It’s that point of yr once more.
The 2026 World Collection of Poker schedule has been teased as “coming quickly,” and a cryptic tweet from GGPoker telling followers to “be prepared for February 13” has solely fueled the hypothesis.
Friday the thirteenth is likely to be unfortunate for some, however for tens of 1000’s of gamers planning their Las Vegas summer season, it might mark the beginning of one other poker pilgrimage.
This would be the second full WSOP summer season underneath GG’s possession, and follows a massively profitable WSOP Paradise. So what might a extra absolutely “GG-influenced” WSOP seem like in 2026?
Right here’s what PokerNews thinks could possibly be totally different this yr.
A Clearer GGPoker Id
One factor we undoubtedly anticipate in 2026 is a a lot stronger GGPoker fingerprint on the sequence.
Final summer season was technically the primary WSOP underneath the GG umbrella, however in fact it nonetheless felt very very like a continuation of the Caesars-era World Collection. Every part felt acquainted, from the schedule to the constructions.
The largest seen change was the WSOP+ app, which was genuinely wonderful. Gamers might register shortly, skip lengthy queues, test seat attracts, and handle their schedule from their telephone. It felt trendy and, frankly, overdue. However past that? It was largely enterprise as typical.
Now, with a full yr underneath, this summer season feels just like the second we see a clearer id shift and that might imply:
Extra GG-style branding and presentation throughout bracelet occasions. Occasions impressed by well-liked on-line codecs. A dwell Thriller Bounty Battle Royale Shootout wouldn’t really feel misplaced on the schedule.Greater ensures backed by on-line qualification ecosystems. GGPoker has the participant pool to funnel 1000’s of qualifiers into Las Vegas. In the event that they need to cling a daring quantity on an occasion, there’s the infrastructure to assist it.Extra bounty occasions. GGPoker loves its PKOs and bounty-heavy codecs. They’re recreational-friendly, hold gamers engaged even when they don’t money, and inject extra speedy a reimbursement into the sector. Sure, first-place prizes is likely to be barely smaller, however in concept there’s extra liquidity circling, which advantages the broader ecosystem.Carrying mixed stacks ahead. In some GGPoker occasions, gamers can enter a number of beginning flights and, in the event that they bag greater than as soon as, mix these stacks for Day 2. It’s an efficient manner of boosting prize swimming pools and rewarding quantity. The query is whether or not that format would divide opinion, particularly amongst gamers with restricted bankrolls who do not get limitless photographs.
It actually does rely on how daring they’re prepared to be with poker’s most historic model. Final yr was transitional whereas this yr could possibly be the true starting of the GGPoker-era WSOP.
A Trendy “November 9”?
GGPoker is aware of it has to placed on a present this yr. Extra importantly, it is aware of the best way to.
Tasks like Sport of Gold proved that GG understands trendy poker storytelling. And with the PokerGO contract coming to an finish, GG will now management WSOP broadcasting this summer season. That offers them actual freedom to reshape how the Important Occasion is offered to the world.
Which brings us to the large one — a contemporary “November 9.”
Nobody is anticipating a four-month hole just like the previous days. However a shorter break between the Important Occasion remaining desk being set and performed out? That feels life like.
Poker has by no means had extra mainstream consideration than throughout the November 9 period. The pause created build-up. Profiles have been written and informal followers realized the gamers’ names, who in flip turned stars. The ultimate desk felt like an important factor on the earth.
The Important Occasion is a grind. That’s a part of its attraction. However if you attain the final 9, it ought to really feel like the largest factor in poker. A brief delay might enable WSOP and GG to inform these tales correctly and switch the finale into a real spectacle.
There’s additionally a logistical argument.
What if the Important Occasion ran earlier within the sequence, with the ultimate desk enjoying out towards the tip of the summer season? Horseshoe and Paris typically really feel comparatively quiet by the point the champion is topped. Shifting the timing would enable finalists to carry larger rails, fill the stands, and create an environment worthy of poker’s world championship.
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Extra Free to Watch Poker
One other main sticking level in recent times has been the paywall.
Sure, loads of WSOP streams have been obtainable without spending a dime. However when it got here to the enterprise finish of essentially the most prestigious event in poker, followers wanted a subscription to look at the Important Occasion remaining desk.
Many within the poker group argued that it restricted the sport’s development. The largest second of the summer season needs to be accessible to everybody.
Now, with GGPoker on the helm, there’s a chance to rethink that mannequin. If GG really needs to make the WSOP Important Occasion really feel like a world sporting spectacle, placing it entrance and middle, free to look at, and with a giant advertising marketing campaign can be a robust assertion.
Extra Battle of the XYZ Model Occasions?
It was Battle of the Ages final summer season. Now it’s the Rounder Cup on the upcoming World Collection of Poker Europe.
Clearly, GGPoker and the WSOP have developed a style for X vs Y codecs.
The $1,000 Battle of the Ages on the 2025 WSOP cut up the sector into two Day 1 flights: underneath 50s in a single, over 50s within the different.
From Day 2 onwards, the 2 merged, and it turned a regular bracelet occasion however the storyline carried by. In the long run, Sebastiaan de Jonge flew the flag for the under-50s contingent and gave that aspect bragging rights.
Now the Rounder Cup brings Europe vs The World to WSOPE. One beginning flight for Europeans and one for everybody else.
So what’s subsequent? If GG and WSOP need to lean into this format, there are many methods to construct on it:
Battle of the Sexes – A real 50/50 discipline cut up with equal beginning stacks and separate flights earlier than combining. It could generate headlines instantly.Professionals vs Qualifiers – One flight reserved for bracelet winners and high-profile execs. The opposite for on-line qualifiers and leisure gamers. Previous Faculty vs New Faculty – Bracelet winners from pre-2010 in a single flight and post-2010 crushers in one other.
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A Tremendous Important Occasion Construction & Assure?
When it got here to the WSOP Tremendous Important Occasion at WSOP Paradise, GG needed to provide you with some new methods to hit the lofty $60 million assure. They ended up smashing it, producing a $72,275,000 prize pool.
And it was the next construction that allowed GG and the WSOP to shut a number of mouths:
4 beginning flights.Two separate Day 2s.Gamers who busted on the primary Day 2 nonetheless had the choice to re-enter by way of a later beginning flight or bounce into the second Day 2.Survivors from Day 1a and 1b superior to Day 2a.Day 1c and 1d fed into Day 2b.The sector merged on Day 3.
It was designed to maximise entries and it labored. The Tremendous Important appears like a Paradise flagship, however might components of that mannequin make their approach to Las Vegas within the kind a $15 million assured Mini Important Occasion?
Final yr’s $1,000 Mini Important Occasion attracted 10,794 entries and constructed a $7,937,277 prize pool. It’s already one of the crucial well-liked occasions of the summer season.
With GG displaying they’re prepared to shake up the established order in terms of constructions, a $15 million assured Mini Important, out of the blue doesn’t really feel outrageous.
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Calum Grant
Senior Editor & Reside Occasions Government
Calum has written for varied poker shops however discovered his house at PokerNews, the place he has contributed to varied articles and dwell updates, offering insights and reporting on main poker occasions, together with the World Collection of Poker (WSOP).
