WSOP Main Event registration deadline; how many participants are there?

Registration for the 2026 WSOP Main Event closed with 9,208 entries, the fourth highest in history. The total prize pool reached $85,625,100, with defending champion Michael Mizrachi holding a large chip stack.

Registration for the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event has closed, and it's another year with a massive influx of participants.

Last year's field of 9,735 participants was the third highest in history and the first time since 2022 that it had not exceeded 10,000. This tournament, which typically had 6,500 to 8,000 participants from 2006 to 2022, now consistently attracts more than 9,000 participants annually.

The record for the most participants is 10,112 in 2024, the year Jonathan Tamayo became world champion. While this year's main event didn't break the record, it will still be one of the largest events in history.

Another year, another huge number of participants

The 2026 WSOP Main Event is starting to look a bit like the 2025 WSOP Main Event. It boasts another massive field, and Michael Mizrachi holds a huge chip stack. The defending champion packed over 200,000 chips in Days ABC on Monday and will return on Wednesday with an above-average stack.

How many players will participate in 2026? At approximately 3:45 PM Pacific Time, when registration officially closed, the scoreboard showed 9,208 players, creating a total prize pool of $85,625,100, making it the fourth largest WSOP Main Event in the tournament's 57-year history.

Phil Ivey was one of the last few entrants. The Poker Hall of Famer and 11-time WSOP bracelet winner took his seat in Paris Las Vegas with 60,000 chips immediately after the second break of the day, right after registration closed.

Many other big names are competing in Group D on Day Two, and as of press time, stars like Kathy Liebert, Alex Foxen, and Liv Boeree hold substantial chip stacks. Daniel Negreanu is one of the few remaining celebrities with fewer chips.

All players who have packed their chips from the two Day 2 groups will return to the field for Day 3 on Wednesday at 11 a.m. Pacific Time. PokerNews will continue to provide live coverage of the tournament until the champion is crowned on August 5.

Comparison with 2025 WSOP Main Event data

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