The World Series of Poker (WSOP) announced today a historic shakeup to its competitive offerings.
For the first time in the tour's history, the WSOP Player of the Year (POTY) race will incorporate all three of the major live tournament festivals across the calendar year – combining WSOP Europe, WSOP Las Vegas, and next December's WSOP Paradise into a unified, global contest for one of poker's most prestigious awards.
In accordance with the revision to the award's structure, the WSOP also announced a $1,000,000 total prize pool for the 2026 POTY with a new scoring method designed to recognize consistency and skill across the entirety of the year's schedule. The eventual winner of the 2026 POTY race will earn themselves a $100,000 WSOP Paradise Package while the other Top 100 finishers will take home a variety of other packages/prizes.
Additionally, the WSOP released dates and details for the coming year's major festivals – including its revamped and relocated WSOP Europe series.
WSOP Europe pivots to Prague
The race to claim the title of 2026 WSOP POTY will kick off in Europe from March 31 to April 12.
After a long-standing residency in Rozvadov, Czech Republic, the WSOP Europe series will shift to the nation's capital. In 2026, Prague will play host to the 15 bracelet events on the schedule – headlined by the €5,300 Main Event with a €10,000,000 guaranteed prize pool that surpasses any guaranteed prize pool for a poker tournament in Europe in 2025.
The 2026 WSOP Europe festival will also see the debut of the European Circuit Championship – a €1,500 no-limit hold'em event with a €1,500,000 guaranteed prize pool.
The Czech Republic's own Martin Kabrhel has won four of his five WSOP bracelets at the European festival. 2026 WSOP Europe Schedule
| Event | Date | Buy-In |
|---|---|---|
| #1 The Opener - NLH Mystery Bounty | March 31 | €1,000 |
| #2 PLO Mixed (Big O, PLO 8, PLO) | March 31 | €3,000 |
| #3 COLOSSUS NLH | April 2 | €500 |
| #4 PLOSSUS Bounty PLO | April 3 | €500 |
| #5 Main Event NLH European Championship - €10M GTD | April 3 | €5,300 |
| #6 NLH Super Turbo Bounty | April 5 | €2,000 |
| #7 MONSTER STACK NLH | April 6 | €1,500 |
| #8 PLO European Championship | April 6 | €5,300 |
| #9 Rounder Cup NLH (EU vs Rest of World) | April 7 | €2,500 |
Save the dates: Las Vegas and Paradise
With the series in Prague completed, the tour will then move on to the summer series in Las Vegas. The 57th World Series of Poker will run from May 26 to July 15.
Next December, the WSOP Paradise will reconvene to run from December 1 to 18.
GGPoker and WSOP Online will offer the chance to qualify online for events at all three major festivals with satellite events held online throughout the year.
“We are thrilled to kick off 2026 with a bold new vision for the World Series of Poker,” said Ty Stewart, Chief Executive Officer of WSOP. “By uniting our three flagship live series under a unified, $1M Player of the Year competition, we’re giving players a true global season to chase history. Starting with a monster guarantee in Prague, continuing through our summer homecoming in Las Vegas, and culminating in Paradise, we are dedicated to offering the best value and the biggest stages in the world.”
