In 2026, the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) will be held in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, marking its debut in the city. For the first time, Europe’s largest poker tournament will take place in the spring, from 31 March to 12 April.
The move to spring is seen as a strategic move to avoid conflicts with other major poker festivals. In addition, the new date gives players more flexibility in planning their schedules.
Prague strengthens its position in the poker world
The Hilton Prague Hotel, which is hosting the tournament, is already well known among poker players as the venue for the PokerStars EPT Prague festival. For the upcoming event, WSOPE is teaming up with King’s Casino Prague. This collaboration began in Rozvadov and now strengthens Prague’s position as one of the key cities on the world poker map.
Despite the activity in 2025, there are currently no official announcements regarding the EPT in Prague in 2026. According to information on the PokerStars website, the Prague festival is scheduled for December 2025 but is not included in next year’s event calendar. At the same time, the spring leg of the EPT Paris series has been confirmed. It will take place in Paris from 18 February to 1 March 2026, according to the PokerStars LIVE schedule.
PokerStars is expected to update the calendar towards the end of the year, and participants will be able to find out about the possible return of the EPT to Prague in 2026.
Ty Stewart, CEO of WSOP, called the upcoming tournament an exciting revival in Prague, which he considers an excellent city for poker. ‘We have big ambitions to make this festival one of the best in the world,‘ he added.
Innovation and tradition at WSOPE 2026
The WSOPE series, which has been held since 2007, is being hosted by Prague for the first time. Previously, the tournament, recognised as one of the significant events in European poker, was held in cities such as London, Cannes, Paris, Berlin, and Rozvadov in the Czech Republic. Among the champions of the main event are Annette Obrestad, John Juanda, Elio Fox, Phil Hellmuth, Adrian Mateos, Kevin McPhee, and Jack Sinclair.
Last week, the latest series at King’s Resort Casino in Rozvadov came to an end. WSOPE 2025, featuring 15 gold bracelet events, ran from 17 September to 8 October. The tournament’s guaranteed prize pool was €20 million.
The main tournament with a buy-in of €10,350 attracted 659 participants and ended with the victory of Daniel Pidun from Germany, who received €1.14 million. Second place went to Gerald Karlich from Austria with a prize of €757,000. The total prize pool for the main event was €6.14 million.
WSOPE 2026 will continue the tradition of awarding gold bracelets: 15 tournaments are planned as part of the series. The complete list of events and buy-ins will be published later. In terms of innovations, the WSOP+ app, designed to improve the user experience and digital support for tournaments, will be introduced during the WSOPE.
Qualification for WSOPE 2026 is available exclusively through the largest poker room, GGPoker. WSOP Express satellite tournaments are now open for registration.
WSOP’s transition from Caesars to GGPoker
In a historic deal, Caesars Entertainment sold the WSOP brand to NSUS Group, the parent company of GGPoker, for $500 million, which was confirmed on 29 October 2024. This move is in line with Caesars’ plan to focus on its gaming and hotel business, while GGPoker aims to elevate the brand’s status in both the online and offline poker environments.
Under the agreement, Caesars retains the rights to host the WSOP Main Event at its Las Vegas venues for the next twenty years and will also be able to use the WSOP brand in certain poker rooms. By retaining the rights to host WSOP Circuit live tournaments, Caesars remains an active player in the poker world, focusing its efforts on key business areas where it has a strategic advantage.
This article was first published in Russian on 14 October 2025.
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