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WSOP Links Three Live Stops in New Player of the Year System

WSOP Links Three Live Stops in New Player of the Year System
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Iva Dozet News Editor
  • Fact Checked by: PokerListings
  • Last updated on: December 17, 2025 · 2 minutes to read

The World Series of Poker has been shifting things left and right in preparation for the 2026 season. Apparently, this also means rethinking what a full season actually looks like. Yesterday, the WSOP confirmed that its Player of the Year (POTY) competition for 2026 will no longer be anchored to that single summer stretch in Las Vegas. Instead, it’s going to span all three major WSOP live series in the calendar year, putting WSOP Europe, the summer WSOP in Vegas, and WSOP Paradise all into one basket.

We’re here to tell what that’s actually going to look like.

What a Global Player of the Year Race Looks Like

So, as we said, for 2026, the WSOP Player of the Year title is no longer being decided by a single summer grind in Vegas. Instead, results from WSOP Europe, the summer WSOP in Las Vegas, and WSOP Paradise will all feed into one shared leaderboard.

Announcing the change, WSOP CEO Ty Stewart framed the move as a shift toward a more connected live calendar:

Ty Stewart

By uniting our three flagship live series under a unified, $1M Player of the Year competition, we’re giving players a true global season to chase history. Starting with a monster guarantee in Prague, continuing through our summer homecoming in Las Vegas, and culminating in Paradise, we are dedicated to offering the best value and the biggest stages in the world.

To support this idea, WSOP attached a $1 million total prize pool to the now global POTY race. This means the overall winner receives an enhanced $100,000 WSOP Paradise package, while the remaining rewards will be distributed to the top 100 players in the standings in the form of WSOP packages and event tickets.

While this move wasn’t necessarily expected, it fits into a patter with what the WSOP has been up to lately. In 2026, the WSOP Circuit will also switch to a calendar-year format for the first time. Along with this shift, circuit ring winners will also receive a $5,000 WSOP package, redeemable at either WSOP Europe or WSOP Paradise, and the long-awaited WSOP+ app will finally be rolled out across the Circuit.

WSOP Europe in Prague: Where the Race Begins

WSOPE 2026 Player of the Year

The new Player of the Year season starts in Europe in just a couple of months. WSOP Europe returns to Prague from March 31 to April 12, 2026, with 15 gold bracelets on offer and a schedule that places it firmly at the center of the year-long race rather than on its periphery.

A €5,300 Main Event carrying a €10 million guaranteed prize pool is headlining the European stop, which makes this the largest guarantee announced for a European poker tournament in recent memory. WSOP also added a new €1,500 European Circuit Championship to the Old Continent.

WSOP Europe 2026 Schedule Overview

EventDateBuy-In
The Opener – NLH Mystery BountyMarch 31€1,000
PLO Mixed (Big O, PLO8, PLO)March 31€3,000
COLOSSUS NLHApril 2€500
PLOSSUS Bounty PLOApril 3€500
Main Event NLH European ChampionshipApril 3€5,300
NLH Super Turbo BountyApril 5€2,000
MONSTER STACK NLHApril 6€1,500
PLO European ChampionshipApril 6€5,300
Rounder Cup NLH (EU vs ROW)April 7€2,500
NLH FreezeoutApril 8€800
High Roller 8-Max NLHApril 8€10,400
European Circuit Championship NLHApril 9€1,500
GGMillion$ High Roller NLHApril 10€25,000
PLO Double Board Bomb PotApril 11€1,000
The Closer – NLH Turbo BountyApril 12€2,000

Prague sets the tone. From there, the tour moves on to Las Vegas (May 26–July 15) and concludes at WSOP Paradise (December 1–18), where the POTY race will reach its finish line.

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Written By: Iva Dozet News Editor
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