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How Much Does the Winner of the WSOP 2026 Main Event Get
The winner of the 2026 WSOP Main Event receives $10,000,000. A field of 9,208 entries at $10,000 each built a prize pool of $85,634,400, the fourth-largest in the tournament’s history.
The top 1,382 finishers share it, from the $10m first prize down to a minimum cash of $15,000.
2026 WSOP Main Event Payouts in Full
| Position | Prize | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | $10,000,000 | Plus the Main Event gold bracelet |
| 2nd | $6,000,000 | $4m gap to first, the largest jump on the ladder |
| 3rd | $3,750,000 | |
| 4th | $2,750,000 | |
| 5th | $2,250,000 | |
| 6th | $1,750,000 | |
| 7th | $1,500,000 | |
| 8th | $1,250,000 | |
| 9th | $1,000,000 | Minimum final table payout |
| 10th | $750,000 | Malcolm Trayner bubbled the final table |
The ladder is deliberately top-heavy. Below the top two, the gaps narrow fast, and the difference between eighth and ninth is $250,000. Every player who reached the nine-handed final table is guaranteed at least $1,000,000. Malcolm Trayner missed that guarantee by one place.
Outside the top 10, the money falls away quickly. 11th place also paid $750,000, 12th and 13th took $510,000, and 14th through 17th collected $410,475. The top 80 finishers were guaranteed at least $105,000. From there, the schedule flattens towards the $15,000 minimum paid to the last of the 1,382 players in the money.
The final nine return to Paris Las Vegas from 3 to 5 August. ESPN and ESPN2 carry the action in the United States, and TNT Sports shows the final table in the UK and Ireland under the WSOP’s broadcast deal with Warner Bros. Discovery.
How the Prize Pool is Built
Every seat costs $10,000. The Main Event is a no-limit Texas Hold’em freezeout tournament with one entry per player and no re-entries, played under the same poker hand rankings as any other hold’em game.
The WSOP withholds a share of each buy-in to cover staff, dealers and administration and returns the rest to the players, which is why 9,208 entries produced a prize pool of $85,634,400 rather than the $92,080,000 taken at the cage. Field size does the rest.
The schedule pays roughly the top 15%, so turnout sets both the number of paid places and the size of the top prize. The 9,208 entries came from 111 countries, and the 356 UK players formed the third-largest national contingent behind the United States (5,634) and Canada (371).
How Many Players Get Paid?
The 2026 Main Event paid 1,382 players. The other 7,826 entries were eliminated with nothing, which is 85% of the field. That ratio is the standard shape of a large-field tournament, not a feature of this particular year.
The minimum cash was $15,000, or $5,000 above the buy-in. Six-figure payouts started at 80th place with $105,000, and seven-figure payouts started at ninth. Whoever survives the final table becomes the 57th Main Event champion, joining a list that runs back to 1970.
WSOP 2026 Prize Money FAQ
How much does the WSOP Main Event winner get?
The 2026 WSOP Main Event winner receives $10,000,000 and the Main Event gold bracelet.
How many players get paid at the WSOP Main Event?
The Main Event paid 1,382 of its 9,208 entries in 2026, the top 15% of the field. The smallest payout was $15,000.
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