CPG Championship Main Event Draws 3,972 Entries in Sanya

The 2026 CPG Championship Finals Main Event has attracted 3,972 entries, producing the fourth-largest field in the tournament’s 14-year history.

The final number was reached across three starting flights at the Howard Johnson Resort Sanya Bay . It finished just 108 entries short of the 4,080 recorded in 2023 and surpassed the 3,787 entries from 2024.

The result continues a remarkable run for China Poker Games , with every Championship Main Event since 2019 attracting more than 3,000 entries. Another field approaching 4,000 shows the strength of the tournament and the scale of the poker scene that CPG has built in China .

Another Huge Main Event in Sanya

The scale of the 2026 tournament was clear from the opening flight. Day 1A attracted 1,535 entries, with 516 players advancing.

Two further starting flights took the field to 3,972 before the surviving players returned for Day 2. Several days of competition have since reduced that enormous starting field, with Day 4 now nearing its conclusion in Sanya.

Those who survive the remainder of Day 4 will return on August 28 for the final day of the 2026 CPG Championship Main Event . By the end of Day 5, the 14th champion in the tournament’s history will have been crowned.

The competition is being held across four large tournament areas named Red, Blue, Orange and Purple. Approximately 200 tables are available across the venue, a scale explored during our look at why the CPG Championship returns to Sanya every August .

Access to the tournament areas is restricted to registered players and working staff. CPG uses the players-only setup to maintain a controlled competition environment and support its presentation of poker as a sport.

CPG Main Event Fields Through the Years

The Championship Main Event attracted 878 entries when the first edition was held in 2013. The field passed 1,000 in 2015 before reaching 3,132 in 2019.

Attendance climbed to a record 4,405 in 2022. The 2025 CPG Championship came closest to that figure with 4,211 entries.

The full development of the event, including its growth from a domestic tournament into one of Asia’s largest annual poker gatherings, can be found in the story of the rise of the CPG Championship .

The 2026 attendance is more than four and a half times the size of the inaugural field. It is also the eighth consecutive CPG Championship Main Event to exceed 3,000 entries.

Only three editions have attracted larger fields than the 3,972 recorded this year. The result also places 2026 ahead of every Championship held before the record-setting 2022 edition.

The consistency is as impressive as the headline number. Since 2022, the smallest Championship Main Event still attracted 3,787 entries, while three editions during that period passed 4,000.

CPG Continues to Operate at a Different Scale

The size of the Main Event is particularly notable because CPG does not operate like a conventional open-entry poker festival.

Local players can reach the Championship through satellites held before the Finals. International players follow a separate process, with packages available through CPG sponsors rather than directly from CPG.

That system and the wider structure of the Chinese tournament scene are explained in Somuchpoker’s guide to how poker operates in China .

Despite the different route into the tournament, the Main Event has now produced fields of at least 3,787 entries in five consecutive editions. The figures show that the Championship is not relying on a single exceptional year, but has maintained consistently large fields since 2022.

The numbers are also further evidence of why Sanya has become so closely connected to the Championship Finals. CPG holds events in other locations during the year, but its biggest annual festival returns to Hainan every August.

The wider festival runs from August 19 to 28, with the venue, schedule and format available in the CPG Championship Finals 2026 guide .

One Day Remains in Sanya

Day 4 is now drawing to a close at the Howard Johnson Resort Sanya Bay. The remaining players are competing for the right to return tomorrow and take their place on the final day.

The survivors will return on August 28, when the 3,972-entry field will be reduced to one champion. Whoever wins will add their name to a tournament that has attracted more than 4,000 entries on three occasions and continues to rank among the largest annual poker events in Asia.

Images courtesy of China Poker Games