GGPoker has set a new world record for the largest poker tournament ever held, with its $5 Ocean KO Opener attracting 420,084 entries.
The tournament surpassed the previous record of 253,692 participants, established by PokerStars during its Common Cents event in October 2015.
The Ocean KO Opener featured dozens of starting flights, with at least 24,134 players advancing to Day 2.
The event also exceeded its original $1 million guarantee, generating a prize pool of more than $1.9 million. The first-place prize was set at $43,938, while total bounties exceeded $1.05 million.
The tournament uses a Progressive Knockout (PKO) format with random jackpot multipliers of up to 400x. These multipliers can significantly increase the rewards players receive for eliminating opponents.
However, the format has attracted criticism from some poker players, who argue that random jackpot rewards make tournaments more similar to lotteries than traditional poker competitions.
Similar jackpot-style knockout tournaments are already available on Winamax through its Space KO format.
In September 2026, a Winamax player known as oldepaso68 won €838,000 from a single knockout in a €100 Space KO tournament, eventually collecting €927,783 in total winnings.