World Series of Poker (WSOP)

World Series of Poker (WSOP): the biggest stage in poker

The World Series of Poker is the oldest and most prestigious poker festival on the planet. Every summer it takes over Las Vegas for about seven weeks, and the whole poker world shows up for it. Dozens of events run across loads of different formats, but the one everybody dreams about is the $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event. Win that and you are crowned the unofficial world champion of poker.

Anyone aged 21 and over can buy in and sit down next to the biggest names in the game. The WSOP first ran in 1970 at Binion’s Horseshoe in downtown Vegas, moved to the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in 2005, and since 2022 it has been played right on the Strip across the Horseshoe Las Vegas and Paris Las Vegas. The two venues sit side by side and are joined by an indoor walkway, so players move between the tournament floors without ever stepping out into the desert heat.

The brand travels, too. The World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) launched in 2007 and was the first time bracelets were handed out outside the United States, while the short-lived WSOP Asia Pacific (WSOP APAC) ran in 2013 and 2014 at Crown Melbourne.

WSOP 2026 at a glance

One fresh twist for 2026: the Main Event final table is being pushed back about three weeks under a new multi-year ESPN broadcast deal, so after play pauses in mid-July the last nine return in early August to crown the champion.

Win any WSOP event and you take home the prize money plus the famous gold bracelet. The early ones were fairly modest pieces of jewellery, but today they are custom designed, and the Main Event bracelet is a proper work of art studded with hundreds of grams of gold and thousands of gemstones.

Players do not chase them for the material value, though. A bracelet is hard proof that you beat a massive field in one of the toughest tournaments poker has to offer, and that is where the prestige comes from. Plenty of pros spend their whole careers hunting just one.

Hall of Fame member Phil Hellmuth sits alone at the top of the all-time list with 17 bracelets, a record that spans four decades from his 1989 Main Event win all the way to 2023. The gap to the rest is huge: Phil Ivey is next on 11, followed by Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan and Erik Seidel in the double-digit club.

For years the youngest-winner record sat with players barely past 21, since Nevada law sets the minimum gaming age there. Then Annette Obrestad blew it away at the 2007 WSOP Europe in London, taking the Main Event at just 18 because UK gaming law allows it. That mark simply cannot be beaten at the Las Vegas series under the current age rules.

The $10,000 Main Event is the beating heart of the whole series. The modern poker boom can be traced back to one single moment in 2003, when an amateur accountant called Chris Moneymaker turned a small online satellite of around $86 into a seat, then went on to beat the best players in the world for $2,500,000. His everyman story screamed “anyone can do this”, and entries plus online traffic exploded almost overnight.

The dream is still very much alive. At the 2025 WSOP, Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi took down the Main Event and a staggering $10,000,000 top prize. Every summer thousands of players from every corner of the globe come chasing that exact seat, and a big chunk of them get there for just a few dollars through satellites.

You really do not need ten grand sitting in your account to play the Main Event. Every year there is a flood of satellites where a small buy-in can turn into a full WSOP travel package. For international players the main route runs through GGPoker, the official online partner of the WSOP, whose WSOP Express satellites put Main Event seats and trips within reach for a fraction of the buy-in. Players inside the regulated US states can qualify through WSOP Online instead, which also runs its own batch of online bracelet events through the summer and fall.

If you are working out where to spin up your seat, it pays to start from a strong base. Grabbing the best GGPoker rakeback deal means you claw back extra value from every satellite and side game you play on the way to Vegas.

The WSOP is far more than just Hold’em. Across the summer you will find No-Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha, Seven Card Stud, Razz, the mixed-game H.O.R.S.E. format and even Short Deck Hold’em. There really is something for every type of player.

Most bracelet events sit somewhere between $1,000 and $5,000 to enter. On top of that there is a healthy run of high-roller events from $10,000 up to $50,000, plus the occasional monster like the $250,000 Super High Roller. And since 2019 the schedule has carried a steady stream of low buy-in events under $1,000, such as the $300 Gladiators of Poker, so smaller bankrolls get a real shot at gold too. Brand new to all this? Our Texas Hold’em rules guide is the perfect place to start.

If you catch the live bug after the WSOP, the World Poker Tour and the high-stakes Triton Series are the other two stops worth circling on your calendar.

When and where is the WSOP 2026?

The 2026 World Series of Poker runs from May 26 to July 15 at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas on the Strip. The $10,000 Main Event starts on July 2, with the final table playing out in early August.

How can I qualify for the WSOP online?

International players can win Main Event seats and packages through GGPoker’s WSOP Express satellites, while players in the regulated US states qualify via WSOP Online. Buy-ins for these satellites can start at just a few dollars.

Who has won the most WSOP bracelets?

Phil Hellmuth is the all-time leader with 17 gold bracelets, well clear of Phil Ivey on 11.

How much does the WSOP Main Event cost?

The Main Event has a $10,000 buy-in, but most players get in far cheaper through online and live satellites.

Who won the 2025 WSOP Main Event?

Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi won the 2025 Main Event and the $10,000,000 first prize.