Top 5 largest fields for WSOP Main Event
The World Series of Poker Main Event started in 1970 with seven players competing in a cash game.
Since the poker boom of the 2000s, it has grown into one of the largest tournaments on the calendar each year and is a bucket list item for many players.
Here are the five largest fields in the history of the WSOP’s $10,000 buy-in No-limit Hold’em World Championship:
10,112 — The record fell in 2024 for the second straight summer, and professional poker player Jonathan Tamayo of Humble, Texas, won the $10 million first prize. Attendance was boosted by a record-setting Day 1D when 5,014 players entered, the most ever for a Main Event starting flight.
10,043 — The WSOP ran numerous promotions and online satellites in 2023 to ensure that the 17-year record would fall. Daniel Weinman emerged victorious from the massive field and took home $12.1 million, the largest first prize ever awarded at the Main Event.
8,773 — At the peak of the poker boom in 2006, players flocked to the Rio Convention Center for a piece of the action. Jamie Gold ran hot to reach the final table, then put the remaining players on tilt with his table talk and claimed the $12 million first prize.
8,663 — After two years of restrictions at the WSOP from the coronavirus pandemic, the 2022 Main Event signaled a resurgence in poker’s popularity. Espen Jorstad of Norway won the $10 million first prize as the series was held on the Strip for the first time.
8,569 — The 2019 Main Event might be best remembered for the earthquake that hit California and was felt in Las Vegas during the tournament. The field was the largest since 2006, and Hossein Ensan of Germany captured the title and $10 million top prize.
Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.