By Alex Drummond, Editor-in-Chief · July 6, 2026 · Fact-checked by Maya Chen
The 2026 World Series of Poker Main Event's Day 1D on Sunday drew 3,827 entries, according to the tournament tracking pages at PokerNews and WSOP.com. Combined with Day 1A's 771 entries, Day 1B's 1,038, and Day 1C's 1,573, the cumulative Day 1 field passed 7,210 total entries. The prize pool now stands at US$67,452,900, with additional entries expected through Day 2 late registration on Monday and Tuesday.
The 2026 Main Event is now on pace to become the fourth-largest edition in Main Event history. The 2024 Main Event set the all-time record of 10,112 entries, followed by the 2023 field of 10,043 entries and the 2025 field of 9,735 entries. Should 2026 late registration add another 800 or so entries as expected, the field would settle at approximately 8,000 to 8,200 entries, comparable to the 2019 field of 8,569 (the largest since 2006) and just above the 2018 field of 7,874. First prize is projected to fall between US$11 million and US$12 million, subject to final field size.
Day 2ABC underway; late-reg window still open
Day 2ABC began Monday at 11:00 a.m. local time in Las Vegas, combining the 543 Day 1A survivors, the 759 Day 1B survivors and the 1,166 Day 1C survivors into a single 2,468-player field. Japanese online-to-live convert Ryuta Nakai, who bagged the largest stack of any Day 1 flight at 323,000 chips on Thursday, retains the overall chip lead into Monday's play. Day 2ABC plays ten one-hour levels through to approximately 2:00 a.m. local time Tuesday morning, at which point the survivors combine with Day 2D survivors on Wednesday for Day 3. Late registration remains open through the end of Level 2 of Day 2ABC on Monday afternoon and through the end of Level 2 of Day 2D on Tuesday. A conservative estimate of Day 2 late-registration additions is 500 to 800 entries.
Day 2D plays Tuesday from noon local time with the Day 1D survivors and any new Day 2 registrants. The 3,827 Day 1D entries fired Sunday represent a 143 per cent uptick from Day 1C's 1,573, in line with the historical pattern of Day 1D being the largest flight when Sunday sits deepest in the four-flight window. Chip counts for Day 1D end-of-day had not been published on the PokerNews or WSOP.com pages by the 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time cut-off Monday afternoon; the leaderboard is expected to be released during Day 2ABC play.
Historical field-size context
| Year | Entries | Prize Pool (USD) | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 10,112 | $93,899,840 | Jonathan Tamayo (USA) |
| 2023 | 10,043 | $93,399,900 | Daniel Weinman (USA) |
| 2025 | 9,735 | $90,535,500 | Michael Mizrachi (USA) |
| 2019 | 8,569 | $80,548,600 | Hossein Ensan (Germany) |
| 2018 | 7,874 | $74,015,600 | John Cynn (USA) |
| 2026 (projected) | ~8,000 to 8,200 | ~$74M to $77M | TBD |
| 2017 | 7,221 | $67,877,400 | Scott Blumstein (USA) |
| 2016 | 6,737 | $63,327,800 | Qui Nguyen (USA) |
WSOP Main Event field size and prize pool history. Source: Wikipedia's WSOP Main Event champions list cross-checked with WSOP.com news archive.
Canadian survivors watch
Chip counts for individual Canadian direct-entry players from Day 1D had not been published by mainstream coverage as of Monday afternoon. Toronto's Kevin Martin, the 2013 Big Brother Canada winner, was confirmed as a Day 1B survivor per PokerNews live coverage but with no published stack. Toronto-born Canadian bracelet winner Matt Salsberg bagged 205,500 chips on Day 1C, the largest confirmed Canadian-flag stack of the 2026 Main Event so far. Kristen Foxen, Daniel Negreanu, Daniel Dvoress, Sam Greenwood, Mike Watson and Alex Livingston were expected to fire Day 1D on Sunday with Day 2 late-registration options available; individual Day 1D chip counts for named Canadian players will publish overnight into Tuesday.
Daniel Negreanu's Sunday YouTube vlog, uploaded Monday morning, confirmed his Day 1D fire without specifying his end-of-day chip count. Kristen Foxen posted an Instagram story Sunday afternoon showing her entry to Day 1D at Table 431 Seat 4, but had not posted a follow-up as of Monday afternoon.
Money bubble and payout structure
The 2026 Main Event money bubble is expected to burst on Day 3, Wednesday July 8, at approximately 1,050 to 1,100 players remaining. The min-cash payout is expected to be approximately US$15,000, in line with the 2025 min-cash of US$15,000 from a US$90.54-million prize pool paying 1,460 places (the top 15 per cent of the 9,735-entry field). Final-table minimum payout for ninth place is expected to be US$1,000,000, with the 2026 champion projected to earn US$11 million to US$12 million from the eventual pool. The WSOP has confirmed a 15 per cent payout structure on the regular Main Event, with the top prize maintaining the $10-million-plus minimum threshold set in 2019.
Ontario watching guide
Ontario players following the 2026 Main Event from home can watch the ESPN+ live broadcast beginning at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time Monday for Day 2ABC feature-table coverage, with PokerGO providing streaming coverage across all Main Event days. The regulated Ontario online satellite path for the 2026 WSOP Super Circuit Montreal at Playground Poker Club in Kahnawake, Quebec remains active through August 19 on GGPoker Ontario, with the CA$5,000 Super Circuit Main Event and its CA$10,000,000 guarantee running September 3 to 11. The regulated Ontario market overview is on the best poker sites in Ontario page.