As summer begins to heat up, the anticipation rises as well for the 57th World Series of Poker. This year’s WSOP will run in Las Vegas from May 26 to July 15, 2026, and will again take over the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. A hundred gold bracelets are on the line, a new world champion will emerge, and the poker world will stop everything to watch.
For players and fans of all skill levels and ages, the WSOP defines tournament poker. This year, Ignition will bring you closer to the action than ever — including an inside look at some (hopefully historic) runs for our ambassador Xuan Liu as she sets her sights on the prizes stacked up and ready for the taking.
This 2026 WSOP preview has everything you need to know.
The Stage: Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas
For the fifth consecutive year, the World Series of Poker will be at home at the Horseshoe and will also feature events in the Paris Las Vegas. These are two interconnected Strip properties that are the centerpieces of modern tournament poker. With thousands of players flooding the floor daily, the energy is truly something to experience. Registration for all events is available through the WSOP LIVE app, where players can also track chip counts and follow action in real time.
This year’s series also features a free daily livestream on the WSOP’s official YouTube channel from May 29th through the Main Event. Fans can now watch all the action from anywhere in the world.
Marquee Events to Watch
With 100 live bracelet events on the schedule, the 2026 WSOP has something for many different kinds of players. A handful of tournaments can be considered “must-watch.”
$550 Mini Mystery Millions — Event #1, May 26th
The series kicks off with a brand-new opener. There will be a guaranteed $1 million bounty prize. This means that even the smallest buy-in players have a chance to walk away with a significant prize on the very first day. The classic poker dream is very much alive in this first event.
$25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em Championship — May 29th
The Heads-Up Championship is expanded for the 2026 WSOP. It now features 128 players across two flights, with re-entry available for players bounced in the first flight. This is one of poker’s hardest formats to master, and fans can expect elite names and elimination drama in every round.
$10,000 GGMillion$ High Roller — May 31st
This event is a brand-new addition to the schedule, and it brings the popular GGMillion$ format to the live felt. With two starting flights and a $10,000 buy-in, it will no doubt attract a roster of tournament crushers.
$250,000 Super High Roller — June 13th
This is poker at its most extreme. The most expensive event on the entire schedule will draw a field of maybe 50 to 100 of the world’s very best players (along with a few whales) who are willing to put a quarter million dollars on the table for a shot at a bracelet. The buy-in alone makes it an unmissable spectacle.
$1,500 Millionaire Maker — Event #50, June 17th
Event 50 has four starting flights, a massive field, and will make one guaranteed millionaire. The Millionaire Maker is one of the most beloved events on the calendar precisely because it’s another chance for everyday players to dream big at a relatively accessible price. Flights run June 17th–20th.
$1,000 Ladies Championship
The Ladies Championship offers one of the most competitive environments in the poker world this summer. Players will be gunning to knock off Japan’s Shiina Okamoto after her back-to-back wins in 2024 and 2025.
$10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event — July 2nd
Everything leads here. The Main Event begins July 2nd with four starting flights. Late registration stays open through July 7th. The final table will be confirmed on July 13th. In a new twist, the final table will be delayed for about three weeks. The last nine players will return on August 3rd, and the champion crowned on August 5th.
Key Storylines Heading Into the Series
Michael Mizrachi’s Legacy Run
Last year, Michael Mizrachi captured his eighth bracelet and a $10 million first prize in one of the most memorable Main Event runs in WSOP history. Now, most fans are wondering, who will write the next chapter of the story?
The Bracelet Race and Player of the Year
The 2026 WSOP Player of the Year race offers a $1 million prize pool, with points counting across every bracelet event throughout the series. Will players chase their best shot at a bracelet in one or two events, or grind as many tournaments as possible? All 100 events count toward the standings.
A Record-Breaking Series in Waiting
The 2025 WSOP drew 246,960 entrants and awarded more than $481 million in prize money — both all-time records. The 2026 series is positioned to push those numbers higher, with new events, expanded fields, and a free daily livestream bringing in fans from around the world.
Spotlight: Xuan Liu
Of all the players heading to Las Vegas this summer, one particularly exciting one to follow is our Ignition partner, Xuan Liu.
Rise to Glory
Liu is one of the most accomplished and recognized players in the game today. The Toronto-born, Chinese-Canadian pro has over $3.4 million in career live public earnings, and a résumé that spans more than a decade of high-level tournament poker across six continents. She’s cashed at the WSOP, the World Poker Tour, the Asia Pacific Poker Tour, the Aussie Millions, and the Asia Championship of Poker — and her best results have come on some of poker’s grandest stages.
Her big breakout performance came in May 2025, when she made history by becoming the first woman ever to win a Triton Super High Roller Series title. She took down a monster tournament: the $25,000 WPT Global Slam in Montenegro, which got her an $860,000 payday. It was the biggest cash of her career and confirmed that she was a terror at the tables. That win didn’t just make headlines; it cemented Liu as a genuine force at the elite level of the game, capable of competing with and defeating the world’s best.
Liu came to Ignition with a clear mission: to be a genuine voice for players at the table and away from it. She has already made waves as an advocate and an authentic voice for recreational players.
Liu at the 2026 WSOP
At the 2026 WSOP, Liu has confirmed she will be playing the Ladies Championship, one of the summer’s most anticipated bracelet events, and the $10,000 Main Event. “I’ve never made an actual deep run in the Main Event,” she told poker.org earlier this year. “I always feel like it’s something that I’ll do on my 40th try or something. And we’re definitely approaching that number.”
Beyond the tables, Liu is also one of poker’s most engaging content creators. Fans can follow her WSOP journey across her YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok channels to see behind-the-scenes coverage, tournament updates, strategy insights, and all the atmosphere that makes Las Vegas in the summer so electric. Whether you’re tracking her chip counts from the rail or following along from home, you’ll have a front-row seat.
How to Play Your Own Game
If you won’t be at the WSOP, you can always play here. Ignition runs a full slate of online tournaments year-round, with buy-ins for every bankroll and format. If watching the pros chase bracelets on TV gets your competitive fire going, brush up on poker strategy and get in the game.
The World Series of Poker is the greatest live poker event on the planet. This summer in Las Vegas, 100 bracelets will change hands, a new champion will be crowned, and Xuan Liu will be in the middle of all of it.
Stay tuned. The best poker of the year is about to begin.
