Poker Leaderboard: Largest WSOP Main Events (By Field Size)

For the second straight year, the World Series of Poker main event has set a new record for turnout size. In fact, six of the last eight world championships that have run are among this leaderboard above that highlights the largest fields in this tournament’s history. The two main events in those eight years that aren’t among the largest ever took place during the pandemic of 2020, and in the following year, which was held in the fall as opposed to the usual summer time slot of the modern WSOP.

The 2024 main event drew 10,112, which is a year-over-year increase of 0.69 percent. In turn, the 2023 running was 14.5 percent larger than the previous high-water mark of 8,773 set in 2006. That year marked the final post-Moneymaker main event held before the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was passed in the fall of 2006. The UIGEA curbed a surge in online satellite winners that peaked that year. Jamie Gold earned $12,000,000 for taking it down.

The 2023 field of 10,043 marked the first time that the event had drawn more than 10,000 entries. That year saw an added determination from WSOP organizers to set a new record, with several initiatives designed to accomplish that goal including reintroduced online satellites and officially-sanctioned live satellites ahead of the series.

2023 champion Daniel Weinman edged out Gold to secure the largest payout in main event history, taking home $12,100,000. Despite defeating a larger field this year, Jonathan Tamayo earned $10,000,000 as the champion due to a new flattened payout structure. ♠