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$1M+ Stake Poker World KO Championship Series

By Leon Travers

1 hour ago

Leon Travers1 hour ago

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$1M+ in prizes
Every event features bounties
Get $500 bounty boost for every goal scored on the pitch.
Join the $100K Main Event for only $20

How the World KO Championship Works
The $100,000 Mystery Bounty Main Event
The Bye Day Specials: Where Football Goals Boost Your Bankroll
Daily Action and the Mystery Bounty Special
Buy-ins and Prize Pools
How to Join the World KO Championship on Stake
Important Terms & Conditions to Keep in Mind
Claim Your Stake Promo Code & Join the Action

Stake Poker has dropped a massive $1,000,000 in guaranteed prize pools this summer.

From the 28th of June to the 20th of July, 2026, Stake.com is running one of its biggest poker tournament series yet: the World KO Championship.

For 23 straight days, every single event is a knockout format. You can hunt down rivals in traditional KOs, aggressive PKOs, and pick up a host of mystery bounties.

Yet, best of all, you don't have to choose between a multi-hour poker tournament and the summer’s biggest football matches. Stake is pausing the action so no tournament starts while a match is being played.

This guide explains how the World KO Championship Series works, how to join, and what you can win. We also drop details of the Stake promo code for new players who want to get a taste of the action.

How the World KO Championship Works

The main rule of the Stake Poker World KO Championship is simple: every single tournament features a bounty format. When you bust an opponent, you instantly secure a cash prize.

Stake Poker is utilizing three distinct knockout structures across the 23-day event to keep the action fresh:

Regular Knockouts: A fixed cash bounty is placed on every player. Eliminate someone, and that bounty goes straight into your account balance.

Progressive Knockouts (PKOs): When you eliminate a player, part of their bounty is awarded to you as instant cash, while the other part is added directly to your own bounty. The deeper you go, the bigger the target on your head becomes.

Mystery Bounties: Knocking out a player earns you a mystery token. Once the bounty phase begins, these tokens are used to draw random, secret bounty prizes, some of which can be massive compared to the tournament buy-in.

The $100,000 Mystery Bounty Main Event

The crown jewel of the series is the $100,000 guaranteed Main Event. Despite the massive prize pool, Stake has kept the barrier to entry incredibly low with a buy-in of just $20.

This is a phased tournament, meaning you can play any 'Day 1' flight scheduled throughout the 23-day series. Each Day 1 flight concludes when only 15% of the starting field remains. If you manage to bag a stack, you advance to the grand finale on July 20, 2026.

A quick tip: Stake operates a Best Stack Forward Policy for this event. You can play multiple Day 1 flights to try and improve your position, but only your single highest qualifying chip stack will carry over into the finale.

The Bye Day Specials: Where Football Goals Boost Your Bankroll

A clever twist of the World KO Championship lies in the Bye Day Specials. Stake has scheduled five massive headline events to run exclusively on the football rest days, which are:

8th of July
12th of July
13th of July
16th of July
17th of July

Each of these events is a $30 buy-in Progressive Knockout (PKO) with an expected prize pool ranging between $135,000 and $145,000. But those numbers aren't set in stone.

The Goal Booster: For every single goal scored across the football tournament, Stake will automatically increase the guaranteed prize pool of these events by $500. The more explosive the action on the pitch, the bigger the payouts on the table.

To ensure everyone gets a chance to get skin in the game, late registration for the Bye Day Specials stays open for a full 12 hours.

Daily Action and the Mystery Bounty Special

If you can't wait for a rest day, Stake is running high-value events every single day of the series, including:

Daily $10,000 PKOs & Mystery Bounties: Regular fixtures on the daily grid featuring rapid structures like Speed Run PKOs, Deepstack Turbos, and Big Knockout Turbos.

The $20,000 Mystery Bounty Special: Stepping up the stakes on July 18, this standalone event features a $50 buy-in and a clean $20,000 guarantee.

Buy-ins and Prize Pools

One of the best aspects of the World KO Championship is its accessibility to all players. Buy-ins across the series start from as low as $5 up to $50, ensuring players of all bankrolls can get a piece of the action. You can enter any event using direct cash or an equivalent-value tournament ticket.

Here is a quick snapshot of the headlining prize pools you can target:

Event Type	Date / Frequency	Buy-in	Guaranteed Prize Pool
Daily Events	Every day (28 June – 20 July)	From $5 USD	$10,000 USD (PKOs & Mystery Bounties)
Bye Day Specials	July 8, 12, 13, 16, 17	$30 USD	$135,000 - $145,000+ USD (Grows $500 USD per football goal)
Mystery Bounty Special	18 July	$50 USD	$20,000 USD
The Main Event	Phased (Finale on July 20)	$20 USD	$100,000 USD

How to Join the World KO Championship on Stake

Getting a seat at the tables is incredibly straightforward. If you want to dive straight into the bounty action, follow these quick steps:

Click through to our Stake Registration Page to set up your account or log in.
Head over to the Stake Poker section from the main menu.
Open the tournament lobby and navigate to the dedicated World KO Championship tab.
Browse the daily schedule, select your tournament, and register.

Registration for standard events opens 48 hours before the tournament's start time, while registration for the major Bye Day Specials opens 12 hours before kick-off.

Important Terms & Conditions to Keep in Mind

Before you start hunting down your opponents, here are the essential rules you need to know for the World KO Championship:

Re-Entry Rules: If you suffer a bad beat, don’t panic. Re-entries are permitted across the series, up to a strict limit of 10 re-entries per player per event.
Main Event Stack Rules: The $100,000 Main Event is a phased tournament. Each Day 1 flight concludes the exact moment only 15% of the starting field remains. If you play multiple flights, Stake’s Best Stack Forward Policy applies—meaning only your single highest chip stack moves on to the July 20 finale.
The Goal Tracker: The extra $500 added per goal for the Bye Day Specials applies to all goals scored across the official football tournament matches.
Registration Windows: Standard event registration opens 48 hours before start time, but the Bye Day Specials feature a tighter 12-hour registration window.

If you are ready to turn a $5 buy-in into massive bounty payouts but don't have an account yet, there has never been a better time to sign up.

By using our exclusive Stake Promo Code HUGE during registration, new players can unlock an elite welcome bonus to kickstart their poker bankroll. Simply copy the code, click through to the registration page, and ensure you enter it when creating your account.

The football knockout rounds are heating up, and the action at Stake Poker is matching it dollar for dollar. Head over to the lobby, find the World KO Championship tab, and secure your seat today!

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