lengthy career in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship for $1.1 million, but still finished the summer in the red. And he can have a good summer even if he loses. “In my mind state, the idea of playing until 1 or 2 in the morning, its five o clock right now, the chances that I’m going to put in a good effort are very low,” he explained from his car. And while he is constantly firing and looking to “optimize” $25k Fantasy points, Negreanu isn’t afraid to take an evening off to rest or spend time at home. He failed to cash the biggest buy-in of the summer, the $250,000 Super High Roller, and it was the same story in the $100,000 High Roller.
Beginning in 2026, ESPN will provide comprehensive coverage of the $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em World Championship, better known as the WSOP ‘Main Event’, culminating in a highly anticipated three-night live finale in prime time on linear television. Nevada (March 26, 2026) – The World Series of Poker (WSOP®) today announced a historic multi-year agreement to return poker’s most prestigious event to ESPN. Online events begin on May 31 and run through July 15, with events held every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. You can also click the event itself to see live chip counts and reporting coverage to keep up to date as the tournaments are happening!
When we got down to heads-up, he had become handcuffed and in really bad shape because he had completely run out of time banks. Sure, there are times when you get coolered, and you’ve got to put it in. I never really worked on preflop in no-limit hold’em. I’ve always felt that in no-limit hold’em post-flop, my hand reading skills are much better than preflop. My types of mistakes in PLO are not reraising, four-betting, and all that stuff – it’s just playing too many hands, which is fine.
Ever wonder who is the best poker player in the world? The Japanese player earned $516,160 for his fifth-place showing, the second-largest score of his tournament career. This was his fourth final-table finish of the series, having placed third in both the $25,000 six-max no-limit hold’em pokernewsdaily.com and $25,000 PLO/NLH mix, as well as fourth in the $250,000 super high roller. The six-figure bubble burst on day 2, with three-time bracelet winner Naoya Kihara being the last to be sent to the rail empty-handed. The 100 bracelet events that make up the World Series of Poker 2026 will shape the race for the revamped WSOP Player of the Year (POY) competition.
Take, for example, the discussion around the WSOP streams this summer. There were some reporters who refused to do chip counts because they thought it beneath them even though tournament coverage without chip counts is like a baseball game without a scoreboard. As your own questions to me attest, being a tournament reporter was always considered this horrible grunt work. The fact these episodes are lost to time guts me, as I would give a lot to be able to go back and listen.
Team DNegs Crushes 25K Fantasy League on WSOP 2026
There’s 2019 champion Hossein Ensan (29,700,000), who is just one day away from another Main Event final table as he chases history. It’s starting to feel real for the players still standing in the 2026 World Series of Poker Main Event. Liu called to the 6♠ turn, which both players checked. Similar to the previous three flights, there were several casualties in the first level, and the unfortunate honor of the first player being eliminated belonged to Kacper Pyzara this time. More than $83.5 million in prize money has already been generated for the world’s largest live poker tournament of the year in Sin City.
The series spanned everything from the $2,500 Circuit Championship Mystery Bounty and the Super Colossus to a run of Triton-branded high rollers Other winners during the series included Alex Foxen, Nick Schulman, Stephen Chidwick and PokerStars ambassador Alejandro Lococo. WSOP Paradise returned bigger than before in 2024 with a $500,000 buy-in event in partnership with Triton and a $50 million guaranteed Super Main Event. “It’s going to be an absolutely amazing experience, the best of poker at one of the world’s most luxurious resorts.”
The Main Event is the most prestigious tournament in the entire World Series of Poker schedule. “The 2026 World Series of Poker Main Event will go down as one of the most memorable of all time,” said Ty Stewart, Chief Executive Officer of WSOP. The road to the 2026 Final Table was one of the most grueling tests of endurance in poker history. Watch daily poker clips on the PokerGO YouTube channel. The 2019 world champion Hossein Ensan ended the day 16th in chips on 1,280,000 after a bullish day at the felt, while other former winners in John Cynn (927,000), Joe Hachem (353,000), Chris Moneymaker (221,000) and Greg Raymer (205,000) performed brilliantly too. Liu came into play on a big stack but really stepped on the gas, and powered to her lead in impressive fashion.
The $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em Online WSOP Bracelet event broke new ground for the WSOP, allowing poker players across the state of Nevada to compete for WSOP glory from the comfort of their laptops and computers. Acknowledging the prominence and impact online poker had on the industry, in 2015 the WSOP offered its first online WSOP bracelet events. One of the greatest poker players of all time, Chan’s success on the felt transcended poker, as he famously made a cameo in the 1998 poker film Rounders, starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton.
Just over half an hour was played when he turned kings full only to run into the flopped quads queens of Hisashi Yamanouchi. Gold was one of the most notable casualties today, along with Phil Ivey. Once the chips were bagged up, the tournament info screens showed a total of 4,997 entries for Day 1d of the 2025 WSOP Main Event to bring the overall tally to 8,694. All tournament areas at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas were filled to the brim. The largest first-place prize was $12,100,000, won by Daniel Weinman for winning the 2024 WSOP Main event.
The three-night live Final Table will be broadcast from Aug. 3-5 on ESPN and ESPN2. There’s now just one battle left, and it will continue until an outright champion is crowned, which could take days. The $10,000 Main Event is the most prestigious, but there are other tournaments with buy-ins ranging from $300 to $250,000
APT tournaments generally start and end earlier, and the buy-ins are lower and more affordable. He loves his ‘Lady Gagas’ and when he wins a big pot, it’s still “Touchdown Tom Brady” time. Tony ‘Ren’ Lin has expanded his high stakes prowess to his home continent of Asia as he looks to add APT accolades to his esteemed poker resume. But some people don’t have time for the stream.
The last poker player to pull off back-to-back victories in the WSOP Main Event, Chan achieved poker immortality by continuing to build on his historic WSOP success, becoming the first player to win 10 WSOP bracelets in 2005. While all-time poker great Johnny Chan won his first WSOP bracelet in a Limit Hold’em event during the 1985 WSOP, his greatest poker accomplishment would begin two years later. A member of the PokerCoaching.com pro team, much of Hendrix’s over $8 million in live tournament winnings come from wins in tournaments on the PokerGO Tour as well as plenty of deep runs in WSOP events. No stranger to success on the felt, Hallaert has racked up a number of poker tournament titles across poker tournament series around Europe, contributing to $5.9 million in live tournament winnings across his career. A historic WSOP Main Event final table that includes not only a four-time Poker Players Championship winner but also the first woman since 1995, poker fans around the world look forward to a highly anticipated conclusion to the 2025 WSOP Main Event.
