The WSOP Main Event is now in its decisive phase: of the record 10,043 players who started the tournament, less than 500 are now claiming the bracelet.
The WSOP Main Event broke the record of 2006: more than 10,000 participants
In 2006, the poker boom reached its peak, as evidenced by the WSOP Main Event, which had 8,773 entries and a prize pool of $12,000,000. After that, the offline poker industry hit a roadblock, and in 2011, Black Friday swooped in like a grim reaper, mercilessly crushing all remaining dreams and aspirations.
Since 2016, the popularity of live poker has steadily grown, and the pandemic with its restrictive measures only delayed the new boom. Before the start of the WSOP 2023, only a few confident analysts predicted that the tournament would surpass 10,000 participants. However, as the series’ regular tournaments continued to surpass previous records, the coveted number became increasingly attainable.
WSOP Main Event Entrants
As a result, the symbolic threshold was passed: in four starting days, Main Event received a total of 9,350 entries, and another 693 players joined before the start of Day 2, which gave a total of 10,043 entries. The tournament’s prize pool amounted to $93,399,900, with $33,300,000 reserved for the final table.
TOP-5 Largest WSOP Main Events
| Year | Entrants | Winner |
| 2023 | 10,043 | ? |
| 2006 | 8,773 | Jamie Gold |
| 2022 | 8,663 | Espen Jorstad |
| 2019 | 8,569 | Hossein Ensan |
| 2018 | 7,874 | John Cynn |
The WSOP 2023 Main Event had some controversies.
There was confusion regarding the payment of the finalists. The organizers changed the distribution of prizes to highlight the record set so that the winner received more than Jamie Gold in 2006. However, this structure greatly underestimates the payment for the runner-up in comparison to the champion, and the top 9 player will not become millionaire, contrary to recent tradition. The decision has received sharp criticism from the players.
The second decision made by the organizers that raised concerns was ending Day 3 just 10 seats before the bubble. There were 1,517 players left in the game at the time, and they responded with a loud whistle.
On Day 4, three players – Yu Kai Wang, Peter Nye, and Jeppe Bisgaard – simultaneously reached the bubble, and they evenly split the $30,000 prize money for finishing in 1,507th and 1,506th places. Bisgaard won a ticket to the 2024 main event after falling victim to KK’s cooler in AA.
Phil Hellmuth and Dan “Jungleman” Cates staged a joint costume performance
What’s a WSOP main event without the spectacular appearance of Phil Hellmuth in an extravagant new look? For the past twenty years, Phil has consistently upheld this tradition, during which he has experimented with various costumes such as Caesar, Gandalf, Thor, and many others. He is often seen accompanied by a group of attractive women.
After last year’s performance as Darth Vader, recognized as the most boring in history, in 2023 Helmut decided to try something new. Surely the 17th bracelet, which he won a week ago, raised his creativity. This time, the “White Mage” took on a partner for the first time – and not just anyone, but Dan “Jungleman” Cates! Which, by the way, is not opposed to dressing up himself, and he already stunned the audience in the image of the Terminator on this event.
Hellmuth made an entrance into the hall of the Horseshoe casino dressed as Phineas Taylor Barnum from the musical “The Greatest Showman,” holding a cage with “Jungleman” representing the Lion King. There were a total of 17 female models this time.
The winner of the WSOP 2023 main event will be announced on Monday, July 17.
