WCOOP

Last Updated on September 26, 2026 by Bala Kumar

What Is WCOOP?

WCOOP stands for the World Championship of Online Poker. It’s PokerStars’ flagship online tournament series, held every September, and 2026 is its 25th edition.

The series runs hundreds of online tournaments across almost every poker variant, and every event winner earns a WCOOP title. Players can compete for WCOOP titles online, with buy-ins starting at $5.50.

The 2026 series runs September 6–30. It includes:

• 121 numbered events, split into 350 individual tournaments across Low, Medium and High buy-in tiers
• Around $40 million in total guarantees
• Six Main Events with $6.5 million+ guaranteed

WCOOP 2026 at a Glance

How the WCOOP Tier System Works

Most WCOOP events run in three versions at the same time, one for each budget. Each version is a separate tournament with its own champion. That’s how 121 numbered events become 350 tournaments.

Practical tip: choose the tier that fits your bankroll. A Low-tier title is still a full WCOOP title, and Low-tier fields are often very large. Use our bankroll calculator to plan how many buy-ins you can afford.

WCOOP 2026 Main Events

All six Main Events take place on the final weekend.

Start times:

• NLHE Main Events: 12:30 ET (16:30 UTC)
• PLO Main Events: 13:05 ET (17:05 UTC)

2026 vs 2025 guarantees: in 2025, the NLHE Main Events were guaranteed at $2 million (Low), $3 million (Medium) and $4 million (High). The 2026 guarantees are lower in all three tiers.

WCOOP 2026 Main Event Results

Add the results as each event finishes.

Other Big Final-Week Events

• Sep 28: $25,000 NLHE Super High Roller (Event 114-H).
• Sep 28: Main Event 2nd Chance tournaments in all three tiers.
• Sep 28: $1,050 Progressive KO “Series Saver” with a $500K guarantee.
• Sep 30: the Final Mystery and Series Wrap-Up events close the festival.

WCOOP 2026 World Championship Events

WCOOP 2026 Results & News

Latest WCOOP 2026 Winners

Replace each “Reported by” entry with the exact event date once you confirm it from the official results. Add new winners at the top.

Daily News Log

Newest first. Update daily until September 30.

• September 25, 2026: Team PokerStars Pro Sebastian Huber became a three-time WCOOP champion.
• September 24, 2026: Renan “Internett93o” Bruschi won his fourth title of the 2026 series, his 13th career WCOOP title. He moved to 6th on the all-time list.
• September 23, 2026: Country leaderboard update: Brazil leads with 58 titles, the UK has 32 and Austria has 16.
• September 22, 2026: Patrick “pads1161” Leonard won his 15th career WCOOP title, one behind the all-time record.
• September 20, 2026: Vanessa “Niffller” Kade won the $215 Women’s World Championship. PokerStars Ambassador Marle “MarlzTV” Spragg finished third for $2,269.
• September 18, 2026: Johannes “Jepser8” Straver completed back-to-back Super Tuesday titles.
• September 17, 2026: Joao “Naza114” Vieira won the $1,050 PLO8 World Championship. It was his 14th career title.
• September 13, 2026: Ole “wizowizo” Schemion won the $10,300 NLHE Progressive KO High Roller for $139,969.
• September 6–7, 2026: Espen Jorstad won his third career WCOOP title in the opening days of the series.

Dates show when each result was reported, unless an event date is confirmed by the official schedule.

Game Variety at WCOOP

The 2026 schedule includes at least 18 poker variants:

• Hold’em: No-Limit Hold’em, including 6-Max, 7-Max, Deep Stack, Turbo, Hyper-Turbo and Heads-Up formats.
• Omaha: Pot-Limit Omaha, 5-Card PLO, PLO8, 5-Card PLO8, NLO8 and FLO8.
• Stud: Seven Card Stud, Stud Hi-Lo and Razz.
• Draw games: 2-7 Triple Draw, 2-7 Single Draw, Badugi and 5-Card Draw.
• Mixed games: HORSE and 8-Game. See our Mixed Games guide.
• Other: Courchevel Hi/Lo.
• Bounty formats: Progressive Knockout, Mystery Bounty and Bounty events.

How to Qualify for WCOOP

Leaderboards: there’s an extra $100,000 in leaderboard prizes, with races for the Low, Medium and High tiers plus an overall Player of the Series.

WCOOP Main Event History ($10,300 NLHE)

Entries in the $10,300 Main Event have fallen every year since 2022, and so has the prize pool.

2025 highlights:

• Main Event winner: Gilles Simon, who had already won the 2023 European Poker Tour Cyprus Main Event for $1,042,000.
• Main Event final table: Renan Bruschi finished third and 2023 champion Ivan Stokes finished sixth.
• $109 Main Event: Rayan “Beriuzy” Chamas of Canada won from 20,587 entries for $212,826. On the same day he also won the $1,050 PLO event.

All-Time WCOOP Title Leaders

Update these totals after the series ends.

WCOOP vs SCOOP

PokerStars runs two major championship series each year:

For more big tournaments, see our Multi Table Tournament Poker guide and our PokerStars Open page.

Tips for Playing WCOOP

• Convert start times. Events are listed in ET. Many start between 9:05 and 17:05 ET (13:05–21:05 UTC), so for players in Asia, including India, a lot of events run late into the evening or overnight.
• Plan for long days. Deep Stack events and Main Events can last many hours.
• Pick your tier carefully. Playing a lower tier within your bankroll is usually wiser than taking one shot above your limits.
• Use satellites. Satellites from $0.55 offer a lower-cost route to Main Event seats.
• Limit your tables. Only play as many tables as you can handle well.
• Learn the bounty formats. Progressive KO and Mystery Bounty events change your strategy.
• Brush up on the basics. Read our Texas Hold’em guide and poker hand rankings before you switch between games.
• Set a series budget before September starts, and stick to it.

Who Can Play WCOOP?

Access depends on where you live. PokerStars isn’t available everywhere, and players in some regulated or ring-fenced markets may not have access, or may have separate local series. Online poker rules vary by country and can change, so check the current rules where you live and only play on licensed sites.

India: the legal position for online real-money poker can change. Readers in India should check the current rules for their state before playing.

FAQs