WSOP Circuit Belgium 2026: Middelkerke Schedule, Buy-ins & Player Guide

For almost a decade, Belgian players who wanted a WSOP ring had to travel abroad. That changed last November, when the World Series of Poker Circuit returned to the Belgian coast. Now it’s coming back for a second straight year.

From Friday, November 6 to Sunday, November 15, 2026, Casino Middelkerke will host nine WSOP Circuit ring events, headlined by a €1,500 Main Event. Every ring winner also earns a $5,000 package to WSOP Paradise in the Bahamas. Here’s the full schedule, what changed from 2025, and how to plan your trip.

Quick Facts

• Dates: November 6–15, 2026 (10 days)
• Venue: Casino Middelkerke Betfirst by Partouche, Zeedijk 117A, 8430 Middelkerke, Belgium
• Organiser: Texapoker
• Ring events: 9
• Main Event: €1,500 buy-in, starting November 11, with 4 starting flights
• Buy-in range: €300 to €2,500
• Ring winner bonus: A $5,000 WSOP Paradise package for every ring winner
• Leaderboard prize: A €15,000 WSOP Paradise package

Why This Stop Matters

The WSOP Circuit is the year-round side of the World Series of Poker. Instead of bracelets, winners receive gold WSOP Circuit rings, and for many players a ring is the most realistic way to own a piece of WSOP history.

Before 2025, Belgium had gone roughly eight years without a Circuit stop. The 2025 return drew a solid 414 entries in the Main Event. Organisers were confident enough to bring the series back to Middelkerke, but with a tighter, more focused schedule.

It’s also well timed. The WSOPC Madrid stop is wrapping up now, and WSOPC Sanremo in Italy follows from November 20–30. Players following the European Circuit can realistically combine Belgium and Italy in one month.

Full Schedule: All 9 Ring Events

All times are local (CET).

#	Date	Time	Event	Buy-in
1	Fri Nov 6 & Sat Nov 7	12:30 / 20:00	Mini Main Event (Flights A–D)	€300
2	Sun Nov 8	12:30	Seniors Event (50+)	€550
3	Sun Nov 8 & Mon Nov 9	Nov 8 14:00; Nov 9 12:30 / 20:00	Mystery Bounty (Flights A–C)	€550
4	Tue Nov 10	12:00	Knockout	€500
5	Tue Nov 10	15:00	High Roller (ends Nov 12)	€2,500
6	Wed Nov 11 – Sun Nov 15	12:30 daily; Nov 13 also 20:00	Main Event (Flights A–D)	€1,500
7	Sat Nov 14	15:00	Deepstack	€1,000
8	Sat Nov 14	19:30	Omaha	€300
9	Sun Nov 15	15:00	Bigstack	€350

Side events and satellites run alongside the ring events throughout the festival.

The €1,500 Main Event Explained

The Main Event is the festival’s centrepiece. Here’s how it works:

• Four starting flights:
  • Flight A – Wednesday, November 11 at 12:30
  • Flight B – Thursday, November 12 at 12:30
  • Flight C – Friday, November 13 at 12:30
  • Flight D – Friday, November 13 at 20:00 (last chance to enter)
• Final day: Sunday, November 15
• Prize: The winner receives a WSOP Circuit gold ring, a $5,000 WSOP Paradise package and the top cash prize.

What changed from 2025? Last year’s Main Event had six starting flights spread over more days. This year there are four, packed into three days. In practice, each flight should feel busier, and players who travel in for the weekend have fewer options. If you’re coming from abroad, aim for a Thursday or Friday arrival so you can play Flight B, C or D.

Side Events Worth Your Attention

• €300 Mini Main (November 6–7): The opener and the most accessible ring on the schedule. With four flights over two days, expect it to draw the biggest field of the festival.
• €550 Seniors Event (November 8): Open to players aged 50 and over. Fields are usually smaller, which makes this one of the more realistic ring chances for eligible players.
• €550 Mystery Bounty (November 8–9): Bounties are hidden until you knock someone out, so you never know whether an elimination is worth a little or a lot. It’s popular with recreational players because of the lottery-style excitement.
• €2,500 High Roller (November 10–12): The most expensive event, and usually the toughest field. Expect the strongest regulars from Belgium, the Netherlands and France.
• €300 Omaha (November 14): The only non-Hold’em ring event. If you’re comfortable with Pot-Limit Omaha, an event like this often draws a smaller field than the Hold’em tournaments.
• €350 Bigstack (November 15): A final-day option for players who busted the Main Event.

Extra Prizes: Two Ways to Win a Trip to the Bahamas

1. Win any ring. Every ring winner receives a $5,000 package for WSOP Paradise in the Bahamas. The WSOP provides these packages, so even the €300 Mini Main and €300 Omaha champions get one. For a €300 winner, that’s more than 15 times their buy-in in extra value.

2. Top the leaderboard. Texapoker is running a Luxon Pay WSOP-C Leaderboard specifically for Middelkerke. The winner receives a €15,000 WSOP Paradise package, which includes a tournament buy-in (the festival flyer names the GGMillion$), 13 hotel nights, buffet access and a travel allowance.

How leaderboard points work:

• Points depend on three things: field size, your finishing position and the buy-in.
• All tournaments count except satellites.
• Important: You only earn points if you pay your buy-in through Luxon Pay. A deep run paid any other way won’t count.

Practical tip: If you plan to play four or five events, set up Luxon Pay before you arrive. A few solid cashes across several events can matter as much as one Main Event run.

Looking Back: The 2025 WSOPC Middelkerke Main Event

2025 Main Event	Figure
Buy-in	€1,500 (€1,350 + €150)
Entries	414
Prize pool	€569,250 (about $658,000)
Places paid	65
Winner	Omar Lakhdari – €118,000
Runner-up	Radoslaw Kopec (Poland) – €78,300
3rd	“Odysseus89” – €53,800
4th	Cécile Ticherfatine – €37,600

What the numbers tell you:

• About 15.7% of the field cashed (65 of 414), a fairly generous payout structure.
• The winner took about 21% of the prize pool.
• The fee was €150 on a €1,500 buy-in, about 10%, which is typical for WSOPC International events.
• The champion knows Belgium well. Omar Lakhdari also won the 2023 Belgian Poker Challenge Main Event in Namur for €206,000. His Middelkerke win pushed his career earnings past $4 million.

Players from the Benelux region did well too. Henk Pol of the Netherlands and Zeno Peeters of Belgium were among the 2025 ring winners.

2025 vs. 2026: What’s Different?

	2025	2026
Dates	November 6–16 (11 days)	November 6–15 (10 days)
Organiser	Pokahnights	Texapoker
Ring events	11	9
Main Event buy-in	€1,500	€1,500
Main Event flights	6	4
Mystery Bounty buy-in	€750	€550
Ring winner bonus	$5,000 WSOP Paradise package	$5,000 WSOP Paradise package
Leaderboard prize	–	€15,000 WSOP Paradise package

The 2026 edition is slightly shorter, but it’s cheaper in places (the Mystery Bounty drops from €750 to €550) and adds a valuable leaderboard prize.

Planning Your Trip to Middelkerke

Getting there. Middelkerke is a seaside town on the Belgian coast, just southwest of Ostend. The casino sits right on the seafront promenade (Zeedijk). Most international visitors fly into Brussels Airport, take a train to Ostend, then hop on the coastal tram (Kusttram) or a short taxi ride to Middelkerke.

When to arrive.

• Main Event only: Arrive by Wednesday, November 11, or Friday, November 13 for the last flights.
• Leaderboard chasers: Arrive by November 6 to play the Mini Main, then stay the full ten days.
• Weekend visitors: Friday, November 13 offers two Main Event flights in one day (12:30 and 20:00).

Weather. Expect cool, windy coastal weather in November, around 6–11°C. Pack a proper jacket.

Combine it with other events. The Circus Poker Series in Namur (November 17–29, €2 million guaranteed) and WSOPC Sanremo (November 20–30) both start shortly after Middelkerke ends. Some players turn this into a two-week European poker trip.

Final Thoughts

WSOPC Middelkerke 2026 isn’t the biggest stop on the European Circuit, and that’s part of its appeal. Field sizes are manageable, buy-ins start at €300, and every ring comes with a trip to the Bahamas, so this is one of the more realistic places in Europe to win WSOP hardware. With its tighter four-flight Main Event and the new leaderboard, the second edition looks set to build on last year’s comeback. We’ll update this page with entries, prize pools and ring winners as the festival unfolds.

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