Stake Poker World KO Championship Launches With $1 Million Guarantee

By Mrinal Gujare

30 Jun 2026

Mrinal Gujare 30 Jun 2026

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Stake Poker hosts World KO Championship June 28–July 20, 2026 with $1M+ guaranteed.
$100K Mystery Bounty Main Event only $20 buy-in; multiple daily KO & PKO events.
Special PKOs linked to football goals; buy-ins range $5–$50 with flexible entry.

Stake Poker operates the World KO Championship from June 28 to July 20, 2026, featuring over $1 million in guarantees across knockout tournaments. The $100,000 Mystery Bounty Main Event costs $20, while Bye Day Specials offer $30 Progressive Knockouts with prize pools increasing $500 per goal.

Stake Poker has announced the World KO Championship, a knockout-focused tournament series running from June 28 to July 20, 2026.

The series features over $1,000,000 in guarantees across 23 days with multiple daily events, positioning it as a major summer poker offering.

Every tournament in the series follows knockout format, either as regular Knockouts, Progressive Knockouts, or Mystery Bounties. Players earn bounties by eliminating opponents throughout competition.

This Stake Poker series is the $100,000 Mystery Bounty Main Event, accessible for a $20 buy-in. The tournament operates on a phased structure, allowing players to enter any Day 1 flight during the series and advance based on the Best Stack Forward Policy.

Only a player's highest qualifying chip stack carries into the July 20 finale. Five Bye Day Specials anchor the schedule on July 8, 12, 13, 16, and 17.

These $30 Progressive Knockout tournaments feature a unique prize pool mechanism: the guaranteed pools increase by $500 for every goal scored across the football tournament.

Each event opens for registration 12 hours before start time. Combined prize pools across the five Bye Day Specials are expected to reach $705,000.

A dedicated Mystery Bounty Special takes place July 18 with a $50 buy-in and $20,000 guarantee. Daily events throughout the series include $10,000 PKOs and Mystery Bounties alongside faster formats such as Speed Run PKOs, Deepstack Turbos, and Big Knockout Turbos.

Buy-in levels range from $5 to $50 across the series. Players may enter with cash or equivalent-value tickets. Re-entries are permitted up to a 10-per-player limit per tournament.

Tournament scheduling accommodates the concurrent football tournament. No World KO Championship event will commence while a match is being played. All series events are located in the dedicated World KO Championship section of the poker client lobby.

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