PokerStars Winter Series 2026 Midpoint: Main Events Ahead with Big Guarantees

PokerStars’ Winter Series 2026 began on January 23 and is running across PokerStars US and PokerStars Ontario. The 2026 Winter Series features 50 tournaments per network, down from 89 events per network last year. The Ontario series offers C$752K in guarantees, roughly equivalent to $550K USD. The shared Michigan–New Jersey network guarantees close to $540K in prize pools, while the Pennsylvania series carries $441K in guarantees.

The Main Events feature a $200 buy-in and carry the largest guarantees of the festival. Ontario’s C$200 Main Event offers a C$100,000 guarantee. The shared MI/NJ network guarantees $70,000 for its Main Event. Pennsylvania’s Main Event comes with a $60,000 guarantee. Players can qualify for the Main Event through satellites starting at just $2.

In addition to the Main Events, the series includes a variety of other tournaments with different buy-ins and formats. The schedule includes a broad range of buy-ins, with some new price points introduced this year, including $7, $8, $77, and $88. More familiar stakes are also present, such as $10, $20, $30, $40, $50, $100, $250, and a top-end buy-in of $500. The series has now reached its midpoint, though several headline events are still to come.