The 2026 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) enters its decisive phase this coming weekend with the six Main Events. The highlight, of course, is the World Championship Main Event, with a buy-in of $10,300, on September 27.
The WCOOP runs through September 30. The entire series comprises 121 events and a total of 350 tournaments in the High, Medium, and Low categories, with buy-ins ranging from $5.50 to $25,000. A total of $6.5 million in guaranteed prize money is up for grabs.
Niklas Astedt with Two Wins
Among those who have made it onto the winners’ list of the ongoing WCOOP so far is British poker pro Patrick “pads1161” Leonard, who claimed victory in the $530 NLE Turbo, earning him $15,428 in prize money. This brings “pads1161’s” total to 15 WCOOP titles.
Joao “Naza114” Vieira, a Portuguese player living in the UK, also added to his impressive record at the World Championship of Online Poker with his victory in the $1,050 PLO8 World Championship. Vieira prevailed against a field of 121 players, won $27,202, and secured his 14th WCOOP title.
Swedish player Niklas “Lena900” Astedt became the first player to win two titles in this year’s series. He followed up his victory in the $1,050 PLO tournament with a win in the $5,200 Thursday Thrill HR PKO, collecting a total of $103,281 in prize money and bounties. Astedt now also has 14 WCOOP titles to his name. Earlier this month, he also reached the final table of the “Sunday Million Anniversary.”
The $10,300 PKO High Roller caused quite a stir. Brazilian soccer star Neymar Jr. was among the participants but fell just short of the prize money ranks. In the end, the victory—and $139,969—went to Austria-based high-stakes regular Ole “wizowizo” Schemion. This prize money marked the second-highest payout of this year’s series.
Vanessa Kade Wins Her First WCOOP Trophy
The $1,050 NLHE Turbo was won by top player Renan “Internett93o” Bruschi. For the Brazilian, this was already his twelfth WCOOP title, which this time came with a prize of $21,190. Poker player Vanessa “Niffller” Kade has already secured her place in the WCOOP history books in 2021. The Canadian won the largest Sunday Million ever held. And in the current WCOOP, she prevailed against 75 female competitors in the $215 Women’s World Championship, winning $4,049 in prize money and the first WCOOP title of her career. PokerStars ambassador Marle “MarlzTV” Spragg had to settle for 3rd place and $2,269.
And WCOOP record-holder Benny “RunGodLike” Glaser further extended his lead over the competition. His victory in the $1,050 8-Game tournament (prize pool: $21,400) marked his 17th WCOOP title.
Other players who won multiple titles during this year’s series include “ameliaroy007,” Johannes “Jepser8” Straver, “vdp2.0,” “|gammi|€120,” “Gigaloff,” “Nacho124441,” and “texasilainen.” Brazil currently leads the WCOOP 2026 nations leaderboard with 62 titles, followed by the United Kingdom with 34 and Austria with 18 titles.
Poker fans can look forward to the following Main Events:
Tournament | Guarantee | Date |
|---|---|---|
$109 NLHE Main Event L | $1.250.000 | 27. September |
$1.050 NLHE Main Event M | $2.000.000 | 27. September |
$10.300 NLHE Main Event H / NLHE Championship | $2.500.000 | 27. September |
$109 PLO Main Event L | $100.000 | 28. September |
$1.050 PLO Main Event M | $250.000 | 28. September |
$10.300 PLO Main Event H / PLO Championship | $400.000 | 28. September |
PokerStars offers various ways to qualify for the WCOOP tournaments. Satellites are available starting at just $0.55. In addition, there are special WCOOP Spin & Go’s starting at $0.75, as well as the WCOOP Lucky Dip promotion, which offers a total of $500,000 worth of WCOOP tickets. You can find all the details on the PokerStars WCOOP page.