The PokerStars 2021 World Championship of Online Poker schedule is massive, diverse, and packed with value. It has to be. With over $100 million in guaranteed prize money, PokerStars is looking to make this year’s WCOOP the biggest in the series 20-year history. It features 102 events, each with three buy-in levels (Low, Medium, High), for a total of 306 tournaments giving players plenty of opportunities to boost their bankrolls and battle for a trophy.

But sometimes, with a schedule that features something for everyone, knowing where to focus your time and attention can be a little intimidating. So, here’s a little help. Pick and choose a schedule that features your favorite games, but make sure you include these five “must-play” events from the 2021 WCOOP.

Event #01 – [Phase Tournament]
Buy-ins: $5.50 (Low), $22 (Medium), $109 (High)
Date: various

The first event of the series is really one of the last events as it’s a Phase tournament. That means that starting flights for the tournament are running throughout the duration of the series and what makes it an event you simply can’t miss is that whenever you are ready to play, there’s likely a Phase 1 kicking off. So not only is this tournament easy to fire in but for players who happen to bust out before making Phase 2, there’s always another Phase 1 around the corner to give it another shot. Another reason is the guarantee, each of the three buy-ins comes with its own $1 million guarantee making this one of the best “bang for you buck” events across the entire schedule.

Event #02 – [WCOOP Kickoff]
Buy-ins: $5.50 (Low), $55 (Medium), $530 (High)
Date: August 22

With the Phase tournaments already in full swing, Event #02 serves, in reality, as the first event of the 2021 WCOOP. The guarantees for the events are $75K, $300K, and $400K respectively, which are solid of the series but the real value comes in knowing that the first event of most major series is a massive draw for players. It’s very likely that the excitement of a new WCOOP series will see these guarantees shattered as players pile into the lobbies looking to be among the first to take home a trophy. It goes without saying that the structure for all three tournaments is solid with plenty of starting chips for each buy-in and, for those playing in the High Event, 20-minute levels – which is more than enough playing time for online poker.

Event #37 – [8-Max, Turbo Progressive Knock Out]
Buy-ins: $55 (Low), $530 (Medium), $5,200 (High)
Date: August 29

There’s no doubt that Progressive Knock Out events are among the most popular that PokerStars offers. Players love to have the opportunity to make big money on bounties before they even make the money. This is why this event is one of the best on the schedule. Not only is it a PKO, but it’s a Turbo – of the 306 events, just 39 tournament crown a winner in a single day. Plus this event has massive guarantees across all three tournaments of $300K, $400K, and $500K respectively – one of the highest guarantees of all the Turbo events. So, this one has everything: PKO, done in a day, and huge money up top. This should be a featured event for players who don’t have a lot of time to dedicate to a tournament. For a similar event, see Event #93.

Event #63 – [Sunday Million PKO]
Buy-ins: $109 (Low), $1,050 (Medium), $10,300 (High)
Date: September 5

PokerStars biggest Sunday tournament goes even bigger during WCOOP. The marquee Sunday Million (Low) keeps its $109 buy-in and gets a guarantee bump to $1.5 million, almost ensuring that the winner turns their hundred dollar investment into a six-figure score. Plus, it’s a PKO which means that the bounties (and the stakes) will all be higher promising one of the most fun, recreational-player-filled, tournaments of the series. In addition to the Low event, the Medium also has a $1.5 million guarantee and the High event gets $1 million of its own. The Sunday Million is a three-day event, with 15-minute levels and for players who make the final table, a featured appearance on PokerStars Twitch channel is likely to take place.

Event #91 – [The Main Event]
Buy-in: $55 (Low), $530 (Medium), $5,200 (High)
Date: September 12

This is it. The WCOOP Main Event. It’s where legends of online poker are made and shine and it’s absolutely an event that cannot be missed. This year, the $5,200 Main Event comes with an incredible $10 million guarantee with promises seven-figure scores will be at stake. With satellites for the Main Event practically running around the clock on PokerStars, even for those grinders where $5,200 is outside of proper bankroll management, there’s plenty of ways to get in on the cheap. Just last year the final three players, Andre Marques, Tonio Roder, and Teun Mulder, agreed to a deal in which all three became millionaires. In the end, Marques stood alone and booked a $1.147 million score.

Although many eyes will be on the huge High prize pool, both the Medium and the Low have the ability to pay out life-changing sums. The Low comes with a $1.5 million guarantee and in 2020 it was won by ‘klimono’ who added more than $186K to their bankroll. The Medium has a guarantee of $2.5 million. In 2020, that tournament surpasses that guarantee by more than a million and ‘1mSoWeeeaK’ took home the title and $504,583.

PLO fans can substitute Event #91 for Event #92, the PLO Main Event. With buy-ins coming in at $109 (Low), $1,050 (Medium), and $10,300 (High) and healthy guarantees of $275K, $750K, and $1M respectively it’s a PLO players dream tournament.

So scour the schedule and pick your favorites, but circle the calendar for these five “must play” events.