WSOP Drops Shot Clock for Main Event Final Table
The reversal comes after the clock was added mid-tournament in response to a long Day 6 tank, and WSOP says it can bring it back if stalling becomes a problem.
WSOP reversed course and said the 2026 Main Event final table will be played without a shot clock. The final nine will return to Horseshoe Las Vegas on Aug. 3-5 to play down to a winner, with the final table taking place in the Paris Ballroom.
The clock had only just been added on Day 6 after Loren Klein spent more than 15 minutes in the tank while trying to chase a pay jump. That was the first time the Main Event had ever used a shot clock in its 57-year history.
In a statement on its official X account, WSOP said the change came after discussions with players and tournament staff. The same rules still let any player call for the clock if an opponent is taking an unreasonable amount of time, and staff keep that authority as well, though WSOP said it should be used only in exceptional situations.
WSOP also left itself room to put the clock back in if repeated or excessive stalling starts to hurt the pace of play. When the system was in place, players had 20 seconds to act, with a 30-second extension and time-bank chips, and the setup gave players six time banks at the start plus four more after the second afternoon break.
The early reaction was mostly positive. Barny Boatman called it "a very good decision," and Adam Hendrix also backed the move, while Harry Gandia and some other commenters said the timing looked like the rules were being changed midstream.
The shot clock had been used through Days 7 and 8 while the field shrank to the final table, but it will not be part of the live finish. The final three days are set for Aug. 3-5 on ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery partners.
