In a stunning announcement this afternoon, officials with GGPoker and the World Series of Poker stated that the $10,000 World Championship Event – the “Main Event,” won by Poker Hall of Famer Michael Mizrachi last year – will be returning to the cable broadcast channel. After a five-year absence, poker fans will once again be able to witness poker history as it unfolds from the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas live this summer. Alas, the new broadcast deal does come with a caveat – a return to a (slightly) delayed final table.
“We’re Proud to Welcome the World Series Back…”
It is not just the final table that will be broadcast on ESPN this summer. Beginning on July 2 with the first cards in the air of Day 1A, ESPN and the WSOP will offer a minimum of six hours of play per day of the Championship Event. Over the fortnight-long poker tournament that is the Main Event, ESPN may air up to 100 hours of coverage of the 2026 WSOP Main Event across its channels.
There is, however, the specter of an unwanted past on the horizon. On July 13, the Main Event final table will be determined. The players will NOT return the next day, however; instead a “mini” suspension of the tournament will be implemented, a 20-day period where ESPN, through Omaha Productions (responsible for the “ManningCast” on ESPN’s Monday Night Football), will build excitement through telling the stories of those who reach the final table. The Main Event final table will reconvene on August 3 and, over three days, play its way down to a champion, with a minimum of three hours each night from 9 PM to midnight on the broadcast schedule.
“We’re proud to welcome the World Series of Poker back to ESPN,” said Ashley O’Connor, the Vice President of Programming & Acquisitions at ESPN. “Poker is filled with unexpected storylines, and nobody is better equipped to showcase the stories that unfold throughout a tournament more than ESPN. Bringing the WSOP back reflects our continued commitment to delivering premium competition and that connects with fans in new and exciting ways.”
“The World Series of Poker is a global phenomenon that transcends the gaming category, and our goal is to bring it to the widest possible audience,” said Ty Stewart, CEO of the WSOP. “Returning to ESPN – the home of our most iconic moments since 1987 – allows us to showcase the human drama of the Main Event like never before. With our new ownership’s commitment to growth, this is the perfect time to bring the ‘World Championship’ back to the biggest stage in sports.”
Remember the “November Nine?”
Fans of the game have long called for the changes to the WSOP broadcast. Many questioned why the premiere event for the world of poker was being shuttled off to a paywalled streaming site (sorry, PokerGO…) since 2021, and the product suffered because players could not see what was happening. But the resumption of a delayed final table, even for a brief period, leaves some in the game with bad memories.
Back in the Aughts, the WSOP thought suspending the Main Event final table was a brilliant idea, giving players a chance to secure sponsorships for their television appearances and helping ESPN build suspense for the game. It was called the “November Nine” (because the final table was suspended until November) and…well, it failed to do what it said it would.
The “November Nine” was introduced for the 2008 WSOP Main Event and used through 2016. Over that time span, no players earned sponsorships from mainstream companies, nor did ESPN actually follow up with any programming to keep the Main Event in people’s minds. The best part of the suspension of play is that it allowed all the members of the final table to scout their opponents, get coaching, or otherwise try to improve their game to make a run for poker’s top prize.
Perhaps both the WSOP and ESPN have learned the lesson from the failed “November Nine” experiment and are actually putting some storytelling power behind the 2026 WSOP Main Event. But at least the world of poker will be able to see the event as it occurs, rather than having it walled off only for those who want to spend money on yet another streaming network. This summer, the WSOP Main Event will be BACK and LIVE on ESPN.
