The European WSOP moved to Prague for the first time — and produced the biggest series in its history. Here's the full story.
The World Series of Poker Europe made a bold move in 2026 — leaving its longtime home at King's Casino in Rozvadov for the historic Congress Hall in the heart of Prague. It was the right call. The series obliterated every record it had ever set. 15,779 entries. 83 countries. €35.8 million paid out. A Main Event with 2,617 entries and a €13 million prize pool — the largest in European WSOP history. And it ended with one of the most dramatic final hands you'll see on a poker felt this year.
That's approximately $42.1 million in prize money — the largest European WSOP ever.
The WSOPE moved from the remote border town of Rozvadov to downtown Prague — one of Europe's most-visited cities. The decision paid off immediately. Between sessions, players could walk to restaurants, see sights, and treat the tournament like a vacation instead of a grinding boot-camp. Organizers also cut the Main Event buy-in in half, dropping it to €5,300. The result: a massive, diverse field and the biggest European WSOP ever.
This is the event that defined the series. At €5,300 — half the usual European Main Event buy-in — it became instantly accessible to a much broader player pool. 2,617 entries built a €13,085,000 prize pool. It was the largest Main Event ever staged in Europe.
Kudzmanas already had two online WSOP bracelets on his résumé. This was his first live bracelet — and he did it in unforgettable fashion.
Final hand: pocket Kings cracked by 7-6. The kind of moment fields remember for a decade.
The Main Event grabbed the headlines, but three other events each drew over 2,000 entries — a threshold that would have been almost unthinkable at a European WSOP just a few years ago.
The biggest field of the entire series. A €565 buy-in building a prize pool north of €1 million. The COLOSSUS is the classic WSOP "people's event" — designed to pack chairs with recreational players — and Prague made it sing.
Middle-tier buy-in, premier prize pool. The European version of the USPO's Circuit Championship. A massive €3.5 million prize pool built from accessible buy-ins.
The first bracelet event of the series came out of the gate with 2,000+ entries — instantly signaling that the Prague format was going to work.
This isn't just a poker story — it's a blueprint. The WSOPE Prague template (central city location + reduced Main Event buy-in + packed bracelet schedule) produced the biggest European series in history. Expect WSOP organizers to study those numbers very carefully as they plan the 2027 edition — and possibly as they think about structural changes to the live events back in Las Vegas.
If you want a taste of big-field international WSOP action without flying to Europe, WSOP Paradise returns to Atlantis in the Bahamas in December 2026. Way more convenient for South Florida players — you're closer to Nassau than to Vegas. The Paradise field has historically drawn many of the same pros you'd see in Prague.
International series like WSOPE don't usually matter much to casual South Florida players — but there are a few knock-on effects worth knowing:
The 2026 WSOPE's move from Rozvadov to Prague produced the biggest European poker series ever — €35.8 million paid out, 15,779 entries across 83 countries. Lower buy-ins + better location = more players. That's a lesson that'll echo across poker for years.