2026 WSOP Player of the Year Race to Be Decided at WSOP Paradise

By Mrinal Gujare

2 hours ago

Mrinal Gujare 2 hours ago

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The 2026 WSOP Player of the Year will be decided at WSOP Paradise in the Bahamas, with Shaun Deeb currently leading.
The competition offers a $1 million prize pool shared among the top 100 players, plus the new Binion Cup for the champion.
Final bracelet events and the $50M Super Main Event will determine if Deeb retains his title or another player overtakes him.

The 2026 WSOP Player of the Year race will conclude at WSOP Paradise in the Bahamas, with defending champion Shaun Deeb leading the standings. The unified competition features a $1 million leaderboard prize pool for the top 100 ranked players.

The 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Player of the Year (POY) race will conclude at WSOP Paradise in the Bahamas, where the final bracelet events will determine this year's winner.

Defending champion Shaun Deeb currently leads the standings, with Naoya Kihara and William Alex Foxen among his closest challengers.

The competition features a $1 million leaderboard prize pool for the top 100 players, with points accumulated across the WSOP in Las Vegas, WSOP Europe, and WSOP Paradise.

The season finale will also see the introduction of the Binion Cup, which will be awarded to the Player of the Year champion.

Shaun Deeb Leads 2026 WSOP Player of the Year Standings

Deeb, who claimed the 2025 WSOP Player of the Year title, currently holds the top position as he pursues a third career POY award.

Japanese player Naoya Kihara and high-stakes regular William Alex Foxen remain close behind, with less than 30 points separating the two challengers.

Several established players are also positioned inside the top 15, including Daniel Negreanu, Joshua Arieh, and Nick Schulman. Their positions leave the Player of the Year race open heading into the final bracelet events at WSOP Paradise.

Negreanu, an eight-time WSOP bracelet winner and two-time POY champion, currently occupies sixth place. He previously won the award in 2004, when the competition was introduced, and later secured his second title.

"WSOP Paradise is the perfect setting for a dramatic finish to the year," said Negreanu. "I'm sitting a few hundred points back, but with big points available in the Bahamas, capturing a third Player of the Year title is absolutely within striking distance. It all comes down to how I perform in the season finale."

Lucas Jumalon, the 2026 WSOP Main Event champion, is currently ranked 15th in the Player of the Year standings.

Jumalon will enter WSOP Paradise with an opportunity to improve his leaderboard position through the remaining bracelet events.

"I’ve been on an incredible journey this year, and it isn’t over yet. Knowing that the Player of the Year race will be decided in the Bahamas just adds to the anticipation. I'm excited to get to WSOP Paradise, play my best poker, and hopefully climb even higher up the ranks," Jumalon said.

WSOP Paradise to Determine Final POY Rankings

Position	Name	Points
1	Shaun Deeb (United States)	3,410
2	Naoya Kihara (Japan)	3,388
3	William Alex Foxen (United States)	3,381
4	Justin Liberto (United States)	2,827
5	Joshua Arieh (United States)	2,750
6	Daniel Negreanu (Canada)	2,698
7	Jesse Lonis (United States)	2,674
8	Eelis Jaakko Eino Paerssinen (Finland)	2,638
9	Michael J. Moncek (United States)	2,592
10	Joshua Reichard (United States)	2,575
11	Benny Glaser (United Kingdom)	2,554
12	Nicholas Schulman (United States)	2,552
13	Calvin Anderson (Mexico)	2,365
14	Martin Zamani (United States)	2,280
15	Lucas Jumalon (United States)	2,271

The WSOP Player of the Year competition was established in 2004, with Daniel Negreanu becoming its inaugural winner.

The current format combines POY points earned across three major WSOP series: the summer WSOP in Las Vegas, WSOP Europe, and WSOP Paradise.

With the final rankings determined in the Bahamas, the leaderboard will distribute $1 million in prizes among the top 100 players. The overall winner will also receive the newly introduced Binion Cup.

Beyond the Player of the Year contest, WSOP Paradise will feature the $50 million guaranteed Super Main Event, one of the major tournaments scheduled for the season finale.

Online satellites for the Super Main Event are currently available through GGPoker, offering players opportunities to qualify for the tournament.

The remaining bracelet events at WSOP Paradise will settle the 2026 POY standings, determining whether Deeb retains his lead and secures a third title or another contender overtakes him in the final stage of the competition.

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