Phil Ivey Headlines World Series Of Poker $50k Poker Players Championship Final Table Poker News
The powers that be behind the WSOP brought some heavy hitters on board to round out the broadcast team, including long-time PokerStars and European Poker Tour broadcaster Joe Stapleton. Beginning today, May 26, the action carries on every day through July 15. Tuesday afternoon marks the beginning of the 2026 World Series of Poker.
Prior to the introduction of gold bracelets, WSOP event winners received grey trophies for their accomplishment. In 1972, the WSOP established the $10,000 buy-in for the Main Event and made it a freezeout tournament, two stipulations that stand to this day. While Binion’s prediction would prove accurate, the casino titan likely had no idea just how large the event would eventually grow. During the early days of the WSOP, Benny Binion famously told Doyle Brunson “You know, Doyle, someday we may have a hundred people in this tournament”. Jarod Minghini (Lake Tahoe, Nevada, United States) – 23,600,000 ChipsJarod Minghini, 37, is a poker tournament grinder based out of Lake Tahoe, Nevada. A member of the Pokercode collective, Bojovic’s largest career score of $134,617 came from his eighth place finish in the 2024 WSOP Europe Main Event, contributing to his live tournament career winnings total of over $700 thousand.
The prize money for the top two places was frozen, and after an internal investigation, Carroll and Yaginuma received even prizes, but the bracelet itself was withheld. He’s tied with Glaser, who tacked on three wins to get to eight in 2025, and Mizrachi, who was also a multi-time 2025 WSOP champion. Deeb, who won his eighth bracelet at WSOP Europe in 2025, added two to his total last year. His sixth, seventh, and eighth career WSOP wins, all in different mixed game formats, seemingly gave Glaser the inside track to becoming WSOP Player of the Year and the star of the festival. Starting flight offers a final opportunity to bag chips and chase big bounties.
The second woman of the series to nab a World Series of Poker bracelet, Michelle Chin, defeats Daniel Strelitz heads-up to claim victory in the $1,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw for his maiden bracelet. Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for all the latest news on the final nine before they battle for poker’s most prestigious title! After hanging on for quite some time, Cynthia Vencebi eventually bowed out in fifth place.
ESPN coverage of the 2026 WSOP main event is set to start with day 1a of the tournament, on Thursday, July 2, and run through the entirety of the tournament. The first official day of WSOP tournament action also includes a $5,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em event, which kicks off at 2 p.m. Until ESPN enters the picture later in the summer, final tables and live streams will air in-house on WSOP’s digital platforms, primarily on YouTube, starting on May 29. Once the final nine players are set, chip bags come out, and players are sent on their way for an extended break. While most WSOP events last three days and several take a full week to complete, this turbo tournament was finished in a single session. He is just the ninth player to ever surpass the $60-million mark, and is now ranked ninth on poker’s all-time money list.
The very first WSOP online bracelet tournament was in 2015, with the $1,000 WSOP.com Online No-Limit Hold ‘Em won by Anthony Spinella over a field of 905 for $197,743. In 2024, the WSOP Main Event saw a record 10,112 players. However, from 2017 entries in the Main Event increased year-on-year, with the 8,569 players in the 2019 WSOP Main Event the second-highest ever, just short of the record of 8,773 set in 2006. In 2008, the WSOP introduced the November Nine where the Main Event plays down to a final table of nine in July, before resuming in November. Barbara Enright became the only woman to make the Main Event final table with her fifth-place finish in 1995, until Leo Margets achieved the same feat in 2025 where she finished seventh.
Canadian Rami Hammoud sits in fourth place overnight with 45,500,000, followed closely by four-time WSOP bracelet winner Michael Gagliano. Feng had the poker day of his life in a costume straight out of manga. pokernewsdaily.com Lucas Jumalon started day 9 of this tournament with a significant chip lead, and ultimately grew his stack by the end of the night on Monday.
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.
If you miss out on a WSOP bracelet, you could return home with a WSOPC ring. One would imagine those numbers will be much larger this summer. A WSOP Circuit runs during the 2026 WSOP for the first time in the festival’s history. As mentioned, the $550 Mini Mystery Millions opens the series on May 26 and it could be one of the best curtain raisers for the series.
The richest, most prestigious and longest-running poker series returns to the Las Vegas Strip in 2025. After just over eight hours of play, with the field three eliminations away from the money, it was time for what would be a lengthy two-and-a-half-hour session of hand-for-hand play to burst the bubble. The 2026 APT Incheon Main Event has become the largest international poker tournament ever held in the city, and the second-largest APT Main Event ever held in South Korea. Regardless of the WPT’s game plan, Las Vegas will be here, and we will be playing poker either way. Three different $26,000 NLH events will scatter themselves in between to make up a complete Super High Roller Series.
For this last event of the summer, a total of 1,699 entries were recorded by the time late registration closed at the end of Level 10. After a day filled with “ups and downs, ups and downs,” Wong finally got his hands on the bracelet he had been chasing. The Hong Kong-based player already had several strong results to his name, including a 13th-place finish in the Monster Stack earlier this summer. Wong explained that he began playing poker in 2013 by “learning and learning more,” but has been taking tournaments much more seriously over the last two years. After navigating a slow-paced final table where the average stack never climbed much above ten big blinds, Wong defeated Ryuta Nakai heads-up to capture his first WSOP bracelet and the top prize of $216,286.
The 2026 World Series of Poker Main Event will crown its newest world champion Wednesday night in Las Vegas. Catch all the action LIVE now on the APT livestream with Punnat Punsri at the feature table. $374K+ goes to the winner and they’ll be a day away from it in just hours. All operators listed by PokerListings are licensed and safe to play at. If you play for real money, make sure that you do not play for more than you can afford losing, and that you only play at safe and regulated operators.
Thus, it’s unlikely Las Vegas casinos will relax this type of scrutiny any time soon. In 2018, Dennis Blieden won the World Poker Tour Los Angeles Poker Classic main event for $1 million. 2024 WSOP main event champion Jonathan Tamayo told Card Player he needed to show a copy of his tax returns when he deposited cash. Sadly, was locked out of playing yesterday because of it.
\”I caught some cards and I won some big pots. It seemed every time the pot got really big, especially three-handed, I had the best hand. That was helpful.” “It feels like every time I get into the situation, I just can’t. “Down here in Florida, I don’t feel like I’ve ever done as well as I should have,” McKeehen told SHRPO live reporter BJ Nemeth.
When the Final Table resumes on August 3, play is scheduled over three days until an outright champion is crowned. To get to this moment, these nine individuals had to battle through marathon sessions, overcoming the mental and physical fatigue of elite tournament poker to outlast thousands of the world’s best professionals and passionate amateurs alike. Alex Foxen did almost as well, totalling 839,000 by the close of play, with Chino Rheem (588,000) also looking strong as he bids to end his long wait for a WSOP bracelet by winning the biggest one of all. Only 1,388 to go for Grinder, who climbed to 1.2 million chips but eventually ended the day on a still above-average 615,000. It was quite the opposite case for Michael Mizrachi as the reigning world champion once again made a strong argument for becoming the only player to retain the title of Main Event champion in the post-Moneymaker era.
Shawn Buchanan (73rd), Dominick Sarle (70th), Samuel Ju (41st), and 2013 WSOP Main Event champion Ryan Riess (29th) also bowed out after the dinner break as the field shrank to the final three tables. That’s why I played this one feeling better,” he said. “Oh my God, oh my God,” Wong kept repeating in disbelief after winning his bracelet. Nakai earned $144,101 for his runner-up finish, while Dzmitry Urbanovich, winner of the $10,000 8-Game Mixed Championship earlier this summer, rounded out the podium with a third-place finish worth $104,032. A total of 1,699 entries were recorded in this tournament, creating a $1,495,120 prize pool. Is there a better way to end the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) than by winning a bracelet?
For the second time in his career, Mizrachi made the final table of the WSOP main event. In addition to all of the live events on offer, 30 WSOP online bracelet events are set to take place in parallel to the Las Vegas live action. The 57th annual edition of the most famous poker festival in the world once again features 100 live gold bracelet events inside the Horseshoe Las Vegas and Paris Las Vegas. Two-time bracelet winner Martin Zamani, who had finished fourth in the $10,000 pot-limit Omaha eight-or-better event just a couple of days earlier, scored Castro’s bounty. Leo Margets finished seventh in 2025 for $1.5 million, following in the footsteps of Barbara Enright to record just the second final-table showing ever by a female player in this tournament.
Visit the Card Player 2026 World Series of Poker landing page for schedules, news, interviews, and the latest event results. Stapleton, who signed on with WSOP after 15 years with PokerStars, will play a large role in the broadcasts as well, as will Jeff Platt, another recent WSOP signing. The broadcast is set to feature Ali Nejad, David Williams, Lon MacEachern, and Norman Chad in commentary roles throughout the summer. According to the WSOP’s website viewers can, “Watch every 2026 WSOP event for free on the official WSOP YouTube channel.”
He exited the main stage with a couple of hands remaining in the day, and WSOP’s Jeff Platt followed Givens out of the room to try to glean some insight about Givens’ process. He took down the 2024 WSOP Millionaire Maker for seven figures and his first bracelet. I think that’s really important for me to play my best game.”
Shaun Deeb is the reigning WSOP Player of the Year, having cashed in 18 live events, six online bracelet events, and reached five final tables in 2025. From the smallest fields to the largest, the $1,500 Monster Stack and $500 Colossus, will once again draw enormous crowds, as players of all levels embark on their annual poker pilgrimage to play two of the summer’s most popular events. With a $5,000 pricetag, the event is sure to draw some of poker’s best full-time professional players who look to secure a big score and add a shiny, new WSOP gold bracelet to their wrist. Elsewhere at the SHRPO series, statistical anomalies were on tap as three different players won four events in the series. The most prestigious mixed-game poker tournament of the year is down to its final six contenders, and the remaining half dozen players include some of the most decorated names in the game.
For players in Nevada, New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, WSOP Online has become something worth paying attention to. This app is the essential tool for player wanting to take advantage of the full event experience Playing online poker should always be fun. If “poker winnings” isn’t enough to satisfy Nevada operators, the Las Vegas poker landscape could face hard times in the future. On the other hand, it could create huge hurdles for people to play high-stakes poker in Sin City.
Irish player Andrew King started his rise towards the Top 10 for this flight in the last level after he scored a large double to bag up 303,000, closely followed by Nan Li (299,500) and Vytautas Semaska (290,600). Online and in-person registration for all World Series events will open in the weeks prior to the first event. We’re busy on improvements to make sure 2024 is both the biggest and best event in poker history. Visit to sign up for your free account, personalize your poker experience with MyPlayers, and get ready for the most exciting summer in poker. From the Main Event to the Deepstacks to your favorite poker pros, PokerNews is your home for official live updates from the 2025 WSOP and beyond.
Selinger had €13,300 in live cashes before this impressive victory. Players should follow @WSOP on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram or check WSOP.com for event news and updates. Players can visit /promotions for full details on ways to qualify for the 2025 WSOP. Reduced room rates will be available across Caesars Entertainment’s Las Vegas resorts for the series by visiting caesars.com and using promo code WSOP25.
The brand-new poker series was highlighted by a $5,000 Main Event that offered a $15 million guarantee, as well as the introduction of GGPoker’s innovative OnLive concept. As always, PokerNews will be on the floor from first shuffle to last bag as the final table of the 2026 WSOP Main Event is set. Local time on Monday, July 13, with blinds of 300,000/600,000 and a 600,000 big blind ante.
Similarly, fans got to read profiles, interviews, debate likely winners, and enjoy some mainstream coverage of poker’s greatest spectacle. Poker’s greatest tournament, the $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em World Championship — better known as the Main Event — is back, and this year comes with a distinct hint of déjà vu. As ever, the schedule covers the full poker spectrum with buy-ins to suit every bankroll. We’ll break down that event and other new additions later in this guide.
Just 1,389 players remained at the close of Day 3, meaning that the biggest poker tournament of the year sits seven places from the money as everyone left bids to make profit and then push on towards the $10,000,000 top prize. Five bracelet events come in under $1,000, while 54 tournaments fall between $1,000 and $5,000, forming the core of the summer grind. On behalf of the entire WSOP staff, best of luck to every poker player competing throughout the series, whether you fire one bullet in the $300 No-Limit Hold’em Gladiators of Poker, the $100,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller, or every event in between. Check out our Poker Player of the Year race, as well as years of data of poker player results and casino poker tournament pay-outs.
Most people know the summer series in Las Vegas, where the $10,000 Main Event turns ordinary players into legends. It’s a new development for poker players to deal with this. Everyone remaining has already secured a payout of at least $36,395 from the $1,441,500 prize pool, but players are sure to be gunning for the $357,026 and coveted gold bracelet awaiting the champion.
In July 2025, GGPoker launched the WSOP Express, allowing its players to win their way to the 2026 WSOP Main Event for as little as $0.50. Deeb won the coveted award in 2018, so the 2025 victory saw him become only the second player in history to become a two-time WSOP Player of the Year after Daniel Negreanu (2004 and 2013). The three-day event features two starting flights and brings GG’s flagship brand to the live stage. And finally, there’s the five-day, $50,000 buy-in Poker Player’s Championship, always one of the summer’s showpiece occasions. The summer then moves into the million-dollar-inspired events as the $1,500 Millionaire Maker and $1,000 Mystery Millions, get underway on June 17 and June 23.
Here’s a look at the qualified players and their chip counts entering the WSOP Main Event Final Table. Only nine elite players remain in contention for a title, and each are already guaranteed a prize of at least $1 million. It’s been a summer of poker in Las Vegas, but now it’s time to crown a champion.
