The 2026 WSOP schedule is out, and news that the Main Event final table will be delayed has understandably grabbed the headlines.
After all, it’s been a decade since the era of the ‘November Nine’ came to an end. Younger players may not remember the days of waiting three months to see the conclusion of the biggest poker story of the year.
But while the decision to push back the final table — by less than three months, it must be hoped — is a major change, it’s not one that’s going to affect the majority of players at this summer’s WSOP. Let’s face it, only nine people are going to have to rearrange their travel plans, and sympathy for those who make the final table — and millions of dollars — is generally in short supply.
But what about the changes to the WSOP schedule that will affect many more players?
Here are some of the quieter alterations taking place, and the impact they could have.
Mini Mystery Millions could go BIG
The early Mini Mystery Millions event has had a price cut, from $1,000 to $550, while keeping its enormous $1M top bounty prize.
In addition to the huge bounties to be won, the regular prize money isn’t half bad, either; last year’s winner Michael Wilklow picked up a cool million dollars as the last man standing. Here's his succinct (and NSFW) take.
The 2025 tournament had another big number to boast about, too, which was the turnout. Close to 20,000 players took a shot, amateurs and pros alike drawn by the prospect of turning $1K into $1M in double-quick time (a $1M bounty was drawn on Day 2).
Now that that cost of entry has almost halved, expect the field to be even larger. It’s also the first event on the schedule, so as well as people, the room will be filled with the type of enthusiasm you find in a tournament series where literally no one has yet tasted defeat.
With the huge crowds expected so early on in the series, let’s hope the new dealers are up to what will be something of a trial by fire.
Creating a Monster
Like the Mini Mystery Millions, the Monster Stack is a grandstand event that attracts a lot of more casual players. The $1,500 buy-in, coupled with the enormous field, means there’s a great return on investment if you run deep.
And thanks to tweaks to the re-entry rules, running deep has arguably become easier — but not necessarily for everyone.
The Monster Stack now allows for a single re-entry for each of its four starting flights, some of which take place after a Day 2. Late reg is also open on Day 2s. It’s possible to make a Day 2, earn a min-cash before busting, then re-enter another Day 1.
This allows for twice the entries, as last year players could not re-enter the same flight but had to wait for the next one.
All of which could lead to a tourney with an even bigger prizepool, but one that caters much better to those with deeper pockets who can afford to fire multiple bullets in the hopes of building an early stack. Expect to see more pros taking bigger risks early on, as well as more of them running deep.
Greg Himmelbrand summed up the thoughts of many with his opinion that the changes are “REALLY unappealing to recs”.
Other events which will also feature more opportunities to play include the $1K Mystery Millions, which has added a new starting flight and more chances for re-entry, the $1,500 Big O which has two re-entries per flight, and the $25K NLH high roller which now has two Day 1s.
The $1K Mini Main Event has three starting flights - bust either of the first two and play another - as does the $3K Mid-Stakes Championship.
The high stakes hold’em desert
From the recs to the regs, then, and an observation that a two-week period in June will feature zero no-limit hold’em (NLH) events at the $10K buy-in level or above.
It’s a point highlighted by Adrian Mateos, whose five WSOP bracelets to date have all come in NLH events.
If re-entry changes to the likes of the Monster Stack appear to be favoring the pros, a lack of big buy-in NLH events for several weeks is less attractive for hold’em’s high rollers.
The WSOP’s new spokesman Jeff Platt responded to Mateos’ post by saying it ‘feels like that section of [the schedule] turns into a more-PLO-based one’, and pot-limit Omaha (PLO) does feel better served this year.
There’s a new 5-card PLO event, as well as a new ‘Pick Your Own PLO’ dealers choice game taking place, where players can choose from PLO, PLO8, Big O or 5-card PLO (single or double-board).
But with fewer NLH high rollers taking place in late June, you might expect to see a few more crushers such as Mateos taking to the PLO streets.
More tweaks, removals and additions
Another notable change is happening in the Heads-Up Championship.Taking place early on in the series, when energy levels are still high, the capped field will this year be split across two starting flights. This allows for the possibility to re-enter on the second if the first doesn’t go your way.
Patrick Leonard points out that allowing re-entries works against recreational players and is against the ‘knockout’ spirit of a heads-up championship. He also made the point that those playing the second Day 1 will already know who is through from the first, potentially impacting their decision on whether to play.
Among the events not returning, the biggest miss appears to be the $1,500 Shootout. The ‘win your table to advance’ structure of a shootout gave experienced sit & go players an edge, but the event has been left off the schedule. STT aficionados will need to look elsewhere.
Also consigned to the past, at least for now, are the $3K limit hold'em event, the $777 Lucky 7s tourney, the $1,979 Hall of Fame Bounty and the $1K Battle of the Ages, which divided the field by age in its starting flights.
But one group getting a little more time in the sun is the WSOP Circuit crew. Not only will the WSOP Las Vegas Circuit stop begin on July 14, extending the WSOP’s presence in town for longer than usual (and potentially building a bridge to the delayed Main Event finale), but the Circuit will also feature prominently in the schedule of the WSOP summer bracelet series.
That’s down to the addition of a new event, the US Circuit Championship. The three-day $1,700 tourney is open to all and scheduled for early June, when town is packed with players, so we expect it to be another big one.
If you’re not one of those in town to play, the new daily WSOP streams will do a great job of bringing you the action and keeping the fires of FOMO burning. Alongside the regular updates from PokerOrg, of course.
But what do you think of the changes to the 2026 WSOP schedule?
Are you looking forward to seeing the main stage in Paris rather than the Horseshoe? Is the delay to the final table a good thing, or bad? Is there anything in this year’s schedule that makes you more, or less, likely to play?
Let us know in the comments.
