The Midweek Series always starts on Tuesday and the Weekly Series always starts on Saturday — neither has shifted its start day across 15 editions. Add the Weekend Specials every Sunday 10:00–23:30 and you have the most stable backbone of the whole season. Block those three first, then fill in around the festivals.
2026 SEASON · DATA REPORT
How to plan the 2026 seasonA practical guide after 75 events
This is not a recap. We recounted all 75 events and 505 tournaments from this year under one consistent method, then laid out the fixed weekly schedule, the real buy-in spread and the satellite maths — so you can plan the rest of the year straight off the page.
75events · Jan 1 – Sep 20, 2026
505tournaments
5×growth in annual prize pools
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Four takeaways — start here
Online figures from Red Dragon Poker official event records (Jan 1 – Sep 20, 2026). Live figures are approximate, compiled from published reporting.
Across 428 recorded buy-ins this year the median is 218 Dragon, and 46% of tournaments sit at 120 or below. More striking: of the 194 tournaments run since August 1, not one had a buy-in above 888. For anything higher you have to wait for a live festival.
The Weekly and Midweek satellite matrices are identical every edition, so the cost ratio can be worked out exactly. The hourly 55 Dragon satellite guarantees 5 seats and runs more often than any other line — the best value route of the season, and the one most often overlooked.
JPF 2026 RDPT × KPC runs October 28 to November 11 at LES A Casino, Jeju — 15 days and 178 scheduled tournaments. For online players the question is not whether you fly out: the last two live festivals each had an online Sync Celebration alongside, so start watching for qualifying routes from mid-October.
THE BIG PICTURE
Five-fold in two years: online and live are one curve
Annual prize pools were around USD 2.9M in 2024; the two live festivals in the first half of 2026 alone already total about USD 14.8M. Online density climbed in step, from 3 events in January to 17 in August. These are not two separate stories — they are the same growth curve.
Read the full analysis →