Just like the old days
For the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Series of Poker is airing on the ESPN family of networks. Starting Tuesday night, ESPN and ESPN2 will broadcast episodes of the 2026 WSOP Main Event, culminating with the Main Event final table in early August.
Ninety-nine of the WSOP’s 100 events are already wrapped up as of last week, as is the bulk of the Main Event. Thus, Tuesday night’s pair of episodes, airing at 9:00pm and 10:00pm ET on ESPN2, are in the old style of pre-recorded, edited packages.
Those same episodes will re-air on July 22 and July 26, with two new episodes on July 28 at 8:00pm and 9:00pm on ESPN2. Those two episodes will re-air the following night.
Then, starting August 3, it is time for the live final table. It starts at 5:00pm Las Vegas local time, but the telecast will kick off at 9:00pm ET on ESPN2. Same time the next night, but moving over to ESPN’s flagship channel.
The final night of the 2026 WSOP Main Event will air at 10:30pm ET August 5 on ESPN.
Delayed final table decision looms large
It was a curious decision for the World Series of Poker to go back to a delayed final table format, as it never really worked the last time it was used.
For decades, the WSOP Main Event final table was held immediately after the rest of the tournament (sometimes with a one-day break), just like any other event. But in 2008, Harrah’s Entertainment, the owner of the WSOP at the time, and ESPN decided to push the final table all the way out to November, giving birth to the moniker “November Nine” for the nine players who made the final table.
The idea behind the change was twofold: 1) ESPN could air tape-delayed episodes without worry about fans already having the final table outcome spoiled, and 2) they could build up the hype for the live final table, theoretically increasing viewership.
It was also pitched as an opportunity for the November Nine to have time to ink sponsorship deals, but that was more of an attempt by the WSOP and ESPN to sell it to players, rather than a real reason for the schedule shift.
The 2008 final table did achieve a 50 percent jump in viewership, but as the years went on, players and fans generally tired of the delayed final table. In 2017, the Main Event schedule reverted back, holding the final table immediately after the rest of the tournament without interruption.
And now ESPN is back and is making the Main Event final table delayed once again. It’s only pushed back a couple weeks, rather than months, so we shall see how it works this time.
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