button in SafariDay 1a of the $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em Championship Begins at 10 a.m.
It's an early start in Event #46: $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em Championship, as players will take their seats today at 10 a.m. local time at the 2026 World Series of Poker. Today marks the first of two Day 1s, with Day 1b commencing on Tuesday, June 16.
The event is open to anyone 50 years of age and older, and there are plenty of 50+ poker tournament players interested in taking down this event. Upwards of 7,000 entrants is the norm, with 7,575 entries processed in 2025.
This event follows a similar structure to the COLOSSUS and Monster Stack: Day 1a survivors face off against each other in Day 2a, while Day 1b survivors progress to Day 2b. Those who progress from each of those Day 2s are combined on Day 3 on Thursday, June 18. PokerNews traditional coverage of this event begins on Day 3.
📌 Event Snapshot
- Event: #61 - $1,000 Seniors
- Date(s): June 15-20
- Time: 10 a.m. local time
- Buy-In: $1,000
- Format: No-Limit Hold’em
- Late Registration: 8 Levels (approx. 8:15 p.m.)
- Reentry: One reentry per flight
- Starting Stack: 20,000 chips
- Levels: 60 minutes
- 2025 Winner: Brett Lim – $356,494
- 2025 Field Size: 7,575 entries
- 2025 Prize Pool: $6,666,000
Structure and Schedule
Action will begin with blinds of 100/100 and a 100 big blind ante, with players starting with 20,000 chips. Levels will be 60 minutes long, with a 75-minute dinner break after Level 8, at approximately 7 p.m. on the opening day. There are two Day 1 flights that players can enter, with both flights allowing for a single reentry. Day 1a kicks off on June 15th, followed by Day 1b on June 16th. Late registration will stay open until roughly 8:15 p.m. at the start of Level 9 on each Day 1.
Ten levels are scheduled to be played on Days 1, 2, and 3, with Day 4 playing to the final five, before a champion is crowned on Day 5, Saturday, June 20.
Past Champions & Notable Winners
Last summer, Brett Lim outlasted 7,574 entrants to win his first gold bracelet along with $653,839. It marked the largest cash of his career, and although this dream became a reality, Lim states it was the furthest thing from his mind for the most part.
“You always dream or aspire that something like this is gonna happen, but 48 hours ago this was the furthest thing from my mind,” Lim explained moments after holding his first WSOP bracelet. “I barely min-cashed. I was happy with some money jumps, and up until 20 minutes ago, I thought I had lost the heads-up match. A lot of things were going pretty grim, and then two key hands just came by 'boom, boom, boom'. I didn’t think I was gonna win, to tell you the truth, but luck finds you in strange ways, and it found me this time.”
Other recent champions of the Seniors event include Khang Pham (2024)
Lonnie Hallett (2023), and Eric Smidinger (2022).
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