Ben “Spraggy” Spragg has made an impressive start to WCOOP 2026, bagging the fourth-largest stack from a huge 5,005-entry field in the $75 Sunday Special. The PokerStars ambassador was one of just 190 players remaining after the opening session, with almost $50,000 waiting for the eventual winner.
Spragg’s deep run came after he had already picked up a late-night hyper-turbo victory during his opening WCOOP session. The British poker streamer described it as a “LOVELY little start to WCOOP 2026” as he prepared to return near the top of the Sunday Special counts.
PokerStars had not published Spragg’s eventual finishing position at the time of writing.
Spraggy Fourth From 5,005 Entries
The $75 Sunday Special was one of the headline tournaments on the opening WCOOP Sunday. Officially listed as WCOOP 03-L, the No-Limit Hold’em tournament carried a $350,000 guarantee and attracted 5,005 entries.
Only 190 players remained when the tournament paused, leaving less than four percent of the original field still in contention. Spragg was sitting fourth among them and therefore returned with a genuine opportunity to turn a $75 entry into one of the biggest online scores available at that buy-in level.
| WCOOP $75 Sunday Special | Figure |
|---|---|
| Buy-in | $75 |
| Entries | 5,005 |
| Guarantee | $350,000 |
| Players remaining | 190 |
| Spraggy’s position | 4th |
| First prize | Just under $50,000 |
The field size makes the run particularly notable. Reaching the final 190 meant Spragg had already outlasted more than 4,800 entries before returning with one of the biggest stacks in the tournament.
Spraggy Celebrates His WCOOP Start
Spragg shared his progress with followers after completing the opening session. His reaction combined the Sunday Special run with another victory from what had already become a productive opening night.
“LOVELY little start to WCOOP 2026!” Spragg wrote, before confirming his hyper-turbo win and fourth-place position among the remaining Sunday Special players.
He also told followers that he would be playing his WCOOP schedule live on stream. That gives his community the opportunity to follow the highs and lows of a championship series in which Spragg is involved both as a player and PokerStars ambassador.
For readers less familiar with his rise from online grinder to one of poker’s most established streaming personalities, Poker Type recently looked at the career of Ben “Spraggy” Spragg, including his Twitch success, PokerStars relationship and major tournament results.
From $75 to Almost $50,000?
The appeal of the Sunday Special is obvious when its buy-in is compared with the potential first prize. Players entered for $75, yet the eventual champion was set to collect just under $50,000.
Spragg still faced a huge amount of work with 190 players remaining, so fourth in chips should not be confused with reaching a final table. Tournament stacks can change quickly, particularly when hundreds of players have already been reduced to a much smaller field.
Still, returning fourth from 5,005 entries put Spragg in an enviable position. Even for an experienced professional accustomed to playing much larger buy-ins, a run through a field of that size would represent a significant WCOOP result.
WCOOP Starts With Huge Fields
Spragg’s run also offers an early indication of player interest in the 25th edition of WCOOP. PokerStars has scheduled 350 tournaments across 121 numbered events between September 6 and September 30, with buy-ins stretching from $5.50 to $25,000.
Poker Type’s full look at the WCOOP 2026 schedule details a series built around Low, Medium and High tiers. That structure means the championship can produce $5,000 and $10,000 high rollers while tournaments such as the $75 Sunday Special attract fields numbering in the thousands.
The Sunday Special is a good example of that accessibility. A $350,000 guarantee attached to a $75 tournament gave lower-stakes players the opportunity to chase a substantial WCOOP score without needing a four-figure bankroll.
A Hyper-Turbo Win Before the Deep Run
The Sunday Special wasn’t Spragg’s only reason to be pleased with his opening WCOOP session. His own update confirmed that he had already recorded a late-night hyper-turbo victory before bagging his large stack for the continuation.
That combination is particularly fitting for a streamer whose content is built around playing long online tournament sessions rather than appearing only for the largest buy-ins. WCOOP provides weeks of that kind of schedule, with different formats and bankroll levels running throughout each day.
For Spragg, it also creates a chance to add to a poker career increasingly associated with PokerStars’ major online festivals. His WCOOP involvement in 2026 extends beyond simply registering tournaments.
Team Spraggy Is Coming to the WCOOP Games
Spragg is one of four ambassador captains involved in the new WCOOP Games, alongside Marle Spragg, Sebastian “peace&loove” Huber and Brazilian commentators Felipe Phil and Flávio del Valle. Community members qualified for the teams through $0.01 tournaments before progressing into selected $109 WCOOP events.
The first Face-Off takes place on September 9, when Team Spraggy meets Team Del & Phil in a $109 Heads-Up Turbo Progressive Total KO Zoom event. Poker Type previously explained how the WCOOP Games work, with community freerolls and $1,050 WCOOP Main Event tickets ultimately at stake.
Importantly, the ambassadors themselves do not determine the team result. The performances of the three community qualifiers decide which team advances, although Spragg can still play the tournament alongside them.
That gives him two very different roles during WCOOP. He is trying to produce results of his own while simultaneously fronting a community competing for prizes deeper into the series.
A Strong Start to WCOOP for Spraggy
There are still more than three weeks of WCOOP remaining, so an opening-week deep run cannot define Spragg’s series. Starting with a hyper-turbo victory and returning fourth from a 5,005-entry tournament is nevertheless about as encouraging an opening as he could have wanted.
The eventual Sunday Special result will determine just how significant the run becomes. With 190 players remaining, there was still a considerable distance between fourth in chips and the almost $50,000 first prize.
For now, Spraggy has given his viewers a reason to follow his WCOOP grind from the beginning.
And with Team Spraggy entering the WCOOP Games on Wednesday, there should be plenty more to follow.
