By Alex Drummond, Editor-in-Chief · August 8, 2026 · Fact-checked by Maya Chen
GGPoker's 2026 WSOP Online series will open on Saturday, August 16 and run for six weeks through Tuesday, September 29, with 33 gold WSOP bracelets on offer and a US$5,000 Main Event carrying a US$25-million guarantee. The full schedule, published by GGPoker on Wednesday and reported first in detail by PokerNews, arrives during a two-week window in which Canadian tournament poker is running at its busiest concentration in the year. The WSOP Super Circuit Canada opens live at Playground Poker Club in Kahnawake, Quebec on August 24 with a CA$10,000,000 Main Event guarantee. Ontario players who want to be in the middle of both series need to plan the next fortnight carefully.
For Ontario players, the WSOP Online series runs through the GGPoker Ontario platform. Ontario's regulated iGaming framework, run by iGaming Ontario, requires players to be 19 and physically located in Ontario at the moment of registration and play. Ontario's ring-fenced Ontario-only player pool means the fields are smaller than the international GGPoker.com pool, but WSOP bracelets are still on the line for Ontario players who win Ontario-ring-fenced events. GGPoker Ontario has confirmed satellite paths for the WSOP Online series in Ontario, beginning at as low as C$1 in Step 1 satellites.
The Main Event: US$5,000 for US$25,000,000 Guaranteed
The anchor tournament is Event #28: US$5,000 WSOP Online Main Event, with Day 2 scheduled for Monday, September 21. GGPoker's guarantee is US$25 million, meaning approximately 5,000 total entries are needed to make the guarantee on the international field. The 2025 edition ran a prize pool of US$28,314,750 with 5,961 entries; Benjamin "bencb789" Rolle won for US$3,900,707 and finished eighth in the same event 12 months earlier, in a bit of poker's long-arc symmetry.
The Ontario-ring-fenced Main Event runs simultaneously with the international one on Day 1. Ontario players compete in a smaller Ontario-only field for a proportionally smaller Ontario-only prize pool and, importantly, a WSOP bracelet awarded to the Ontario winner. Ontario historical fields for the WSOP Online Main Event have been in the 200-to-400 range, which is materially smaller than the international pool but competitive enough to require serious tournament play. In 2025, no Ontario player won a WSOP Online bracelet; the 2026 series is the earliest realistic opportunity for that to change.
The Six-Week Schedule: A Bracelet Per Business Day
The 33 bracelet events are distributed across 33 calendar dates, with roughly one bracelet event per business day and modestly heavier Sunday weeks. Notable events for Ontario players include:
| Event # | Date | Event | Buy-in (USD) | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sun Aug 16 | 7th Annual WSOP Kick-Off (Bounty, Final Stage) | $700 | Series opener |
| 2 | Mon Aug 17 | Gladiators of Poker Day 2 | $300 | $3,000,000 |
| 5 | Sat Aug 22 | Flip & Go (Go Stage) | $100 | $1,000,000 |
| 7 | Mon Aug 24 | Mini Main Event Day 2 | $500 | $5,000,000 |
| 11 | Sun Aug 30 | WSOP Asia Championship | ¥800 | ¥25,000,000 |
| 12 | Mon Aug 31 | Millionaire Maker Day 2 | $1,500 | $5,000,000 |
| 17 | Mon Sep 7 | Mystery Millions | $2,500 | $10,000,000 |
| 22 | Mon Sep 14 | Colossus Day 2 | $400 | $5,000,000 |
| 23 | Sun Sep 13 | PLOSSUS (Bounty, Final Stage) | £400 | $2,000,000 |
| 27 | Sun Sep 20 | GGMillion$ Pot-Limit Omaha | $10,000 | High-roller feature |
| 28 | Mon Sep 21 | WSOP Online Main Event Day 2 | $5,000 | $25,000,000 |
| 33 | Mon Sep 28 | GGMillion$ High Rollers Day 2 | $10,000 | $10,000,000 |
Source: GGPoker WSOP Online 2026 schedule via PokerNews, August 6, 2026. All times 6 p.m. UTC unless otherwise noted, which is 2 p.m. Eastern in Ontario. Table shows a curated subset of the 33 bracelet events; full schedule available on the GGPoker Ontario tournament lobby.
The Millionaire Maker (Event #12) at US$1,500 buy-in with US$5-million guarantee is likely the most-played Ontario event of the series. The 2025 international Millionaire Maker drew 5,920 entries with Simon Mattsson winning US$1,271,600. The Ontario field will be a fraction of that, but the Ontario winner will earn a bracelet and a five-to-six-figure payday.
Kick-Off Series and Warm-Up
Ahead of Event #1 on August 16, GGPoker Ontario is expected to run a Kick-Off Series through the first two weeks of August, mirroring the international Kick-Off Series pattern of prior years. The Ontario Kick-Off Series traditionally features US$50 to US$200 buy-ins with US$10,000 to US$50,000 Ontario-fenced guarantees, distributed across No-Limit Hold'em, Pot-Limit Omaha, and mixed-game events. Full Ontario Kick-Off Series details are on the GGPoker Ontario tournament lobby.
The seven-annual repeat pattern of the WSOP Kick-Off (Event #1 is officially the "7th Annual WSOP Kick-Off") gives the series a strong sub-brand recognition. Every year, its bounty structure and Final Stage rebuys allow Ontario satelliters to convert small Step-satellite winnings into meaningful buy-in tickets.
US$5-Million in Series Promotions
GGPoker has committed a further US$5 million across three promotions layered over the series.
The US$1,000,000 Super Pass Bonus awards every WSOP Online bracelet winner a US$30,000 Super Pass entry to the Super Main Event at WSOP Paradise in the Bahamas in December. For Ontario players, this is a strong secondary lift: an Ontario bracelet winner not only cashes the ring-fenced prize pool but earns a WSOP Paradise seat worth US$30,000 with no additional entry cost.
The US$1,000,000 Ranking Freeroll reserves US$1 million for country-exclusive freerolls awarded to the top 10 nations in the final Bracelet Leaderboard. Canada is a reliable top-10 finisher in international series like this, and the freeroll prize pool scales with Canada's final position. Ontario players contribute directly to Canada's country score through the Ontario ring-fenced platform, and Ontario winners contribute more heavily than casino-format entries.
The US$3,000,000 Continental Flipouts divide players into four regional pools: Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, and Eurasia. Special flipout tournaments run after each bracelet event for competitors in the same region as the champion, with prize pools of up to US$250,000 per flipout. Canada sits in the Americas pool. Total Continental Flipouts value is US$3 million over the six-week series.
The Ontario Player's Decision: Live Kahnawake or Online GGPoker
The Ontario poker player entering August 2026 faces two overlapping opportunities. The live WSOP Super Circuit Canada at Playground Poker Kahnawake runs August 24 to September 9, anchored by a CA$5,000 Main Event with a CA$10-million guarantee (as we previewed in our August 7 Super Circuit preview). GGPoker Ontario's WSOP Online series runs August 16 to September 29 through the online platform. The overlap is significant: 12 days where both series are live at the same time.
Serious multi-event players will find the online-first approach cost-efficient. Playing 33 online bracelet events over six weeks means no travel, no accommodation cost, and the ability to grind two-to-three events per day. The live Super Circuit is a single-event high-focus, high-cost opportunity with a much larger single prize pool per event. Most Ontario players will do best by picking either the online grind or the live trip based on their bankroll, availability, and skill profile.
Player pool structure also matters. The Ontario ring-fenced field on GGPoker Ontario is materially softer than the international GGPoker.com field, because most winning international grinders play the international platform. Ontarians who play the ring-fenced Ontario events see materially higher expected returns per hand than the same players would on the international field, though the top prizes are smaller. The trade-off is standard for ring-fenced markets.
Compliance and Practical Guidance
Ontario law requires players to be 19 and physically located in Ontario at the moment of registration and play. GGPoker Ontario's location verification uses GPS and IP-based signals, plus KYC-adjacent identity documents at registration. This aligns with sections 3.01 and 3.04 of the Registrar's Standards for Internet Gaming that governs Ontario iGaming operators (which we covered in the AGCO Betty Gaming penalty story earlier today).
Ontario players who deposit in Canadian dollars on GGPoker Ontario play in US dollar buy-in equivalents in the WSOP Online series, with the platform handling the FX conversion at the point of entry. Withdrawal is available in Canadian dollars via Interac or the operator's other Canadian-payment methods.
Ontarians experiencing gambling harm can reach ConnexOntario's free, confidential 24-hour helpline at 1-866-531-2600. Ontario's centralized self-exclusion program (BetGuard) allows players to opt out of all 44 licensed iGaming operators in a single registration.
Coverage Plan
Coverage on this site will follow the WSOP Online series with daily coverage during major event windows. Ontario-registered player results, Ontario ring-fenced bracelet winners, and Canadian representation in the international-field bracelet events will receive analytical coverage. The Super Circuit Canada live coverage runs simultaneously.