Three Circuits, One December: WSOP Paradise, EPT Prague and WPT Wynn Collide

From the Bahamas to Prague and Las Vegas, December’s overlapping championship calendars promise three different title races, not one giant tournament.

December's poker calendar looks less like a line of dates than a crowded sports scoreboard. Three established organisers will be running major championship programmes across the same fortnight: WSOP Paradise at Baha Mar in the Bahamas, EPT Prague at Hilton Hotel Prague, and the World Poker Tour's year-end championships at Wynn Las Vegas.

Their overlapping schedules create a compelling question for the sport's followers: when several tournaments are in full swing at once, which developments deserve to command the headline?

The answer cannot be found by comparing the biggest number on three promotional banners. One series promises dozens of gold bracelets, another will bring a succession of European championship titles to a single hotel, and the third separates a WPT Prime contest from its Main Tour World Championship. These are three competitive stories with different timelines, buy-ins, prize structures and eventual winners.

The Bahamas opens the festival collision on 2 December

WSOP Paradise runs from 2–17 December 2026 at Baha Mar Resort in Nassau. The organiser has published 20 bracelet events and US$120 million in combined advertised guarantees. Those are substantial commitments, but the sporting calendar is even more interesting when it is broken down event by event.

The opening US$2,750 WSOP Circuit Championship Mystery Bounty has a US$5 million guarantee, tying the international bracelet programme to players with Circuit histories. The US$10,000 GGMillion$ Championship begins scheduled flights on 5 December, with a US$20 million guarantee. The centrepiece, a US$26,000 Super Main Event, is scheduled to begin on 10 December with a US$50 million guarantee.

That is already three different races beneath one festival identity. A contender advancing from a GGMillion$ flight is not necessarily in the Super Main Event field. A Circuit Championship winner holds a different title from the player who eventually takes the Super Main bracelet.

And the published 20-event lineup stretches beyond conventional no-limit hold'em. PLO, mixed games, dealer's choice and high-roller competitions create their own opportunities for specialist players. Those events may be less familiar to casual viewers, but the titles are not secondary in the record books.

Even the headline money needs precise language. US$120 million is an aggregate series guarantee, not the amount already paid out. US$50 million is the Super Main Event's guaranteed pool, not its champion's cheque. The WSOP's published rules govern how costs and payouts are calculated after play.

Prague starts the same day—with a different sporting rhythm

Across the Atlantic, EPT Prague runs 2–13 December at Hilton Hotel Prague. The first major tournament on the official programme is the €1,100 PokerStars Open Main Event from 2–7 December. The €5,300 EPT Main Event follows, running 7–13 December.

That creates an unusual crossover on 7 December. One Main Event is scheduled to reach its closing day while another begins its own championship journey. The same hotel, the same wider PokerStars Live umbrella—but two titles that cannot be exchanged in a result headline.

The Prague schedule adds a €825 PokerStars Cup from 5–6 December, a €2,200 PokerStars High Roller from 6–8 December, a €3,200 EPT Mystery Bounty from 9–11 December, and a €10,300 High Roller from 11–13 December.

If the festival becomes a gripping sporting week, it will be because those separate fields produce meaningful performances: a deep PokerStars Open run, a high-roller breakthrough, or a player carrying momentum into the EPT Main Event. None of those performances can be announced before the official results exist.

Prague's long-standing place on the European calendar gives it history. But a historical reputation is context, not evidence that any named player will enter or win in 2026.

Las Vegas joins the December stage on 5 December

The World Poker Tour offers a third rhythm. At Wynn Las Vegas, its US$1,100 WPT Prime Championship is listed for 5–12 December. The US$10,400 WPT World Championship, part of the Main Tour, follows on 13–20 December.

The Prime Championship carries a separate identity and competitive field from the World Championship. A player who wins one does not inherit the title of the other. Even though both events take place at Wynn, the first finish line arrives before the second Main Event begins.

That sequencing makes Las Vegas relevant to the international poker news cycle through most of December. Early in the month, the WPT Prime field could be developing at the same time as WSOP's GGMillion$ and the opening days of PokerStars Open in Prague. Later, Wynn's Main Tour championship begins while WSOP Paradise is still running.

The WPT schedule also includes other distinct competitions at Wynn. The temptation to label them all as one gigantic World Championship should be resisted. One venue can host multiple tournaments, each with its own prize structure, rules and winner.

Two dates make the overlap particularly compelling

The first is 7 December. By the published calendars, WSOP Paradise is within its running window and GGMillion$ flights are scheduled; PokerStars Open Prague reaches its planned Main Event closing day as the EPT Main Event begins; and WPT Prime is in its Las Vegas championship window.

The second is 13 December. The EPT Prague Main Event is scheduled to conclude; the WPT World Championship begins its Main Tour window at Wynn; and WSOP Paradise has its Super Main Event flights and bracelet programme underway.

Neither date guarantees that a final table will be streamed at a particular hour. Tournament timing can change, and a festival being inside its official dates does not establish which competition is live at that moment. But the calendar alone illustrates why a global poker publication must organise news by event, local time and confirmed stage of play.

The same day can contain a champion being crowned in one city, a new field assembling in another, and a player still trying to survive the opening flights elsewhere. That contrast gives the month its sporting energy.

Money, formats and titles that cannot be compared casually

One event's prize-pool guarantee is not another event's eventual first-place payout. A tournament's buy-in is not its champion's winnings. A bracelet is not interchangeable with an EPT Main Event title or a WPT World Championship victory.

Nor should the different currencies be flattened into a single sensational total. WSOP and WPT publish US-dollar figures; EPT Prague buy-ins are listed in euros. The most meaningful comparisons are grounded in what each number measures, how each competition is structured, and what was actually accomplished when the field reached a conclusion.

Fans will understandably follow familiar stars across the international circuit. But any story placing a named player in Nassau, Prague or Las Vegas must wait for entry confirmation or an authenticated report. No participant has earned a December 2026 title simply because the event is on a published schedule.

The question December will answer

In advance, the organiser calendars already offer excellent drama: 20 WSOP bracelets across a Bahamas festival, overlapping Prague championships, and two successive WPT titles at Wynn. They do not yet contain the defining hands, finalists and trophy presentations that will decide how the month is remembered.

That is the real attraction of this December collision. Not a competition between promotional posters, but a succession of sporting events in which separate fields must produce separate winners. Once the results arrive, the best headline will be the one earned at the table—not the one that sounded biggest beforehand.

Sources

• World Series of Poker — 2026 WSOP Paradise official event schedule
• World Series of Poker — 20 bracelets and US$120 million in published guarantees
• PokerStars Live — EPT Prague key dates and venue
• World Poker Tour — official events schedule

Poker Pulse international tournament preview. Official schedules checked 6 November 2026. All event outcomes, field sizes and final payouts remain unconfirmed until the relevant organisers report them.