- The World Series of Poker ‘main event’ is currently underway in Las Vegas.
- The event attracted 8,663 entrants for the second largest field in history.
- In 2006, 8,773 entrants played in the WSOP ‘main event’.
The World Series of Poker has been going on all month in Las Vegas, but now all eyes are on the competition dubbed the ‘Main Event’. The proper name is the ‘$10,000 buy-in No-limit Hold’em World Championship’, but since that’s a mouthful most people refer to it simply as the Main Event. The WSOP Main Event is not only the most prestigious title in poker but one that is extremely lucrative.
The bigger the field, the bigger the prize pool and this year both metrics are looking good. The 2022 WSOP Main Event attracted 8,663 entries which represents the second largest field in history. There was considerable optimism that the all time record would be broken but it ended up being just a bit short. The largest WSOP field in history came in 2006 when 8,773 players competed for the gold bracelet and the big prize.
The largest field means that this year’s prize pool is very big indeed. The total prize pool is just over $80 million USD, with the winner receiving $10 million USD. This top prize payout is tied for the second largest ever behind the $12 million USD won by 2006 winner Jamie Gold. It’s also a nice bump from the 2021 top prize of $8 million USD won by Koray Aldemir. The final eight players will all bank at least $1 million USD with the top 1,300 places will receive at least $15,000. With the $10,000 buy in, this means that 1,300 players will make a nice return on their entry fee investment.
WSOP senior vice president Ty Stewart is pleased with the big field and what it represents for competitive poker:
“This summer has shown once and for all that poker is back and better than ever. There’s nothing like the WSOP, and the future is bright.”
At the time of this writing, 205 players remain in the competition. The current chip leader is Aaron Mermelstein with 8,610,000 just ahead of Karim Rebel’s 7,950,000 chips. You can follow the competition on the World Series of Poker official website:
2022 WORLD SERIES OF POKER ‘MAIN EVENT’ CHIP COUNT
There’s also a live blog with frequent updates of interesting hands and big pot wins:
2022 WORLD SERIES OF POKER ‘MAIN EVENT’ LIVE BLOG
One thing that is certain about the outcome of the Main Event–there will be a first time champion. All previous champions have been eliminated from the field. As of Friday evening, there were six still alive: Chris Moneymaker (2003), Greg Merson (2012), Johnny Chan (1987, 1988), Ryan Riess (2013), Joe McKeehan (2015) and John Cynn (2018).
