2026 WSOP Main Event: Full Schedule, Key Dates, and How to Watch the Final Table on ESPN

Last Updated on July 8, 2026 by Bala Kumar

Poker’s biggest stage is back. The 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP),  the 57th annual edition, is underway at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, and all eyes are now turning to the crown jewel of the summer: the $10,000 Main Event. Whether you’re planning to play, train a friend, or just want to catch the action from home, here’s everything you need to know about the schedule, key dates, and broadcast details.

When Is the 2026 WSOP Main Event?

The 2026 WSOP Main Event runs from July 2–13, with the champion not being crowned until a live final table in early August. Here’s the breakdown:

• Day 1 (Flights 1A–1D): July 2–5 Four separate starting flights, traditionally scheduled around the July 4th holiday so players can choose the day that suits them best.
• Day 2 (Flights 2A–2D): July 6–7 Players may also register at the start of Day 2 if they missed Day 1.
• Day 3 onward: July 8 All surviving players merge into a single field.
• Days 4–8: July 9–13 Play continues each day from 3:00 PM–7:00 PM ET, broadcast live on ESPN+.
• Final Table Reached: July 13

Why the Final Table Isn’t Played Right Away

New for 2026, the Main Event final table won’t be decided immediately after Day 8. Instead, the last nine players will take a three-week break before returning to play out the title on a live stage. This format change is part of a new multi-year rights agreement between the WSOP and ESPN, giving the network time to build anticipation and produce edited coverage before the grand finale airs.

• Final Table Dates: August 3–5, 2026
• Broadcast: Live in its entirety on the ESPN app, with portions airing on ESPN2

This mirrors a strategy poker fans have seen before — a “November Nine”-style delay — designed to maximize television buzz around the eventual champion.

Buy-In and Structure

The Main Event buy-in remains $10,000, the same price tag it’s carried since 1972 (even though inflation would put its modern equivalent closer to $86,000). It’s a freezeout tournament — no rebuys, no re-entries once you’re out of chips. Roughly 7% of the total entry pool is withheld for administrative and staffing costs.

Anyone 21 or older can enter, with no qualification required. That said, most players get their seat through:

• Direct buy-in at Horseshoe or Paris Las Vegas registration desks
• Live satellites at the venue
• Online satellites via WSOP.com (Nevada players) or GGPoker

How to Watch the 2026 WSOP Main Event

ESPN’s coverage marks the return of a long-running broadcast partnership, and this year’s package is the most extensive in years — over 100 hours of coverage distributed to more than 400 million homes worldwide.

Daily coverage (July 2–13) on ESPN+:

• July 2–8: 8:00 PM – 2:00 AM ET
• July 9–13: 3:00–7:00 PM ET and 9:00 PM – 3:00 AM ET

Final Table (August 3–5):

• Aug 3: 9:00 PM – Midnight ET (ESPN2)
• Aug 4: 9:00 PM – Midnight ET (ESPN)
• Aug 5: 10:30 PM – 1:30 AM ET (ESPN)

Edited highlight episodes will also air on ESPN2 on July 21, July 28, and August 10, giving casual fans a chance to catch up without committing to the full live broadcast. International viewers can catch “Magazine Highlights” episodes and live final table coverage on TNT Sports in the UK, with listings running into early August.

What Happened Before the Main Event

The lead-up to the Main Event has already produced some notable storylines from the 2026 series:

• Benny Glaser won the Poker Players Championship for his 9th career WSOP bracelet.
• Skye Chen claimed a record-breaking win in the WSOP Ladies Event.

With the series featuring 100 in-person bracelet events plus 30 online bracelet events, and buy-ins ranging from just $300 all the way up to $250,000 for the Super High Roller, the Main Event is the culmination of a summer-long grind for thousands of players.

Upcoming WSOP Schedule: The Next Two Months

Once the Main Event wraps on the felt (with the final table still to come in August), the WSOP Circuit picks up the pace almost immediately. Here’s what’s on the calendar over the next two months, spanning July and August 2026:

Event	Dates	Location
WSOP Circuit – Horseshoe Las Vegas	Jul 14 – Jul 25	Las Vegas, NV, USA
WSOP Circuit – Choctaw Durant	Jul 15 – Jul 27	Durant, OK, USA
WSOP Circuit – Olympic Park Casino	Jul 24 – Aug 2	Tallinn, Estonia
WSOP Circuit – Card Casino	Jul 31 – Aug 11	Bratislava, Slovakia
WSOP Circuit – Harrah’s Cherokee	Aug 6 – Aug 17	Cherokee, NC, USA
WSOP Circuit – Harrah’s Atlantic City	Aug 13 – Aug 24	Atlantic City, NJ, USA
WSOP Circuit – Horseshoe Tunica	Aug 20 – Aug 31	Robinsonville, MS, USA
WSOP Circuit – Hard Rock Tulsa (Super Circuit)	Aug 26 – Sep 7	Catoosa, OK, USA
WSOP Super Circuit Canada	Aug 26 – Sep 12	Kahnawake, QC, Canada

Also worth noting: the Main Event final table itself falls in this window, airing live August 3–5 — meaning even after the felt goes quiet in Las Vegas, the story of the 2026 Main Event is still being written on screens around the world.

Beyond the live circuit stops, the August 3, 4, and 5 dates are the ones to circle if you only care about one thing: finding out who takes home the bracelet, the trophy, and a prize that,  based on last year’s $90+ million prize pool and $10 million first-place payout , could be one of the richest in Main Event history.

Final Thoughts

The 2026 WSOP Main Event is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated in recent memory, thanks to a revamped ESPN broadcast deal, a delayed final table designed to build drama, and a Circuit calendar that keeps the poker world spinning well into the fall. Whether you’re grinding satellites to win your seat, following along on ESPN+, or planning your own summer at the tables, now’s the time to mark your calendar,  because between the Main Event’s conclusion on July 13 and the final table showdown on August 5, there’s a full month of poker storylines still to unfold.

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