WSOP Is Back on ESPN – Main Event Final Table Set for August 3-5

Following weeks of hypothesis concerning the 2026 WSOP Major Occasion and the place to look at the WSOP, the Sequence introduced a brand new historic settlement with ESPN.

The multi-year cope with the favored community will see a return of the Major Occasion to ESPN for the primary time since 2020. The announcement hinted at a brand new and improved manufacturing that would make the Major Occasion the most effective poker present of the complete 12 months.

The identical announcement additionally gave us a transparent perception into this 12 months’s WSOP Major Occasion schedule, which is able to begin with Day 1A on July 2, whereas the ultimate desk will play out from August 3-5, with a 20-day ready interval between Day 8 and the ultimate desk.

WSOP CEO Ty Stewart commented: “Returning to ESPN – the house of our most iconic moments since 1987 – permits us to showcase the human drama of the Major Occasion like by no means earlier than. With our new possession’s dedication to progress, that is the proper time to convey the ‘World Championship’ again to the largest stage in sports activities.”

Final verified: March 2026

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Making the WSOP Major Occasion Nice Once more

The WSOP Major Occasion has been the largest stay poker match on the planet for many years, and its recognition has solely stored on rising through the years.

Chris Moneymaker’s historic victory on this match launched the Poker Increase again in 2003, and the sport has by no means been the identical since.

Following a interval of stagnation and experiments just like the November 9, the Major Occasion went via quite a few phases. In recent times, the occasion has been crushing its personal information, reaching new attendance highs and attracting gamers from all corners of the globe.

Underneath new possession by the NSUS Group, the house owners of GGPoker, the WSOP Major Occasion is getting into a model new stage. The return to ESPN is a serious a part of that transition, because the Sequence seems to push the Major Occasion over the sting and attain the subsequent stage.

For poker followers who’ve been staying present on the WSOP for the reason that Moneymaker days, this transfer will mark a return to the roots and a welcome change, as they reminisce in regards to the legendary Major Occasion productions with the likes of Lon McEachren and Norman Chad in main roles.

For the youthful generations, the Major Occasion manufacturing on ESPN shall be a brand new expertise, and one that would encourage many younger gamers to affix the sport and set out on their very own path of at some point enjoying on the planet’s most prestigious poker match.

New and Improved Major Occasion Manufacturing

WSOP introduced its renewed partnership with ESPN through a press launch, which detailed a few of the provisions of the brand new deal.

The multi-year settlement begins this 12 months and can see ESPN present complete protection of the $10,000 No-Restrict Maintain’em World Championship, higher often called the WSOP Major Occasion.

The settlement with ESPN alerts the brand new possession’s curiosity in broadcasting poker to mainstream audiences and offering the high-end storytelling that was such an enormous a part of earlier ESPN coverages of the Major Occasion.

To raise the manufacturing to the subsequent stage, the WSOP has engaged award-winning Omaha Productions, which shall be accountable for bringing its recognizable storytelling model to the Major Occasion protection.

With ESPN and Omaha Productions working collectively to create over 100 hours of content material annually, the Major Occasion protection is about to change into an entire lot extra partaking than it has been in recent times.

“Poker is stuffed with sudden storylines, and no one is healthier geared up to showcase the tales that unfold all through a match greater than ESPN. Bringing the WSOP again displays our continued dedication to delivering premium competitors and that connects with followers in new and thrilling methods:’ stated Ashley O’Connor, Vice President, Programming and Acquisitions at ESPN.

Full Major Occasion Schedule Launched

This 12 months’s WSOP schedule was launched a number of weeks in the past, detailing the dates and codecs of many of the 100 gold bracelet occasions scheduled for the summer season.

One of many issues that remained undisclosed was the precise WSOP Major Occasion dates, and this prompted waves of hypothesis all through the poker world.

With WSOP’s most up-to-date announcement, we now know that the Major Occasion will begin on July 2, and play out with no breaks till July 13.

The Major Occasion ultimate desk, nevertheless, will solely play out 20 days later, because the Sequence goals for the recognizable “cliffhanger” tv format, giving the followers one thing to look ahead to over a number of weeks.

Closing desk motion will begin on Monday, August 3, whereas the eventual 2026 Poker World Champion shall be topped on Wednesday, August 5.

In accordance with the deal between WSOP and ESPN, every day of the 2026 Major Occasion will get at the very least 6 hours of programming, with a complete of greater than 100 hours of content material obtainable to the followers by the tip of the summer season.

Here’s a detailed take a look at the complete 2026 Major Occasion schedule, from Day 1 to the ultimate desk: