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Home » Poker News » WSOP Reveals Final 2018 Series Numbers

After each summer, World Series of Poker executives compile numbers, look at statistics, and offers the highlights of that year’s WSOP. It is a matter of good public relations. The title of the memo about the 2018 was similar in nature to that of past years:

The entry window is now closed in Event #4, and the field topped out at 1,114 entries. That means there's $1,114,000 in the middle, to be divided 125 ways with nearly $180K up top for the winner. Justin Bonomo won the 2018 WSOP Big One for One Drop defeating Fedor Holz heads up. He continues an incredible year in high roller competitions. He has won upwards of $24 million in the first seven.

2018 WSOP Bigger Than Ever

(2017) 48th Annual WSOP Reaches All-Time Highs

(2016) 47th Annual WSOP Sets Attendance and Several Other Records

(2015) 46th Annual World Series of Poker Becomes Most Attended in Event’s History

That is why it’s important to take a look beyond those basic numbers and look at the past several years, compare and contrast, and find the real story.

The 2018 WSOP the biggest ever.

All the records and recap from the 2018 edition: https://t.co/YxgYk5nH5g

Entries: 123,865 (record)
Prize Pool: $266,889,193 (record)
Places Paid: 18,105 (record)
Countries Participating: 104
Money Raised: $2,790,008

Thank you!

— WSOP (@WSOP) July 23, 2018

Four-Year Comparisons

The biggest numbers from the WSOP statistics press release are impressive. One that can be objectively compared to previous years is the Main Event, as the $10K buy-in does not change. Those numbers are solid:

–Main Event entries: 7,874

–Main Event prize pool: $74,015,800

The 2018 Main Event was the second most well-attended since the peak year of 2006 during the poker boom. It far surpassed the last several years of 7,221 in 2017, 6,737 in 2016, and 6,420 in 2015. While there are many possible reasons for the increase, one of the most likely is the plethora of online poker satellites available online via the WSOP/888 partnership in Nevada, Delaware, and New Jersey. In addition, 888poker ran satellites worldwide.

7,874 entrants in the 2018 @wsop $10,000 Main Event. The second biggest EVER!

And some people were saying it wouldn’t break 7,000 this year…https://t.co/SH9x7qc8ULpic.twitter.com/JvFtglNGdh

— William Shillibier (@Shillibier) July 5, 2018

The number of entries and amount of the overall prize pool are examples of numbers that cannot so easily be compared. The number of events changes everything, as there were 78 events this year, as compared to 74 in 2017, 69 in 2016, and 68 in 2015.

As for total entries, it makes more sense to divide it by the number of events for an average number of players per event. While it still doesn’t account for variables like reentries, the average entries give a better idea of attendance trends.

–2018 = 123,865 entries (divided by 78 = 1,588)

–2017 = 120,995 entries (divided by 74 = 1,635)

–2016 = 107,833 entries (divided by 69 = 1,563)

2018

Wsop 2018 Entries 2020

–2015 = 103,512 entries (divided by 68 = 1,522)

The same can be done for the total prize pool each year.

–2018 = $266,889,193 (divided by 78 = $3,421,656)

–2017 = $231,010,874 (divided by 74 = $3,121,769)

2018

–2016 = $221,211,336 (divided by 69 = $3,205,961)

–2015 = $210,379,285 (divided by 68 = $3,093,813)

The basic takeaway from these numbers is that there were more entrants in 2017 than in 2018, but there was more prize money awarded this year by a significant margin. Again, variables like the $1 million buy-in Big One for One Drop, which is not held every year, also effect the averages, but this is a simple breakdown for context.

Player Highlights

The accomplishments of individual players and countries are more straightforward.

This year, there were three players who won more than one tournament. In fact, each won two bracelets. Joe Cada won Events 3 and 75, Justin Bonomo won Events 16 and 78, and Shaun Deeb won Events 42 and 74.

One of the most hailed feats of the summer was Phil Hellmuth’s victory in Event 71, which delivered his record 15th bracelet. He also continued his record-setting as the player with the most individual cashes at the WSOP, as his eight cashes in 2018 pushed him to 138 lifetime cashes.

Terrific 15th @WSOP Bracelet dinner party tonight in Hollywood!! Wore 15th everyday for a week, tonight handed over 15th to my man @westcoastbill! Thanks @PeterGuber@SkyDayton@BrandonCantu DC DS @MagicAntonio#POSITIVITYpic.twitter.com/LGB1gubLrJ

— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) July 21, 2018

Tony Cousineau continued a record of his own. With six more cashes in 2018, he pushed his record to 84 cashes without a victory.

As for the most cashes in the 2018 games, Chris Ferguson topped the list with 18 cashes, which also set a new series record. Ferguson and John Racener tied at the 2017 WSOP with 17 cashes each. Ferguson also tallied 41 WSOP cashes (including the 2017 Europe events) since the start of 2017, and amidst his run in 2018, he garnered his 100th lifetime WSOP cash. He now stands at 115.

Wsop 2018 Entries 2019

Barry Greenstein cashed in 12 events this summer, allowing him to celebrate his own 100th lifetime cash.

National Highlights

In total, the number of countries represented at the entire series was down in 2018, with 104 nations tallied as compared to 111 nations in 2017, 107 of them in 2016, and 111 again in 2015.

Wsop 2018 entries calendar

As usual, the 2018 WSOP ended with the United States boasting of the most entries into the tournaments, as happens each year. Canada came in second, with the United Kingdom in third and France in fourth – all the same as in 2017.

Wsop

The difference was that Brazil took fifth position this year, up two spots from last year, switching places with Australia, which dropped to seventh. Germany remained in sixth place, but Austria moved up one spot to eight place, with Russia dropping one spot to ninth. And China took tenth place for the second year in a row. In essence, the same 10 countries turned out for WSOP events for the past two years.

The top list of countries with more than one bracelet win in 2018 was as follows:

  1. United States (54)
  2. China (3)
  3. Germany (3)
  4. Canada (2)
  5. France (2)
  6. United Kingdom (2)
  7. Russian Federation (2)

As for earnings, the top 10 was as follows:

  1. United States ($187,417,000)
  2. Germany ($12,454,810)
  3. Canada ($7,995,246)
  4. United Kingdom ($7,956,890)
  5. France ($6,217,714)
  6. Australia ($3,778,220)
  7. Austria ($3,182,621)
  8. China ($3,138,292)
  9. Brazil ($3,041,311)
  10. Russian Federation ($2,847,416)

1/2 We didn't only add @WSOP results this summer, also all #DailyDeepstacks are on the website. Some stats:
? 185 Tournaments
? Winners from 21 countries
? ?? 144
? ?? 6
? ??????????? 5
? ???????? 2
? ?????????????????????? 1

— The Hendon Mob (@TheHendonMob) July 18, 2018

Related Articles

The 2018 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, Nevada is officially closed for the year.

Even with the World Series of Poker Europe in Rozvadov coming up in October, there are all sorts of feels when its time to pack up and leave the Nevada desert.

The WSOP awarded 78 bracelets and a record $266.8 million during the summer series. It also processed a record 123,865 entries and paid the most players (18,105) in history.

Wsop 2019 entry fee

There were a lot of headlines over the seven weeks of tournament play that included “record.”

How accurate would it be to say the WSOP had a record-breaking summer? Let’s take a look back at the series through the numbers and the headlines.

It’s all about the money

This year marked only the sixth time the total WSOP prize pool was north of $200 million. During its 49 years, the WSOP has awarded just shy of $3 billion in prize money.

The 2018 WSOP hosted a record 10 events that produced a $1 million-plus first-place prize. It surpassed the previous record of seven events from the 2016 and 2017 WSOP. What’s more impressive is four of the ten events paid multiple $1 million prizes.

In case you haven’t heard, Justin Bonomo has been on a heater of late. His incredible run continued at the WSOP. He started the series by winning his second career bracelet in Event #16: $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em Championship. He ended the series by winning his third. As the winner of $1 million Big One for One Drop, he collected the biggest paycheck of the series: $10 million.

U.S. players took home $187,417,000 this year, easily claiming the top spot. Germany ($12,454,810) and Canada ($7,995,246) rounded out the top three.

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The Main Event is still the main attraction

The Main Event is still the tournament everyone shows up for. This year 7,874 players put down $10,000 for their shot at poker glory creating the largest prize pool of this year’s series.

It was the second largest Main Event field in history, coming in behind the 2006 Main Event that registered 8,773 players. Even so, with the WSOP paying 15% of the field, this year’s Main Event paid out a record 1,182 places.

It’s not often that someone gets a second chance at the most coveted prize in poker. After finishing 11th in the 2016 Main Event, John Cynn closed the deal after a record-breaking 10-hour-plus heads-up battle with Tony Miles. Cynn took home $8.8 million, the second-largest first-place prize of the series.

Nicholas Dashineau played Day 1C at the ripe age of 21 years and two days. He had a shot to unseat Joe Cada as the youngest Main Event champion until he hit the rail on Day 3, just outside of the money.

On the other end of the spectrum, 88-year-old John Olsen was the oldest player in the field. He survived the mine-field of Day 1 but was unable to make through Day 2.

Players everyone is talking about

Bonomo and Cynn weren’t the only players to capture the attention of poker players and fans.

Joe Cada may just be credited with the best 2018 WSOP performance even though he currently sits third on the Player of the Year race. The 2009 Main Event Champion began the Series by winning his third bracelet in Event #3: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em Shootout. He ended it by winning his fourth in Event #75: The Closer – $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em. And somewhere in between, he made another run at the title, coming in fifth place in the Main Event.

Wsop 2018 Entries Calendar

Kelly Minkin followed up her 29th-place finish in the 2015 WSOP Main Event with a 50th-place finish in this year’s Main Event and was once again, the last woman standing. It seemed as if the whole community was rooting for Minkin, not only because she is a woman but because she is “gangsta.”

Chris “Jesus” Ferguson followed up last year’s Player of the Year performance that included 23 cashes with another 17 this year. While he is not in contention for PoY honors this year, his 17 cashes are still good for the most of the summer.

As usual, the WSOP attracts a wide range of non-professional players from sports, music, and Hollywood. This year that group produced a gold-bracelet winner. Famed musician, audio engineer and music journalist, Steve Albini went from producing gold records to wearing his first gold bracelet after winning the $1,500 Seven Card Stud.

Online players collected more gold in 2018

WSOP.com held the most online bracelet events in its history with four. It also included a PLO online bracelet event for the first time.

What made this summer exciting for online players is the inclusion of New Jersey players to the player pool. Thanks to the Garden State joining the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement, a combined player pool launched just ahead of the opening of this year’s Series.

The WSOP hosted the largest online bracelet event with a record 2,972 entries in the $365 WSOP.com Online No-Limit Hold’em Bracelet Event.

It also awarded the first summer bracelet to a player located outside of Nevada when Matthew ‘mendey’ Mendez clicked his way to victory in an online event from his home in New Jersey.

It was a record-setting summer, after all

Looking at the numbers, it appears record-setting is an appropriate description of the 2018 World Series of Poker. Granted, it is busy breaking its own records and as a business, that should be a goal.

Even so, it is still impressive that without a strong US poker presence online, the WSOP is still growing.

In a press release, Executive Director for the World Series of Poker, Ty Stewart said:

“The 2018 World Series of Poker was another big success, and it’s thanks to the loyal players that make it out to Las Vegas every summer. We love seeing the Main Event grow to numbers no one ever thought was possible in 2018 as well as positive reaction to our new events. The team will be hard at work to make sure this remains the premier poker festival in the world.”

There is nothing in poker that compares to the yearly summer camp in Las Vegas. For many, the WSOP shapes their entire year. Families temporarily move to Nevada, jobs are put on hold, and vacations are scheduled around the most anticipated poker tournament series of the year.

All that is left now for players is to return to normal life and begin the wait for next year’s schedule.

Wsop 2019 Entry Fee