WSOP Main Event officially 3rd-largest in history
The World Series of Poker Main Event field fell short of 10,000 entries for the first time in three years.
Registration closed Monday for the $10,000 buy-in No-limit Hold’em World Championship at Horseshoe Las Vegas and Paris Las Vegas, and 9,735 players entered the tournament, making it the third largest in history.
Last year’s field set the record with 10,112 entries after there were 10,043 entries in 2023. Prior to that, the previous record was 8,773 set in 2006.
The numbers are in on the third largest Main Event field ever!
9,735 entries built a prizepool of $90,535,500.
1,461 players will make the money.
The min-cash comes in at $15,000 and 9 players will go home with at least $1,000,000!1st place: $10,000,000
2nd: $6,000,000
3rd:… pic.twitter.com/2La8MgQjno— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) July 8, 2025
“It’s been another historic summer at the World Series of Poker with total participation on a record pace,” said Ty Stewart, chief executive officer of the WSOP. “Players continue to respond positively to the WSOP’s move to the Las Vegas Strip and this Main Event number shows again that we remain a strong summer headliner.”
Entering this year’s WSOP, there was wide speculation that attendance for the Main Event could decrease with international politics making it difficult for some players to travel to the United States. The Main Event was on record pace again after the first two days, as the new WSOP+ app helped players register easier than ever.
But entries dipped year-over-year on Day 1C before Saturday’s final starting flight drew 4,997 entrants, roughly the same as last year when 5,014 players bought in on Day 1D.
The winner of this year’s Main Event will earn $10 million and the WSOP bracelet. Second place pays out $6 million. All nine members of the final table are guaranteed a minimum of $1 million.
Jonathan Tamayo is the defending champion and won $10 million last year. He was still alive at the dinner break on Day 2D.
The 2025 Main Event features a prize pool of $90,535,500, with the top 1,461 finishers making money. The minimum cash is $15,000.
Additional notable payouts include $750,000 for 10th and 11th place, $560,250 for 12th and 13th place and $450,000 for 14th through 17th place. The top 89 finishers are guaranteed at least $100,000.
The Main Event continues Tuesday with Day 3, when all the remaining players from the four starting flights are combined for the first time. Oleksii Kravchuk of Ukraine held the overall lead after Day 2ABC with 937,500 chips, which equates to roughly 375 big blinds. He was the only player within touching distance of seven figures.
Several notable players advanced to Day 3, including former Main Event champions Phil Hellmuth, Johnny Chan, Greg Raymer, Greg Merson and Damian Salas. Popular pro Daniel Negreanu also moved on, but had a below-average stack size.
The money bubble is projected to burst late Tuesday or early Wednesday on Day 4.
The final table of the Main Event is scheduled to begin July 15 at Horseshoe Las Vegas.
Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on X.