Over 9K players in WSOP chasing $10M top prize

With registration now closed, the $10,000 World Series of Poker main event is underway in earnest with the fourth-largest field in its history. The 2026 edition of professional poker's de facto world championship has 9,208 players competing for a $10 million top prize from a pool of $85.6 million, the third consecutive year for that specific first prize. The top 1,382 players will receive a payout, with $1 million payouts beginning at ninth place. The numbers are a bit short of the 9,735 entrants who showed up for last year's tournament, as well as the record 10,112 players in 2024 and $12.1 million first prize won by Daniel Weinman in 2023. That said, the WSOP main event exceeded 9,000 players for the fourth year in a row after breaking the barrier for the first time in 2023. "We're proud of the staying power this strong entrant number represents," World Series of Poker CEO Ty Stewart said in a statement. "The WSOP continues to draw players from around the world for poker's most prestigious event. Now, the focus turns to watching a new legend unfold." Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi is back to defend his main event title after pocketing $10 million as last year's champion, his eighth WSOP bracelet. Mizrachi claimed his ninth bracelet by winning the $10,000 pot-limit Omaha championship just days before the main event began. Michael Rossitto is the current chip leader at 770,500, with Jeff Fenster (747,000), Yannick Schumacher (738,000), Robert Gill (728,500) and Joseph Baghdalian (705,000) all above the 700,000 threshold. Benny Glaser and Shaun Deeb, who also won their ninth bracelets at WSOP events earlier this summer, are at 193,000 chips and 368,500 chips, respectively. "It's the one no-miss tournament of the year. If you're available and you have the 10K [buy-in], you're going to show up and play," Jack Effel, SVP of poker operations at Caesars Entertainment, which runs the event, told ESPN before the start. "You could be a professional poker player, not play any tournaments of the year, you're not going to miss the main event most likely. So with that said, I think it's going to be a great turnout as it always is." The WSOP main event is back on ESPN platforms for the first time in over a decade. Play resumes on Wednesday at 2pm ET.