Did WSOP’s Attempts to Rework Large-Field Formats for More Entries Pay Off?

The World Series of Poker made significant changes to the structures of several marquee events to boost entry numbers. Early returns on the changes are mixed. Most of the events lost entries, though one notable exception saw a major increase.

WSOP’s aggressive pursuit of ever-greater entry numbers began in earnest with a creative change to last year’s WSOP Paradise $25,000 Super Main Event. To PokerScout’s knowledge, players could, for the first time, bust into the money on a Day 2 while still turning around and re-entering subsequent Day 1 flights. The WSOP connected each Day 2 to its own Day 1, scheduling them in a pattern of Day 1A, then Day 2A, then Day 1B, then Day 2B, etc.

Previously, Day 1s had generally been scheduled one after another. Then, all of the players would combine on Day 2.

Only the WSOP Monster Stack Saw Increased Entries

For the 2026 WSOP, that style of scheduling was used for some marquee events: $1,500 Monster Stack, $500 Colossus, $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold’em Championship, and $1,500 Millionaire Maker.

Of those four events, the Monster Stack saw its number rocket way up, enjoying a roughly 20% boost. However, all four of the other events lost entries year over year. That happened despite each structure being reworked to make it much more likely that players fired multiple times.

Here’s a breakdown of how all four events changed year over year:

At first glance, everything looks pretty rosy for the WSOP here. The Monster Stack changes appear to be a notable success, despite some negative player sentiment. Everything else stayed almost exactly the same.

New Structures in Three WSOP Events May Have Driven Entries Down

However, the number of entries staying constant for three of the four events doesn’t tell the whole story. It was when, rather than how many, that really shifted in these events. The new setup all but assured an increase in the average number of entries per player, because they were much more likely to bust out before the end of registration. Under that backdrop, a slight dip in the numbers is actually a clear loss for the WSOP.

Consider the Millionaire Maker. In both 2025 and 2026, players could enter eight times.

In 2025, though, that would have required busting out repeatedly on Day 1s, with registration available for eight levels per day. It was certainly possible, but if a player reached Level 12 even once, they were locked into Day 2 and out of further registration. A player only doubling their starting chips would have had 25 big blinds to close Day 1, so getting to Level 12 without busting wasn’t that difficult.

In 2026, registration times and chip stacks were identical. But players could bust as late as Level 20 and re-enter, provided there was still a Day 1 flight with open registration. They had to get about twice as far in the tournament before locking themselves out of registration.

What Are Players at the WSOP Saying With Their Purchasing Decisions?

It’s impossible to say for sure without a full list of unique entries, but it certainly looks like at least three of these four events drew fewer individual players in 2026 than they did in 2025.

Have poker operators finally pushed the economy to the breaking point by piling entries, re-entries, and endless late registration onto the customers? Are players voting with their wallets because they’re disgusted with the changes?

Right now, there is a correlation, but no way to confirm causation. Attendance in general at the WSOP appears to have dropped for a variety of reasons, as PokerScout detailed in this piece. That trend may have simply bled over into these ultra-popular events as well.

Given the choice between different structures, players might just be voting for “stack inflation” offered by the Monster Stack. The Millionaire Maker has the same buy-in and a slower structure, but the Monster Stack offers double the starting chips.

Whatever the case, the WSOP will surely re-evaluate the numbers after the series and consider its options. They’re privy to even more data than the table posted above.

Right now, the results of the structure changes look mixed, at best. At some point, setting up the structures to encourage as much late entry and re-entry as possible has diminishing returns. The WSOP may have reached that point.