WSOP Main Event Underway With More Than 9,000 Entrants

LAS VEGAS, NV — The 2026 World Series of Poker Main Event is underway after registration closed with 9,208 entrants, making it the fourth-largest field in the tournament's history.

The $10,000 buy-in championship will award a $10 million first prize from a total prize pool of $85.6 million. A total of 1,382 players will earn payouts, with prize money reaching at least $1 million beginning with the ninth-place finisher.

Although the field fell short of last year's 9,735 entrants and the record 10,112-player field in 2024, it marks the fourth consecutive year the Main Event has attracted more than 9,000 players. Daniel Weinman won a record $12.1 million first prize in 2023 after the tournament first surpassed the 9,000-entry mark.

"We're proud of the staying power this strong entrant number represents," World Series of Poker CEO Ty Stewart said in a statement. "The WSOP continues to draw players from around the world for poker's most prestigious event. Now, the focus turns to watching a new legend unfold."

Defending champion Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi returned to defend his title after winning $10 million in last year's Main Event for his eighth World Series of Poker bracelet. Mizrachi captured his ninth bracelet earlier this summer by winning the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship.

Michael Rossitto entered Wednesday's action as the chip leader with 770,500. Jeff Fenster was second with 747,000, followed by Yannick Schumacher (738,000), Robert Gill (728,500) and Joseph Baghdadlian (705,000). Nine-time bracelet winners Benny Glaser and Shaun Deeb held 193,000 and 368,500 chips, respectively.

Before the tournament began, Jack Effel, senior vice president of poker operations for Caesars Entertainment, said the Main Event remains the premier tournament on the poker calendar.

"It's the one no-miss tournament of the year. If you're available and you have the 10K [buy-in], you're going to show up and play," Effel told ESPN before the start. "You could be a professional poker player, not play any tournaments of the year, you're not going to miss the main event most likely. So with that said, I think it's going to be a great turnout as it always is."

The 2026 Main Event also marks the tournament's return to ESPN platforms for the first time in more than a decade. Play resumes Wednesday at 1 p.m.

The WSOP Main Event will be broadcast on ESPN+ each day until July 13 with the three-night live Main Event Final Table airing Aug. 3-5 on ESPN and ESPN2.

In addition to the live broadcast, there will be edited episodes summarizing the Main Event that will air on July 21, July 28 and Aug. 10 on ESPN2, with a variety of taped times available.

San Angelo’s Brian “Sailor” Roberts won the $10,000 buy-in event in 1975 at Binion’s Horseshoe in Las Vegas.

It was a winner-take-all tournament at the time, and Roberts bested a field of 20 other competitors to win $210,000.

On the final hand, his pocket jacks held against a busted flush draw from Bob Hooks.

He was one of a handful of Texans who claimed WSOP titles in its early years, joining legends like Johnny Moss from Odessa, Doyle Brunson from Longworth (near Sweetwater) and Thomas Preston, better known as Amarillo Slim.

All of those players, including Roberts, are now in the Poker Hall of Fame.

Humble’s Jonathan Tamayo was the last Texas to win the WSOP Main Event in 2024.