9,200 Entries, $85.6M Prize Pool: 2026 WSOP ME, Fourth Largest Field in History
Summary:
- The 2026 WSOP Main Event has closed registration with 9,208 entrants.
- The prize pool reached $85.6 million, marked as the fourth largest in WSOP history.
- Defending champion Michael Mizrachi and poker legend Phil Ivey remain in contention.
The World Series of Poker Main Event has once again gathered one of the largest fields in poker history, with registration officially closing at 9,208 entries.
Prize Poll of Over $85 Million
The turnout generated a prize pool of $85,625,100, making this year’s championship the fourth largest Main Event in the tournament’s 57-year history.
While the field fell short of the all-time record of 10,112 entries set in 2024, it continued the recent trend of consistently drawing more than 9,000 players.
The record-breaking 2024 event was won by Jonathan Tamayo, while last year’s championship attracted 9,735 entrants, the third largest field ever.
Mizrachi, Ivey, Liebert, and Foxen, Still in the Race
Among the players advancing is defending champion Michael Mizrachi, who finished Day 2ABC with more than 200,000 chips, giving himself an above-average stack heading into Day 3.
One of the final players to enter before registration closed was Phil Ivey. The Poker Hall of Famer and 11-time WSOP bracelet winner took his seat at Paris Las Vegas immediately after the second break on Day 2d.
Several other well-known professionals also remained in contention, including Kathy Liebert, Alex Foxen and Liv Boeree, all of whom built sizable chip stacks. Meanwhile, Daniel Negreanu survived the day despite holding a shorter stack.
The tournament schedule now moves to Day 3, where all surviving players from the Day 2 sessions will combine into a single field as they continue their pursuit of poker’s most prestigious title.
Although attendance was down slightly from last year’s 9,735 entries, the 2026 Main Event reinforces the continued popularity of the World Series of Poker, which has now attracted more than 9,000 entrants in each of the past three editions.
