The WSOP Player of the Year will be decided in the Bahamas

In 2026, the champion will be decided for the first time by the results of the winter leg, WSOP Paradise, which will take place in the Bahamas from December 2 to 17. The $1,000,000 prize pool will be distributed as tournament packages among the top 100 players.

Current top 3 of the POY race:

1️⃣ Shaun Deeb — 3,410 points.
The current leader of the race and a two-time "Player of the Year" (2018, 2025). If Deeb holds on to his lead, he will become the only three-time winner of this title in history, surpassing Daniel Negreanu.

2️⃣ Naoya Kihara — 3,388 points.
At the 2026 WSOP summer series, the Japanese player won two gold bracelets in a single week and recorded 16 in-the-money finishes.

3️⃣ Alex Foxen — 3,381 points.
Over the summer series he racked up 14 cashes, including his fourth career WSOP bracelet.

Despite leading the race, Shaun Deeb criticized the organizers for the Bahamas schedule and for the decision to change the status of one of the tournaments, adding it to the POY standings at the very last moment.

It looks like this will be the last year I compete for the WSOP Player of the Year title. The organizers completely failed with this schedule in the Bahamas and with decisions like that.

It's sad that they don't consult any of the contenders or knowledgeable people at all about how to make the race better. It's a real rake trap that, unfortunately, I got stuck in because of my summer results

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