THE WORLD SERIES OF POKER® ANNOUNCES GLOBAL $1M PLAYER OF THE YEAR RACE FOR 2026, UNITING PRAGUE, LAS VEGAS, AND PARADISE STOPS
WSOP Europe Sets Stage for Record-Breaking Year with $10M GTD Main Event in Prague; Dates for Las Vegas and Paradise Confirmed
The World Series of Poker (WSOP®) today unveiled a historic expansion of its competitive landscape for the 2026 season. For the first time, the WSOP Player of the Year (POTY) competition will encompass all three major WSOP live tournament events in the calendar year, connecting WSOP Europe, the traditional summer WSOP in Las Vegas, and next December’s WSOP Paradise into a singular global chase for poker’s most prestigious consistency award.
To mark this evolution, the WSOP has announced a $1,000,000 total prize pool for the 2026 Player of the Year, which will utilize a new, enhanced methodology designed to reward excellence across the brand’s premier international stops. The eventual POTY winner will claim an enhanced $100K WSOP Paradise Package, with a variety of other WSOP packages and/or tickets awarded to the top 100 players on the leaderboard at the conclusion of the season.
“We are thrilled to kick off 2026 with a bold new vision for the World Series of Poker,” said Ty Stewart, Chief Executive Officer of WSOP. “By uniting our three flagship live series under a unified, $1M Player of the Year competition, we’re giving players a true global season to chase history. Starting with a monster guarantee in Prague, continuing through our summer homecoming in Las Vegas, and culminating in Paradise, we are dedicated to offering the best value and the biggest stages in the world.”
WSOP Europe Moves to Prague: A Historic Guarantee
The 2026 POTY season will begin with a blockbuster debut in the heart of Europe. WSOP Europe will take place in Prague from March 31 to April 12, 2026, with 15 WSOP bracelets up for grabs.
Headlining the festival is a €5,300 Main Event with a staggering $10,000,000 guaranteed prize pool. This figure surpasses any guarantee for a poker tournament held in Europe in 2025, signaling the WSOP’s commitment to reestablishing the continent as a premier destination for high-stakes action.
A further highlight of WSOP Europe will be the newly introduced European Circuit Championship, a €1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event boasting a €1,500,000 guaranteed prize pool.
The full event schedule for WSOP Europe:
|
Event |
Date |
Buy-In |
|
#1 The Opener – NLH Mystery Bounty |
March 31 |
€1,000 |
|
#2 PLO Mixed (Big O, PLO 8, PLO) |
March 31 |
€3,000 |
|
#3 COLOSSUS NLH |
April 2 |
€500 |
|
#4 PLOSSUS Bounty PLO |
April 3 |
€500 |
|
#5 Main Event NLH European Championship – €10M GTD |
April 3 |
€5,300 |
|
#6 NLH Super Turbo Bounty |
April 5 |
€2,000 |
|
#7 MONSTER STACK NLH |
April 6 |
€1,500 |
|
#8 PLO European Championship |
April 6 |
€5,300 |
|
#9 Rounder Cup NLH (EU vs Rest of World) |
April 7 |
€2,500 |
|
#10 NLH Freezeout |
April 8 |
€800 |
|
#11 High Roller 8-Max NLH |
April 8 |
€10,400 |
|
#12 European Circuit Championship NLH – €1.5M GTD |
April 9 |
€1,500 |
|
#13 GGMillion$ High Roller NLH |
April 10 |
€25,000 |
|
#14 PLO Double Board Bomb Pot |
April 11 |
€1,000 |
|
#15 The Closer – NLH Turbo Bounty |
April 12 |
€2,000 |
Save the Dates: WSOP Las Vegas and WSOP Paradise
Following the European leg, the poker world will descend upon the Las Vegas Strip for the 57th annual World Series of Poker. The WSOP confirms the series will run from May 26 to July 15, 2026.
Players are encouraged to book early to secure the best rates at the two host venues, Horseshoe Las Vegas and Paris Las Vegas; please visit caesars.com and use code WSOP26.
The dates for WSOP Paradise 2026 have also been announced; the premier live tournament series of the winter will take place from December 1 through December 18, 2026.
Qualify Online
Players will be able to qualify online for all three ranking WSOP events, with GGPoker hosting satellite tournaments for international players and WSOP Online hosting those for domestic U.S. players.
Please follow @WSOP on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram or check WSOP.com for more event news and updates.
