Poker Stars To Watch For At The 2026 World Series Of Poker
There’s no question that the World Series of Poker is the pinnacle of live poker festivals, and it pulls the best and brightest to the heart of the Las Vegas Strip each summer. At the 2025 WSOP Main Event last summer, we saw American Michael Mizrachi crush a sizable 9,735-strong field to bag the $10,000,000 top prize.
It took a little shy of 80 hands (25% of them on the last day) for ‘The Grinder’ to become an eight-time World Series of Poker bracelet champion. The $6 million consolation prize for John Wasnock being the runner-up was not too shabby, and, if anything, it was good enough to see him up his game for 2026.
The poker poster child, Daniel Negreanu, did not fare well in the 2025 Main Event, and his last WSOP bracelet was in 2024. ‘KidPoker’ made a little short of $900k at the 2025 WSOP Paradise. You can bet we will see Negreanu grinding a full schedule at the 2026 WSOP in Las Vegas, alongside other mainstays like Phil Ivey, Brian Rast, and Alex Foxen.
But one familiar poker face you might miss is Phil Hellmuth, who chalked himself off the event with a post last year on X, saying the WSOP has become an ‘endurance contest’ that disfavors older players.
Michael Mizrachi: The Defending Champion Returns
Fresh off his 2025 Main Event victory, Michael Mizrachi will enter the 2026 WSOP as the defending world champion, along with the defending Poker Players Champion. The 44-year-old Florida native proved he still belongs in poker’s top tier by winning both the $50,000 Poker Players Championship and the Main Event in the same year. That’s a feat that earned him an immediate Poker Hall of Fame induction right after his Main Event win. With eight bracelets and just under $30 million in live tournament earnings, Mizrachi has shown no signs of slowing down.
Daniel Negreanu: KidPoker’s Redemption Tour
The seven-time WSOP champion last tasted gold in the 2024 Poker Players Championship, when he broke an 11-year drought. Negreanu has been active on the PokerGO Tour, and his status as a GGPoker ambassador means he’ll be playing a full schedule this summer.
Alex Foxen: High Roller Specialist
Alex Foxen closed out 2025 as the PokerGO Tour Player of the Year, his 12th tour title proving he’s one of the most consistent performers in poker. The three-time bracelet winner banked $3 million for second place in the 2025 WSOP $250,000 Super High Roller and has racked up over $54 million in live earnings. Foxen’s aggressive style and ability to navigate massive fields make him a favourite in any big buy-in event.
Shiina Okamoto: Back-to-Back Ladies’ Champion
The Japanese ace Shiina Okamoto made history by bagging the WSOP Ladies’ Championship in 2024 and 2025. She defeated a 1,368-strong field in 2025 for $184,094, and that means she’s right up there as the queen of this event. Okamoto also won a PokerStars Women’s Event at EPT Barcelona in 2025 and is now a GTO Wizard ambassador. While she finished second in 2023, her dominance over the past two years suggests a three-peat is very much in play.
Zdenek Zizka: the Czech backgammon pro
Zdenek ‘ZZ’ Zizka came out of nowhere to win his first bracelet in 2025 and took down a $1,000 event for $232,498 with a heads-up defeat of Shaun Deeb. The backgammon grandmaster turned poker pro then won a $100,000 Super High Roller at the Brazilian Series of Poker for $1.2 million. In January 2026, he added a WSOP Circuit ring at King’s Resort.
What, when, and where is the 2026 WSOP Las Vegas?
The World Series of Poker is hands down the biggest and most lucrative multi-event tournament festival in the live poker calendar. The 2026 WSOP summer series hits the ground running on May 26th and pushes through July 15th at the Paris Hotel & Casino and the Horseshoe in Las Vegas.
The big news is that, since last year, they have added more events than ever before. There are 100 bracelet tournaments on the roster across Omaha, No-Limit Hold’em, and other live poker formats, all a cinch to learn and practice alongside other free casino games. The $10,000 Main Event is what brings the big poker stars to Vegas, but there are options for every budget, with buy-ins ranging from just $300 up to $250,000.
