- Attendance is up 1.41% year-over-year, despite early concerns about political tensions.
- The $250K Super High Roller was down 16%.
- Mid-stakes events like the Monster Stack and Senior’s High Roller posted double-digit growth.
- New re-entry rules and more multi-flight events are inflating field sizes compared to 2024.
- Format and scheduling changes complicate direct year-over-year comparisons, but trends remain mostly positive.
Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that the $250,000 Super High Roller drew 46 entries. That figure reflected Day 1 turnout only, as displayed on WSOP+. The final attendance, including late registrations on Day 2, was 63. The article has been updated to reflect the correct number.
Three weeks into the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP), the story remains unchanged; this year’s turnout is still edging ahead of last year’s. After reporting a strong start in Week 1, the numbers for the last two weeks continue to prove that fears of a dip in participation were unfounded.
In fact, once key factors are accounted for, WSOP 2025 is holding steady and in some areas, even outperforming 2024.
Looking at week-to-week trends, as we previously reported, WSOP 2025 started strong. Week 1 easily outpaced 2024 in both attendance and prize pools. Week 2 saw a minor dip in turnout, but overall prize money climbed thanks to strong participation in multi-flight events.
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Now, the latest week once again brought a slight uptick in attendance, but the overall prize pool dropped, largely due to the underperformance of one high roller event.
For instance, in the last week, the $1,500 NLH Super Turbo Bounty attracted 2,217 entries, up 5% from 2,110 in 2024. On the other hand, the $3,000 NLH Freezeout saw participation fall 18%, dropping from 1,252 to 1,027 entries. The $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship posted one of the biggest gains so far, growing nearly 50% year-over-year with 386 entries, compared to just 259 last summer.
Among the marquee events, the $1,500 Monster Stack was a clear highlight, drawing a massive 9,920 entries, a 14% jump from last year’s 8,703. The $100,000 High Roller, however, slipped 8% in attendance. The $5,000 Seniors High Roller saw strong growth, with 801 entries this year, up from 679, an 18% increase.
In contrast, the lower buy-in $1,000 Seniors Championship declined slightly, from 7,954 entries in 2024 to 7,575 this year. The $250,000 Super High Roller saw its field shrink from 75 to 63 entries, a 16% decrease.
Attendance is Up, Despite Concerns
In terms of attendance, comparing the same set of events year-over-year, WSOP 2025 has drawn 86,893 total entries so far, up from 85,687 last year. That marks a modest but meaningful increase of approximately 1.41%.
Through the first three weeks of the series:
- 2024 Attendance: 85,687
- 2025 Attendance: 86,893
- Change: +1.41%
It is a modest gain, but a gain nonetheless, considering the prevailing narrative that WSOP 2025 could suffer a dip in attendance, particularly in the wake of President Trump’s aggressive tariffs and pointed remarks toward Canada
However, prize pool totals tell a slightly different story at first glance. The same comparable events this year generated $174.67 million, and in 2024, those very same events produced $175.55 million, a 0.50% decrease.
- 2024 Prize Pools: $175.55M
- 2025 Prize Pools: $174.67M
- Change: -0.50%
But this dip is almost entirely due to a drop in turnout for the $250,000 High Roller event, which saw participation fall by 16% year-over-year. That one event alone had an outsized impact on the overall prize pool figure.
When the $250K event is removed from both years for a cleaner comparison, a different picture emerges. In 2024, prize pools, excluding that high-stakes tournament, totaled $156.88 million. This year, the comparable figure is $159.15 million, a 1.45% increase. Entries also follow a similar trend. Without the $250K event, the entry count rises from 85,612 last year to 86,830 this year, a 1.42% increase.
- 2024 Prize Pools (excluding $250K): $156.88 million
- 2025 Prize Pools (excluding $250K): $159.15 million
- Change: +1.45%
- 2024 Entries (excluding $250K): 85,612
- 2025 Entries (excluding $250K): 86,830
- Change: +1.42%
What’s Different This Year
Of course, the year-over-year comparisons are not entirely apples to apples. There are several structural changes in this year’s WSOP schedule that may be influencing the numbers. This year’s schedule features fewer freezeouts and more multi-flight tournaments, allowing players more chances to register and re-enter. As an example, $1.5K NLH Super Turbo Bounty was freezeout last year, but this year, it allowed one re-entry.
Re-entry rules have also changed: events that previously allowed one or two re-entries now permit up to three, further inflating field sizes in some cases.
The schedule lineup has not remained identical; some tournaments held in the first week last year are scheduled later this time around, and vice versa. The event lineup has not remained static either. Some tournaments that took place in the opening weeks last year have been scheduled later this time around, and vice versa, making direct comparisons more complex.
On the flip side, the increase in tournament fees appears to have had a chilling effect on high roller participation. While mid-stakes events are thriving under the new structure, expensive buy-ins like the $50K and above are struggling to match previous year numbers.
Even with these format changes, the turnout so far provides a reliable benchmark and the picture is largely positive. Despite ongoing speculation that political tensions or uncertainty might suppress turnout, the numbers suggest otherwise. Players have shown up in similar numbers to last year, and once structural changes are accounted for, the series is tracking almost identically to 2024, if not slightly better.
With three weeks in the books, the big question now is: Can the momentum hold through the Main Event and beyond? If the Main Event performs well or brings a similar attendance compared to last year, 2025 WSOP could once again end up becoming a record series. We’ll find out soon.
WSOP 2024 vs 2025: Comparable Events (Week 3):
| Tournament | 2024 | 2025 | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1.5K NLH Super Turbo Bounty | 2110 | 2217 | 5.07% |
| $3K NLH Freezeout | 1252 | 1027 | -17.97% |
| $10K PL Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship | 259 | 386 | 49.03% |
| $1.5K NLH Monster Stack | 8703 | 9920 | 13.98% |
| $100K NLH High Roller | 112 | 103 | -8.04% |
| $1.5K H.O.R.S.E | 835 | 867 | 3.83% |
| $5K Seniors High Roller | 680 | 801 | 17.79% |
| $10K Limit Hold’em Championship | 133 | 118 | -11.28% |
| $1K PLO 8-Handed | 2212 | 1932 | -12.66% |
| $1.5K Razz | 547 | 472 | -13.71% |
| $10K Big O Championship | 332 | 402 | 21.08% |
| $500 NLH Salute to Warriors | 4517 | 3937 | -12.84% |
| $250K NLH Super High Roller | 75 | 63 | -16.00% |
| $2.5K Mixed (Omaha 8/Stud 8) | 507 | 575 | 13.41% |
| $3K NLH 6-Handed | 1230 | 1421 | 15.53% |
| $10K Razz Championship | 118 | 102 | -13.56% |
| $1K Seniors NLH Championship | 7954 | 7575 | -4.76% |
| Total | 31,576 | 31,918 | 1.08% |
