Reversing Course: Shot Clock Removed for 2026 WSOP Main Event Final Table

World Series of Poker (WSOP) officials made headlines after Day 6 of the 2026 WSOP Main Event when, for the first time in its 57-year history, it made the decision to implement a shot clock (AKA “Action Clock).

The decision was made after a controversial hand from Day 6 in which Loren Klein tanked for 15 minutes looking to make a pay jump. While the decision was met with plenty of criticism, the WSOP pressed forward with shot clocks for Days 7 & 8.

Once the field reached a single table and took its two-week hiatus, one question lingered – would the shot clock be in effect at the final table?

Now, players and fans have an answer.

On Thursday night, the WSOP issued a statement on social media that read:

Main Event Final Table Rules Update

After discussions with players and tournament staff, we’ve made the collective decision not to use a shot clock at next week’s WSOP Main Event Final Table.

As outlined in the Official Tournament Rules, players may call the clock if they believe an opponent is taking an unreasonable amount of time to act. Tournament staff also retains the authority to call the clock, but we expect to exercise that discretion only in exceptional circumstances while remaining neutral.

If repeated or excessive stalling negatively impacts the pace of play, WSOP reserves the right to introduce a shot clock.

Our goal is to create the most natural playing environment possible, giving players the time they need to make the biggest decisions of the tournament.

Early responses indicated that most players agreed with the decision.

“Congratulations on a very good decision,” said poker pro Barny Boatman.

The Ragzy X account offered, “This is the right thing to do. Shouldn’t have changed the rules in the first place. Issue was floor staff didn’t do their job monitoring or they would have caught the 1 person with the excessive stall and there wouldn’t have been any problems.”

That said, there was plenty of criticism like that of Harry Gandia: “So just changing the goalposts as we go along? Not a good look for one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world.”

When Is the WSOP Final Table?

The final nine players in poker’s biggest tournament, the WSOP Main Event, were officially set in mid-July, and they’ll return to Horseshoe Las Vegas from August 3-5 to play to a winner.

Twenty-two-year-old Lucas Jumalon leads the way with 194,000,000 chips. Behind him sit Rami Hammoud and Jamie Shaevel, who round out the top three, while the most decorated players remaining are Canada’s Greg Mueller with three bracelets, and America’s Michael Gagliano, with four.

The remaining nine players have now guaranteed themselves at least $1,000,000, but all eyes will be on the incredible $10,000,000 first prize waiting at the end of the road when play resumes in exactly three weeks’ time.

2026 WSOP Main Event Final Table Counts

PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, host of both the PokerNews Podcast & MPST Podcast Presented By PokerNews, and 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.