WSOP Reveals Eight Nominees for 2026 Poker Hall of Fame

By Mrinal Gujare

3 hours ago

Mrinal Gujare 3 hours ago

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WSOP announced eight nominees for 2026 Poker Hall of Fame.
New voting rules allow up to six inductees to ease backlog.
Justin Bonomo, Shaun Deeb, and Isai Scheinberg feature among finalists.

Image by: WSOP.com

The WSOP announced the eight-person 2026 Poker Hall of Fame shortlist, featuring Justin Bonomo, Shaun Deeb, and Isai Scheinberg.

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) has officially announced the shortlist for the 2026 Poker Hall of Fame following a public voting round.

A total of eight nominees have been selected to move on to the final stage of the induction process. The 2026 finalists are:

Justin Bonomo
Shaun Deeb
Isaac Haxton
Jason Koon
Mike Matusow
Isai Scheinberg
Chris Moorman
Scott Seiver

An overhaul of the final voting process for 2026 means that up to six of these nominees could be inducted this year. The remaining 33 living members of the Poker Hall of Fame will cast the deciding ballots. Each living member is allocated four votes.

Any nominee who receives 22 or more votes will earn induction into the Hall of Fame. In the event that no nominee reaches the 22-vote threshold, the individual with the highest vote count will be inducted.

This structural change could significantly ease a persistent logjam of qualified candidates. The issue became more prominent this year as several prominent players reached the age eligibility requirement of 40.

Shaun Deeb, Justin Bonomo, and Jason Koon all turned 40 this year, making them eligible for the first time, and all three possess strong cases to become first-ballot Hall of Famers. Notably, Deeb enters the discussion fresh off earning the 2025 WSOP Player of the Year honors.

Many within the poker community believe the updated voting rules could finally pave the way for the induction of PokerStars founder Isai Scheinberg.

Industry contributors have historically faced a difficult path to entry due to a previous one-person induction limit per year and a long list of deserving playing candidates.