The Word Series of Poker announces global $1 million player of the year race for 2026

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) have unveiled a historic expansion of its competitive landscape for the 2026 season. For the first time, the WSOP Player of the Year (POTY) competition will encompass all three major WSOP live tournament events in the calendar year, connecting WSOP Europe, the WSOP in Las Vegas, and the WSOP Paradise into a singular global chase for poker’s most prestigious consistency award.

To mark this evolution, the WSOP has announced a $1,000,000 total prize pool for the 2026 Player of the Year, which will utilize a new, enhanced methodology designed to reward excellence across the brand's premier international stops. The eventual POTY winner will claim an enhanced $100K WSOP Paradise Package, with a variety of other WSOP packages and/or tickets awarded to the top 100 players on the leaderboard at the conclusion of the season. “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.”

The 2026 POTY season will debut in Prague from March 31 to April 12, 2026, with 15 WSOP bracelets up for grabs. Following the European leg, the poker world will descend upon the Las Vegas Strip for the 57th annual World Series of Poker. The WSOP confirms the series will run from May 26 to July 15, 2026. The dates for WSOP Paradise 2026 have also been announced; the premier live tournament series of the winter will take place from December 1 through December 18, 2026.

Players will be able to qualify online for all three ranking WSOP events, with GGPoker hosting satellite tournaments for international players and WSOP Online hosting those for domestic U.S. players.