Why don’t we know who the WSOP Player of the Year is yet? Understand the ranking

Annually, the poker community got used to knowing the WSOP Player of the Year (World Series of Poker) as soon as the series ended in Las Vegas (USA). The one who wins the ranking of the world series edition has their face stamped on banners in the event hall, as do the Main Event champions. But in 2026, it is still unknown who won. Why?

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To understand, one must pay attention to the changes that the WSOP organization promoted for this year’s dispute. Always surrounded by criticism and different opinions, the Player of the Year (POY) ranking constantly undergoes rule adaptations.

In 2026, to please the players, the WSOP announced a US$ 1 million prize pool for the ranking. Previously, the points race had no cash prizes, only the banner and a personalized bracelet, sometimes also giving an entry to the following year’s Main Event.

Now, the top 100 will receive packages of different values. The top three will get a US$ 100,000 package for WSOP Paradise, while from fourth to 15th, a US$ 30,000 package for the year-end Super Main Event will be awarded. From 16th to 50th, the prize is a US$ 5,000 package for the WSOP Circuit, and from 51st to 100th, a US$ 2,500 ticket.

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It’s not just Las Vegas: the decision will have to wait

In addition to the prizes, the organization also announced for 2026 changes in the scoring formula and, mainly, in the series valid for the ranking. That’s where the answer lies: the Las Vegas stage was not the last of the WSOP season, and therefore, the points race is not over yet.

It will only end in December, at WSOP Paradise. The Caribbean series will have more bracelet-awarding events, and the Player of the Year ranking rule is clear: every live tournament that awards a bracelet counts points for the standings. WSOP Europe, for example, already accumulated points in the first half of the year. Thus, the community will only find out who will be on the walls of the world series hall in the last month of the year.

Currently, Shaun Deeb is in the lead. Defending the points race title, the player could become the first to be crowned WSOP Player of the Year three times, as in addition to 2025, he also won in 2018. He has a slight advantage over Japan’s Naoya Kihara, and Alex Foxen closes out the top 3. The best Brazilian in this dispute is Yuri Martins, in 45th place with 1,735 points.

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See the current top 10 of the Player of the Year ranking: