Five Predictions for WSOP Europe 2026 in Prague

The 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe festival is upon us and with 15 WSOP bracelets up for grabs along with millions of dollars, the race is already on to become WSOP Player of the Year too. That’s because from this Spring, WSOP Europe points will contribute to the WSOP POY race along with the Vegas series and 15 more bracelet events in The Bahamas at WSOP Paradise.

As a pre-cursor to the 100 bracelet events on offer this summer at the Horseshoe Las Vegas and Paris casinos in Las Vegas, it couldn’t be more exciting. What will happen as the WSOP upgrades its location from Rozvadov to Prague and the WSOP Europe action plays out six months earlier than in 2025?

We’ve taken a look in our crystal ball and come up with five predictions for the pleasure and pain about to transpire in the Czech capital.

Phil Hellmuth Will Push Hard for Gold

The 17-time WSOP bracelet winner is the current legacy leader in WSOP terms. Six WSOP titles clear of his fellow Phil (Ivey), Hellmuth’s seemingly unbeatable bracelet legacy is already impressive at 17. Could the Poker Brat exceed this total, winning more gold in 2026?

No-one would bet any serious money against the California-based king of the WSOP adding to his total from the 100 events in Las Vegas between late May and mid-July (or August if Hellmuth makes the final table of the WSOP Main Event). But in Europe? Well, The Poker Brat actually has a unique record, being the only player in poker history to win WSOP Main Events in both Las Vegas and Europe.

Back in 2012, Hellmuth conquered an epic WSOP Europe Main Event. With 420 entries, the event had a stacked final table and a top prize of €1,022,376 ($1.1m). Hellmuth outlasted fellow Americans Jason Mercier (8^th) and Joseph Cheong (4^th) before beating Sergii Baranov heads-up to claim victory. Having that positive memory from WSOP Europe could be vital as The Poker Brat goes for glory again in mainland Europe.

The Ladies Championship will be Stacked

There seems a great chance that female poker players could win some open bracelet events this April but there’s guaranteed to be at least one lady lifting gold by the end of the series, with a €1,000 Ladies Championship on the schedule in prime position. Event #6 of the 15 scheduled, it is bound to have a huge attendance and put female poker even more prominently on the map.

One player who has already announced that she will be playing is the youngest player ever to win a WSOP bracelet, Annette Obrestad. The Norwegian pocket rocket won the Main Event back in 2007 for $2 million after beating Welshman John Tabatabai heads-up. Known as ‘Annette_15’ online, the teenager’s triumph caused shockwaves across the poker world. She couldn’t even defend her Main Event title in Las Vegas as she wasn’t 21!

Now nearing 40, Obrestad has returned to poker and announced that she will be in Prague to play the Main Event and more. While her career never hit the heights of her epic win in 2007, Obrestad’s total tournament earnings of $3.9m are still very impressive and while she admitted to having no expectations in a recent tell-all interview on Poker.Org, the former champion will have a galvanising effect on the female field overall.

Where to Expect Fireworks

The €5,300-entry PLO Championship is one of the biggest PLO events in recent times and has the potential to be huge. While most of the 2026 WSOP Europe schedule centers around No Limit Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha’s very own championship event is going to be a big one, as Event #9 on the ticket.

The ‘four-card game’ is sure to pull in players who historically have won big in mixed games, and with the foray into PLO a rare mix-up from the WSOP across the series, expect the competition to be fierce in this one. In fact, if there’s going to be a blow-up at the WSOP Europe festival in Prague, it might well come in this event!

Along with the PLO Championship, it’s worth keeping an eye on the Rounder Cup. The following event to the PLO Championship takes place across two flights on April 7^th as the €2,750 buy-in event pitches European players against Rest of the World players. You can absolutely guarantee there will be fireworks between factions of poker who play together… and those who don’t.

Player of the Year Race Draws Big Names

With the announcement that the WSOP Player of the Year battle will begin in the Czech Republic this year rather than Las Vegas, some very big names alongside Hellmuth have confirmed that they’ll be in Prague. Martin Kabrhel will bring his usual horseplay to proceedings as the Czech-born player takes on the best of the world in his own home country.

Jesse Lonis will be hoping to storm the action like King Kong himself as he brings his ‘Gorilla’ brand of power poker to Europe in a rare trip outside the States other than to Triton events. Shaun Deeb is also making the transatlantic trip, hoping to lay down a marker as he bids to retain his POY title from 2025.

Another American will play his first WSOP events since being inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame, as the reigning WSOP Main Event and Poker Players Championship title holder Michael ‘Grinder’ Mizrachi travels to Europe in the form of his life. Could the man who owned Las Vegas in the summer of 2025 extend his dominance just a few months on in Europe?

Benny Glaser is Playing Hungry

British star Benny Glaser won three bracelets last summer, more than any other player in Las Vegas. Despite this, he was pipped to the post for Player of the Year honors by a dogged and determined Shaun Deeb. Glaser’s relentless pursuit of glory has him on eight WSOP bracelet and he’ll be desperate to add to his number in Prague.

While the British player conceded to this reporter that the WSOP Europe festival can only have a small effect on the POY race at this stage, he also knows that a big win and maybe a bracelet on European soil – something he has never won in his career – would kick off his campaign in the best possible way.

Up against Shaun Deeb from the very start, we wouldn’t be surprised if one or both of these poker greats go very deep in a couple of events. All of Glaser’s glorious eight bracelet wins have come in mixed game events but as his 12 SCOOP titles and a record 16 WCOOP will attest to, he’s just as proficient at NLHE and we think this might be where he wins gold for the first time in the most popular format in poker.

WSOP Europe is about to begin. With 15 bracelets being awarded in under a fortnight’s poker, the action will be non-stop.