Not everyone ends up the same way after weeks in Las Vegas.
This week the official schedule of the World Series Of Poker (WSOP) was announced. As usual, there were several changes in the grid, between new tournaments that will be played for the first time and classic tournaments that will have changes in their structures. Furthermore, it is still not known exactly when the Main Event final table will be played, although that should only worry the 9 lucky ones who reach it. Meanwhile, there are many other changes that will affect hundreds or thousands of players.
The Mini Mystery Millions changes buy-in
One of the series’ classic tournaments will have a lower buy-in. The Mini Mystery Millions will go from costing US$1.000 to having an entry cost of just US$550. However, it maintains its highest bounty at US$1.000.000. The idea is to compensate for the cut in the buy-in by expanding the turnout significantly.
In 2025, almost 20.000 entries were registered in the tournament, with thousands of players looking to turn US$1.000 into US$1.000.000. It is expected that this number of participants will be widely exceeded in the next edition, having a cost of almost half its original value.
Michael Wilklow Won The 2025 Wsop Mystery Millions And Took Home A Prize Of US$1.000.000
More re-entries in the Monster
Another of the traditional events that usually attract thousands of players during the World Series Of Poker (WSOP) is the Monster Stack. This tournament is designed for those players who enjoy a deep structure, with many chips at the start of the tournament. The most drastic change it will have is that players will be able to make 1 re-entry in each of the four initial flights. Before this, players could not make any and had to wait for the next flight to re-enter the tournament.
But there is another peculiarity. Late registration is available during Day 2 and there will even be initial flights after Day 2 itself. Therefore, it would be possible for a player to reach Day 2, get a mini-cash, be eliminated, and make a re-entry in the subsequent initial flight.
This means that double the entries can be registered, as players can make 1 re-entry per day. In any case, not everyone is happy with this change. Greg Himmelbrand
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“The Monster and the Milly M get worse every year. They were perfect with 2 flights and massive prize pools. Then they added a third flight, then a fourth. And now you can bust on Day 2 and re-enter? It makes these events harder to win and this scares away recreational players,” the player wrote.
Lack of high stakes action?
Adrián Mateos
“There is a great absence of high stakes NLH in the middle of the series. From June 17 until the start of the Main Event on July 2, there is not a single NLH tournament of US$10K or more. I think 15 days without these events is a lot, as the demand for such tournaments is clear,” the Spaniard wrote.
If we look closely at the schedule, we notice that in that part of the series, more prominence is given to Pot-Limit Omaha. There will be several new events, such as the new 5-Card PLO and the “Pick Your Own PLO” Dealer’s Choice. High stakes players will have to choose between playing Omaha tournaments or going around Las Vegas in search of NLH action.
Other changes
Another of the changes that marked the agenda of this WSOP 2026 was the modification in the date of the Heads-Up Championship. The tournament this time will take place at the beginning of the series, when players are still full of energy. In addition, the tournament will be divided into two initial flights, allowing the possibility of re-entering in case of having lost in the first one.
And, just as there are new tournaments, there are also tournaments that are leaving. The US$1.500 Shootout is one of them. The tournament had a structure in which a player had to defeat everyone at their table to advance to the next round. It was a good option for Sit & Go fans, but the organization decided to leave it off the schedule.
Speaking of additions, the big news of the season is the intertwining with the WSOP Circuit. The US Circuit Championship will take place in early June and will be an official part of the series. In addition, the WSOP Las Vegas Circuit will be played starting July 14, immediately after the World Series, creating a bridge between one festival and the other.
Read also: WSOP 2025: The Day Two Pros Fixed A Tournament In Plain Sight — CodigoPoker
