By Alex Drummond, Editor-in-Chief · June 28, 2026 · Fact-checked by Maya Chen
The World Series of Poker on Saturday released the full schedule for its first WSOP Super Circuit Montreal, the largest WSOP-branded event ever held on Canadian soil. The 18-event ring series will run from August 26 through September 12 at the Playground Poker Club in Kahnawake, Quebec, a 25-minute drive from downtown Montreal and approximately five and a half hours by car from downtown Toronto. The Series carries a total guaranteed prize pool of CA$14,000,000, headlined by the CA$5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Super Circuit Main Event, which guarantees CA$10,000,000 across six starting flights and runs from September 3 through September 11.
The Series follows two earlier WSOP-Circuit stops at Playground in spring 2025 and spring 2026 that respectively drew 1,978 entries to a CA$2,500 Main Event for a CA$4,450,500 prize pool and set a Quebec-circuit record on a smaller scale. The August edition more than doubles the field-pool ambitions of those events. With 18 ring events, the inaugural Super Circuit Montreal also carries roughly twice the prize-pool footprint of the Wynn Summer Classic that has anchored the same Las Vegas summer window for the past three years.
Why the Ontario story
Ontarians make up the largest single feeder market into Quebec live tournament fields, even before the new federal pathway through GGPoker's regulated Ontario online satellites. The WSOP Super Circuit Canada qualifier path on GGPoker Ontario launched on June 14 with online satellites running through August 19. Top three finishers from the GGPoker Ontario CA$5,000 Main Event satellite path earn paid seats; smaller paths feed into the Mini Main Event and the Mystery Bounty. Players physically located in Ontario can sit-and-go their way to the Main Event for as little as CA$1.10 in initial outlay through GGPoker Ontario's online feeder ladder, with the federal interprovincial framework now in place allowing any Ontario-based winner to play their live seat at Playground without any regulatory friction.
For drivers and short-haul flyers, Playground sits 12 minutes off the Champlain Bridge and Highway 132 East, and Pearson-to-Montreal-Trudeau is approximately one hour and ten minutes in the air. Ontarian players who qualify online or buy in direct should expect to clear Quebec's Tourism Industry Levy on accommodation in Montreal but no jurisdiction-specific WSOP entry surcharge, with prize money paid in Canadian dollars by Playground Poker on behalf of the WSOP.
The 18-event schedule
The full schedule, released Saturday by WSOP Circuit operations director Bernard Lee, lays out the festival's pacing. The early window from August 26 through August 30 funnels rec-friendly satellite traffic into the CA$500 Super Circuit Kickoff (CA$150,000 guaranteed) and the CA$500 Mini Main Event (CA$500,000 guaranteed, five starting flights), with the CA$1,000 Mystery Bounty (CA$400,000 guaranteed) hosting overflow. The middle window from August 31 through September 2 layers the CA$2,300 Super Circuit Championship (CA$500,000 guaranteed), the CA$1,500 Monster Stack PLO (CA$75,000), and the CA$1,000 Progressive Bounty (CA$150,000).
The festival's heart is the CA$5,000 Super Circuit Main Event with its CA$10,000,000 guarantee, running September 3 through September 11. The Main Event features six starting flights (three Day 1s, three Day 1-Bs) across the first weekend of September, then plays down through Day 4 to a final table. Daniel Negreanu of Toronto and Daniel Dvoress of Toronto are both expected to enter direct; Kristen Foxen of St. Catharines is expected to play her live seat after WSOP Las Vegas concludes; and Christopher Alcindor of Montreal, the 2026 Big O bracelet winner, has publicly confirmed his entry through a tweet on Friday.
The festival's third weekend, September 7 through 12, brings the highest buy-ins, including the CA$14,000 GGMillion$ NLH High Roller (CA$1,000,000 guaranteed), the CA$25,000 NLH Super High Roller, and the CA$6,000 PLO High Roller (CA$200,000 guaranteed). The series closes on September 12 with the CA$500 Series Saver Hyper Turbo for any remaining bankrolls.
| Dates | Event | Buy-In (CAD) | Guarantee (CAD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 26 to 27 | Event #1: NLH Super Circuit Kickoff | $500 | $150,000 |
| Aug 27 to 29 | Event #2: NLH Mini Main Event | $500 | $500,000 |
| Aug 29 to 31 | Event #3: NLH Mystery Bounty | $1,000 | $400,000 |
| Aug 30 to Sep 1 | Event #4: NLH Super Circuit Championship | $2,300 | $500,000 |
| Sep 1 to 2 | Event #5: Monster Stack Pot-Limit Omaha | $1,500 | $75,000 |
| Sep 2 | Event #6: NLH Progressive Bounty | $1,000 | $150,000 |
| Sep 3 to 9 | Event #7: NLH Super Circuit Main Event | $5,000 | $10,000,000 |
| Sep 6 | Event #8: NLH Deepstack Turbo | $2,000 | $150,000 |
| Sep 6 | Event #9: Pot-Limit Omaha Bounty | $1,000 | $100,000 |
| Sep 7 to 9 | Event #10: NLH GGMillion$ High Roller | $14,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Sep 7 to 9 | Event #11: NLH Ultra Stack | $600 | $250,000 |
| Sep 8 to 10 | Event #12: NLH Super High Roller | $25,000 | uncapped |
| Sep 9 to 10 | Event #13: NLH Monster Stack | $1,500 | $200,000 |
| Sep 10 to 11 | Event #14: NLH Mystery Bounty | $800 | $150,000 |
| Sep 10 to 11 | Event #15: PLO High Roller | $6,000 | $200,000 |
| Sep 11 to 12 | Event #16: NLH The Closer Turbo Bounty | $1,500 | $200,000 |
| Sep 12 | Event #17: NLH Progressive Bounty | $600 | $75,000 |
| Sep 12 | Event #18: NLH Series Saver Hyper Turbo | $500 | $50,000 |
Full 2026 WSOP Super Circuit Montreal schedule, August 26 to September 12, at Playground Poker Club. Source: PokerNews's "The Full 2026 WSOP Super Circuit Montreal Schedule" and Pokerfuse's WSOP Montreal Player Guide.
Online satellites and live qualifier paths
Players physically located in Ontario have two main paths to entry: GGPoker Ontario's regulated online satellite ladder, which has been running since June 14, and Playground's live Milestone Satellite series, which opens its doors on August 26 alongside the main festival. GGPoker Ontario's flagship Main Event satellite carries a top-three paid seat ladder for the CA$5,000 Main Event, qualifier seats for the CA$2,300 Super Circuit Championship, and dedicated paths for the CA$14,000 GGMillion$ High Roller, the CA$6,000 PLO High Roller, and the CA$1,500 Closer Turbo Bounty. Subsatellites start as low as CA$1.10 with rebuys.
Live at Playground, expected satellite paths include CA$600 buy-in flights into the Main Event, CA$300 flights into the Championship, and CA$140 paths into the smaller ring events. Cash games and online play during the festival are expected to run the full 24-hour rotation at Playground, with a dedicated PLO room and a live high-stakes mixed-game banker to be staffed for the duration.
Atchison wins Event #69 Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better
Meanwhile in Las Vegas, the final day of Event #69, the $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better, played to a finish on Sunday afternoon. American Taylor Atchison won his first WSOP gold bracelet and a US$159,276 first-place prize after the ten-handed final table cleared in eleven hours of play. The final hand saw Atchison's full house take down Daniil Fedunov's flush, with Atchison's emotional table interview thanking his grandfather, who introduced him to stud variants as a teenager in Detroit. Daniel Geeng, who had bagged the chip lead with 3,625,000 chips entering the bracelet day, finished third for US$73,068. Dave Stann came fourth for US$51,217.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taylor Atchison | United States | $159,276 |
| 2 | Daniil Fedunov | United States | $106,162 |
| 3 | Daniel Geeng | United States | $73,068 |
| 4 | Dave Stann | United States | $51,217 |
| 5 | Adam Owen | United Kingdom | $36,574 |
| 6 | David Bach | United States | $26,618 |
| 7 | Jeff Myers | United States | $19,749 |
| 8 | Alan Ledford | United States | $14,945 |
| 9 | Kane Kalas | United States | $11,538 |
Event #69 $1,500 Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better final-table payouts. Source: Spade Poker's "WSOP 2026: Taylor Atchison Clinches First Bracelet in Stud Hi-Lo (Event #69)".
Ladies Championship down to final six
Event #68, the $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em Championship, played Day 3 to a six-player finish that returns Monday for the bracelet day. American chip leader Emily Spencer enters the final table with 10,290,000 chips, more than double the stack of second-place American Skye Chen at 5,450,000. American Lisa Teebagy sits third at 5,360,000, followed by French recreational player Victoria Ailloud at 3,895,000, American Aubrey Williams at 2,660,000 (who entered Day 3 as a co-chip leader) and an unconfirmed sixth player. The bracelet winner will receive US$194,630, the largest first prize in Ladies Championship history.
The Canadian-flag presence in the event ended on Day 3 with the elimination of Toronto-based Jixin Zhou, who had bagged tenth in chips at 885,000 after Day 2. Zhou was eliminated in the early levels of Day 3 after running ace-king into pocket aces and was unable to recover from a short stack. Five-time bracelet winner Kristen Foxen, who entered Day 2 at 620,000 chips, was also confirmed eliminated outside the money positions on Saturday. Two-time defending champion Shiina Okamoto of Japan, who had taken the 2024 and 2025 editions, had busted Day 1.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emily Spencer | United States | 10,290,000 |
| 2 | Skye Chen | United States | 5,450,000 |
| 3 | Lisa Teebagy | United States | 5,360,000 |
| 4 | Victoria Ailloud | France | 3,895,000 |
| 5 | Aubrey Williams | United States | 2,660,000 |
| 6 | Unconfirmed sixth player | TBC | ~2,200,000 |
Event #68 Ladies Championship final six chip counts after Day 3. Source: Spade Poker's "WSOP Day 33: Michael Mizrachi Reigns Supreme in the $10K PLO".
Mizrachi leads Event #70 PLO Day 2 cut
Event #70, the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship, ran its second day Sunday with the field cut from 836 to 37 returning players. Michael 'The Grinder' Mizrachi, the newly elected 2026 Poker Hall of Famer, continues to lead. The Day 2 cut included the elimination of Joseph Liberta, the 2026 Millionaire Maker champion, who busted just outside the top 80; the survival of Daniel Negreanu, who bagged at 83rd in chips; and the continued runs of Benny Glaser (101st) and Josh Arieh (39th), with Glaser short and Arieh holding average. The 37 returning Monday play to a winner from a US$7,774,800 prize pool, with first prize projected to top US$1.6 million. Late registration closed Sunday at Level 13.
The Canadian-flag presence in the event is limited. No Canadian player appears in the published 37-survivor list at time of writing; Toronto's Daniel Dvoress, who took the 2026 Triton Montenegro triple in May, did not enter the event in favour of preparing for the September WSOP Main Event satellite path. Frederic Normand, the Quebec PLO Hi-Lo bracelet winner, busted Day 1 in the late levels for no cash. Daniel Negreanu has now cashed three of the five PLO-format events he has entered this summer.
Mystery Millions Day 2 starts
Event #63, the $1,000 Mystery Millions, plays its first combined Day 2 session beginning at 1:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon. The five Day 1 flights through Saturday Day 1d generated 11,783 entries, and the two final flights Sunday morning (Day 1e at 10:00 a.m.) and Sunday afternoon (the turbo Day 1f at 6:00 p.m.) are expected to push the cumulative field past 20,000 entries, with the 2024 inaugural record of 18,372 entries within reach. The prize pool now exceeds US$10,816,080, with one US$1 million bounty still in the pool. Day 2 bounties are drawn on every elimination starting from the first hand of Day 2.
Looking ahead
The next 96 hours in Las Vegas bring four bracelet days: Event #70 PLO Championship Monday; Event #68 Ladies Championship Monday; Event #71 $2,500 Mixed Big Bet Day 2 Monday; and the Event #63 Mystery Millions Day 2 going overnight into Day 3 on Tuesday with the bracelet day Wednesday. The WSOP Main Event opens July 2 at noon with Day 1A.
For Ontario players watching from home, the qualifier path to Playground is now live at GGPoker Ontario; full schedule is at Ontario poker tournament schedule; the regulated Ontario market overview is on the best poker sites in Ontario page; and the WSOP Super Circuit Canada satellite tournament listing at WSOP Circuit qualifiers from Ontario.