The Biggest WSOP Starting Day Ever

When it was announced earlier this year that Day 1c of the 2018 World Series of Poker Main Event would take place on the fourth of July, which of course is America’s Independence Day, some speculated the turnout might be stunted. As it turns out, nothing could've been further from the truth.

A massive 4,571 players on 1c made it the largest starting flight in WSOP history, surpassing the 4,262 set on 1c in 2017. That number is well ahead of the entire 2004 WSOP field, and five times as big as the 2003 WSOP Main Event when Chris Moneymaker changed the poker world forever.

Along with 1a’s 925 runners and 2,378 from 1b (also the largest 1b flight in history surpassing 2017’s 2,164) the total field climbed to 7,874 players, which generated a $74,015,600 prize pool and made it the second-largest WSOP Main Event behind the 2006 field (8,773 players).

Detailed numbers only go back until 2008, and up until 2011, the WSOP ran four starting flights. The largest flight between then was the 2009 WSOP’s 2,809 players on Day 1d followed by 2,802 on 1d in 2011. In 2009, registration closed with 2,809 players registered, as there was no space for more entrants. Players like Patrik Antonius and TJ Cloutier were famously locked out of playing the event that year.

We’ll have to wait and see who bags up the most chips later this evening, but for those wondering, last year saw Jerome Brion finished with 247,900 to claim the chip lead among the surviving 3,300 players.

Day 1a saw 659 players bag from the 925 that entered. Last night, 1,794 players survived Day 1b from the 2,378 that signed up.

	Day 1a	Day 1b	Day 1c	Day 1d	Total	Prize Pool
2000					512	$5,120,000
2001					613	$5,946,220
2002					631	$5,931,000
2003					839	$7,802,700
2004					2,576	$24,224,400
2005					5,619	$52,818,610
2006					8,773	$82,512,162
2007					6,358	$59,784,954
2008	1,297	1,158	1,928	2,461	6,844	$64,333,600
2009	1,116	873	1,696	2,809	6,494	$61,043,600
2010	1,125	1,489	2,314	2,391	7,319	$68,798,600
2011	897	985	2,181	2,802	6,865	$64,531,000
2012	1,066	2,114	3,418	-	6,598	$62,021,200
2013	943	1,942	3,467	-	6,352	$59,708,800
2014	771	2,144	3,768	-	6,683	$62,820,200
2015	741	1,716	3,963	-	6,420	$60,348,000
2016	764	1,733	4,240	-	6,737	$63,327,800
2017	795	2,164	4,262	-	7,221	$67,877,400
2018	925	2,378	4,571	-	7,874	$74,015,600