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WSOP Connects Prague, Las Vegas, and Paradise in $1M Global Player of the Year Race
- WSOP announces a $1M Player of the Year race linking three major events.
- 2026 series begins in Prague with a €10 million GTD Main Event.
- Consistent performance rewarded; new global leaderboard introduced.
For years, winning WSOP Player of the Year meant surviving a brutal summer in Las Vegas. In 2026, that definition is going through the window. The World Series of Poker has announced a global $1 million Player of the Year race that links its three flagship live stops into one season-long leaderboard, stretching from Europe to the Strip and ending in the Caribbean.
Here's what that means.
A $1M POTY Prize Pool and a Global Leaderboard
The headline change for 2026 is scale. WSOP confirmed a total $1,000,000 prize pool for Player of the Year, supported by an updated scoring designed to reward performance across all three live series rather than one concentrated stretch of the calendar.
The overall Player of the Year will receive an enhanced $100,000 WSOP Paradise package, while the top 100 finishers on the final leaderboard will earn a mix of WSOP packages and tournament tickets. The message is clear: showing up matters, and showing up everywhere matters more.
WSOP CEO Ty Stewart described the move as a way to create a true global season, with each stop feeding into a larger competitive narrative rather than standing alone.
WSOP Europe Opens the Race With a $10M GTD in Prague
The 2026 Player of the Year chase begins in Prague, where WSOP Europe runs from March 31 to April 12. The festival will award 15 bracelets and opens with one of the largest guarantees ever seen on European soil.
The €5,300 WSOP Europe Main Event carries a $10,000,000 guaranteed prize pool, a figure that surpasses any European tournament guarantee from 2025 and signals a clear statement of intent from the WSOP brand.
Another notable addition is the new European Circuit Championship, a €1,500 No Limit Hold’em event with a €1,500,000 guarantee, adding a mid-stakes centerpiece to the schedule.
Las Vegas and Paradise Dates Confirmed
After Prague, attention shifts to Las Vegas for the 57th annual World Series of Poker. The summer series will run from May 26 to July 15, hosted once again at Horseshoe Las Vegas and Paris Las Vegas.
The year concludes with WSOP Paradise, scheduled for December 1 through December 18, 2026, where final Player of the Year points will be locked in and the global leaderboard decided.
WSOP Player of the Year 2026 FAQs
What's new about the WSOP Player of the Year race in 2026?
For the first time, results from WSOP Europe, WSOP Las Vegas, and WSOP Paradise all count toward a single global Player of the Year leaderboard.
What is the biggest tournament at WSOP Europe 2026?
The €5,300 Main Event with a $10 million guaranteed prize pool, the largest European guarantee announced by WSOP to date.
When does WSOP Paradise 2026 take place?
WSOP Paradise runs from December 1 to December 18, 2026.
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