EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsYou are forgiven if it feels like you haven't watched the World Series of Poker in, say, five years.The WSOP main event -- the $10,000 buy-in tournament that crowns poker's world champion and made superstars out of Phil Hellmuth, Johnny Chan, Doyle Brunson and Chris Moneymaker -- is back on ESPN after a five-year hiatus from the network.Don't worry, it's still the same event that you watched on ESPN for 19 years, with all the bells and whistles and hype and energy that you remember. The good news is that the WSOP main event is kind of like "The White Lotus." The cast of characters has some fresh faces to add more flavor, but it also includes the heroes and villains you fell in love with in the first place.Even Chris Moneymaker?Yes, even Chris Moneymaker. The accountant from Tennessee, credited with igniting the poker boom by winning the $2.5 million first-place prize at 2003 WSOP main event, still plays the WSOP every year, including the main event. Like a lot of Americans this year, Moneymaker has been following the FIFA World Cup closely and traveled to a few games with his family, but rest assured he will be in Las Vegas when the cards are dealt.What about 'Poker Brat' Phil Hellmuth? Didn't he retire from the main event?Well, yes ... but no, because of course he didn't/couldn't. In February 2025, Hellmuth took to social media to announce he would not play the WSOP main event ever again. The 17-time WSOP bracelet winner and 1989 WSOP champ complained that the sessions were too long and, because there were no days off, the event had become more of an endurance test and less a test of skill."I love the World Series of Poker. It's very important to me. But I just can't play the Main Event anymore," Hellmuth said at the time.Anyway, 135 days later, the 60-year-old Hellmuth made his grand entrance to the main event dressed up as an '80s rock star. For the uninitiated, Hellmuth has made a spectacle of his arrival at the WSOP main event. He has shown up as a NASCAR driver, an Army general, a Roman emperor, Gandalf the White, Darth Vader (do NOT look this one up), and even as a SportsCenter anchor.It's worth noting that Hellmuth's most recent finish in the money was 2015, when he came in 417th for $21,786. Before that, it was 2009, when he finished 436th to cash $25,027. The days weren't that long after all.Hellmuth has already announced that he's coming dressed as Superman this year.What about the other big names?Many of the players who rose to stardom during the poker boom and were the ones you cheered for -- or against -- are still relevant today, including arguably the two most famous living superstars: Daniel Negreanu and Phil Ivey.Negreanu has won seven WSOP bracelets, his most recent coming in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship in 2024. He plays a full WSOP schedule every year and takes fans -- and haters -- along for the ride on his daily vlog on his YouTube channel. His online poker sponsor, GGPoker, paid $500 million to buy the WSOP in 2024, and he features heavily in their promotion and coverage. You'll see lots of Kid Poker.While Negreanu is very public and open with his day-to-day life, Ivey is the polar opposite. The 11-time WSOP bracelet winner prefers to stay out of the spotlight, if possible. He became the second player to surpass 10 career bracelets won when he claimed the $10,000 Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw Championship in 2024. He came close to winning No. 12 in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship last week but finished in third.Also back is reigning main event champion Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi, who is coming off a history-making 2025 WSOP. He won the $50,000 Poker Players Championship, then two weeks later won the main event and was fast-passed into the Poker Hall of Fame on the spot. He promised four bracelets this year -- nobody has ever won four in a single year -- and won his first earlier this week in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship.Sadly, one familiar face that you won't see is 10-time WSOP bracelet winner Doyle Brunson. Texas Dolly, who won the main event twice (1976 and 1977) and was lovingly referred to as the "Godfather of Poker" throughout his career, died in 2023 at the age of 89.Are there any heels in the field?The 2016 WSOP main event broadcast on ESPN might be remembered for one particular confrontation between Canadian pro Griffin Benger and unknown English amateur William Kassouf. The verbal spat came after Kassouf had spent days using "speech play" to get under his opponents' skin and convince them to make bad decisions. Kassouf eventually busted in 17th place and had seemingly had his moment in the sun.Well, last summer Kassouf ran deep in the main again and brought the speech play, the trash talk, the insults and added threats to his repertoire. He was penalized multiple times during play by WSOP officials, and when he was eliminated in 33rd place, he was informed he was banned from the host venue and was escorted out of the building by security. Despite this, Kassouf has been told he can return to the WSOP for 2026 and will be playing the main event.Prior to Kassouf's outbursts, another player had seemingly grabbed the crown as one of poker's most unlikable players. Martin Kabrhel, a five-time WSOP bracelet winner, had been getting on everybody's nerves all summer long with stalling tactics, loud outbursts and a seemingly endless need for attention from his fellow players, fans watching, or sometimes the floor staff. He's firmly entrenched as a heel, but, in wrestling terms, he's less of a Bron Breakker and more like The Miz.Which women could make history this year?Last year, Leo Margets became just the second woman to make the main event final table, joining Poker Hall of Famer Barbara Enright, who did it in 1995. Margets finished seventh, but her strong performance gave poker fans and industry insiders hope that we were on the verge of having the first woman WSOP main event champion. Women typically make up 4-5 percent of the field every year, but there are hundreds of talented and accomplished women ready to grab the crown.So keep an eye on:Cherish Andrews: The 2022 GPI Female Player of the Year, Andrews has $4.7 million in lifetime earnings and a pair of main event cashes (521st in 2011 and 990th in 2017). She has had success in tournaments of all buy-in ranges over the past five years and is a regular in the high-roller events in the PokerGO studio.Kristen Foxen: A six-time WSOP bracelet winner, Foxen is widely considered one of the best no-limit hold 'em players in the world, regardless of gender. Her sixth bracelet win -- the most by any woman -- came three weeks ago in a $25,000 no-limit hold 'em event. She has $19 million in earnings and finished 13th in the 2024 WSOP main event.Rania Nasreddine: In a four-month span in 2024, Nasreddine made two European Poker Tour final tables, finishing third in Monte Carlo and fourth in Barcelona to push her into the poker spotlight. She has four cashes already this WSOP, narrowly missing out on a final table. She has $2.3 million in earnings and has cashed the main event once (2019).Shiina Okamoto: Okamoto is a Japanese prodigy who has done the unthinkable. In 2023, she finished runner-up in the WSOP Ladies Championship. She came back in 2004 to finish the job and win her first bracelet. To top that off, she successfully defended the title in 2005 to go second, first, first in what were three of the four biggest Ladies Championship fields ever.Who are some of the young stars who could put on a show?Since the WSOP last aired on ESPN, more than a few have made a name for themselves. History has shown that players who enjoy one deep run in the modern era of the main event often find their way through the first three or four days within the next two or three years, so this list mostly highlights players who fit that bill and have some other major results over the past five years.Jesse Lonis: Runner-up for the GPI Player of the Year award in 2024 and 2025, Lonis is representative of the generation that grew up watching poker on ESPN. His first live cash of any substance came in 2021 when he finished fifth in a World Poker Tour event at Seminole Hard Rock in Ft. Lauderdale for $223,895. Since then, he has earned more than $30 million and posted a 25th-place finish in the 2021 WSOP main event. He has two bracelets, the first coming in 2022 in a WSOP Online event and the second in 2023 in a $50,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event.Michael Moncek: Fans of livestreamed cash games know Moncek well and he's approached 2026 with a focus on winning WSOP Player of the Year. He sits in the top 50 in the race thus far and has had some previous WSOP success. He won a bracelet in 2022 in a $1,500 limit hold 'em event and then added another in 2023 in a $5,000 no-limit hold 'em/pot-limit Omaha event. Moncek has had a taste of main event success, finishing 228th in 2022 for $46,800.Brock Wilson: A regular in the high roller events in Las Vegas and around the world, Wilson has more than $13 million in earnings with $11 million of that coming since 2021. Wilson came into the 2026 WSOP with some decent momentum, having earned the title of U.S. Poker Open champion after winning two USPO events and cashing in four events total. In 2021, he finished 701st in the main event for $17,500.Ethan Yau: Originally known as a content creator, Yau won a WSOP Online bracelet during the COVID lockdown in 2020. The man known as "Rampage" added a second one Monday night in a hybrid event that started online and played the final table live. To win that one, he topped a final table that included Nick Schulman, Adrian Mateos and Shannon Shorr. Yau cashed in the main event in 2024, finishing 942nd to take in $22,500Masato Yokosawa: Japanese players have taken the WSOP by storm the last two years and that could be due in part, to Masato and his incredibly popular poker YouTube channel. The Japanese pro has $4.2 million in earnings, including a World Poker Tour title. In 2023, he finished 45th in the main event for $188,400 and then followed that up with a 883rd place finish last summer for $20,000.OK, those are the big names, but how much are they actually playing for this year?It all depends on how many people show up in Las Vegas and put down $10,000 for their shot at poker immortality. The 2025 main event had a prize pool of $90,535,500 and Mizrachi banked $10 million. The top 15% of finishers all end up in the money with the lowest payout being $15,000.For comparison's sake, the 2026 Masters golf tournament paid out a total of $22.5 million with Rory McIlroy winning the green jacket and $4.5 million, and the 2025 US Open men's tennis prize pool was $90 million. Carlos Alcaraz earned $5 million of that.What has changed since 2020?Well, for starters, the event moved from the Rio All Suite & Hotel to the Las Vegas Strip in 2022 and is now spread across the Horseshoe and Paris casinos. This has allowed WSOP organizers to take over nearly 300,000 square feet of ballroom space to accommodate bigger fields in bracelet events, more satellites, cash games and daily tournaments. It also means there is an In-N-Out Burger within walking distance.Since moving to the Strip, the main event has had four of the five largest field events in its 56-year history. In 2022, 8,663 entries made for the fifth-largest field of all time, falling just 110 players short of passing what was then the largest event of all time, the 2006 WSOP main event won by Jamie Gold. History was made in 2023 when there were more than 10,000 entries in the main event for the first time ever with 10,043 players. The next year, 10,112 players created what is still the largest main event field of all time.Last year, the 9,735 entries fell just short of another 10,000-player field but still made for the third-largest main event ever.So do they get back over 10,000 entrants this year? It's not out of the question, but the 2026 WSOP has seen a small downturn in attendance compared to 2025. Of the first 47 events on this year's schedule, 26 had a smaller field compared to last year. Given that the 2025 main event didn't hit 10,000, it would be a surprise to see it happen this summer.Now, if you want to do your part in making that happen, you can book a last-minute flight or make the drive from wherever you are now and can get to Las Vegas and try to win your way in via satellite. There are main event satellites running daily from July 1-7 with buy-ins ranging from $585 up to $2,200. Or you can pony up the $10,000.What does the schedule look like this year?As has been necessary and customary for the better part of two decades, there are multiple starting days to accommodate the large field size. Players can also skip Day 1 entirely and register right up until two levels into either of the two Day 2 flights. Players play five two-hour levels each day with some flexibility required on Days 6-8 to accommodate the pace of the tournament and the number of players remaining.Any player who plays from Level 1 of any Day 1 and wins the event will have played upwards of 90 hours of poker and be approximately $10 million richer.Here's how it breaks down:Oh, so there's a break again?Well, there's no "November Nine" anymore, but yes, the players get a bit of a break before the final table plays out.How can I watch? Who's on the call?If you want to talk about WSOP mainstays, you have to talk about commentators Lon McEachern and Norman Chad. Poker's version of Statler and Waldorf, these two have been calling the action since 2003. They're back this year and will be featured heavily in the fully produced one-hour episodes on ESPN. As for the livestream on ESPN+, fans will get a mixture of long-time commenters Ali Nejad and Joe Stapleton, along with insight from pros such as Nick Schulman, David Williams and Maria Ho and other guests, depending on how each of them does in their own main event journey.The WSOP hired Jeff Platt earlier this year to be their "Global Broadcast Talent" to host a College GameDay-like pregame show called WSOP Countdown and also have a hand in producing coverage during the summer. He'll be interviewing players and helping create segments throughout the main event.Rounding out the reporting and commentary team is Natalie Bode. The reigning Miss Nevada USA has done sideline reporting at the WSOP since 2023 and also covered NCAA sports for ESPN+.There you have it. You're now ready to hunker down and watch poker's biggest event on ESPN.Snacks? Chips. Poker is all about the chips.
