The 2016 Americas Cup of Poker live final is heading to New Jersey

Some of the best online poker players from North and South America are converging on New Jersey later this summer for the PokerStars Americas Cup of Poker (ACP) live final – and for the first time since Black Friday, Team USA will be represented.

The live final is the culmination of a series of ACP tournaments running on PokerStars.com from May 9 to June 6 that first puts players up against only players from their own country before moving on to battles between the 12 qualified countries.

“The Americas Cup of Poker has been growing for the last seven years and this year will not be an exception,” said Andre Akkari, Team PokerStars Pro. “This year not only sees an improved structure and more tournaments, but also a great live final in New Jersey to wrap up all the action. The question is will Brazil beat Argentina this time around or will it be the USA’s time to shine?”

The Live Final is being held at Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City for the first team after being part of the part of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure schedule for the past seven years.

The 12 teams are divided into three qualifying groups.

GROUP 1

  • Argentina
  • Chile
  • Peru
  • Uruguay

GROUP 2

  • Brazil
  • Colombia
  • Rest of LATAM
  • Ecuador

GROUP 3

  • Canada
  • Costa Rica
  • Mexico
  • Venezuela

This marks the first time that Canada has competed in the ACP since 2010.

Team USA will not compete in this stage of qualifying and will instead be comprised of players who do well during the upcoming NJSCOOP and a select few from a PokerStarsNJ.com freeroll on Sunday, May 29.

The First Round

The first round, which runs May 9 to 29, pits players against other players from only their own country in ACP tournaments with buy-ins from free up to $5.50 and awards players points based on their finishing position in each event. The top 50 point-earners from each country move on to the next stage.

The Second Round

Running May 30 to June 3, the second round is where national pride first enters the mix. Players compete in country vs. country matches, with the 50 players from each country earning points based solely on the number of players they eliminate. At the conclusion of each match, the country with the most bounties is awarded 10 points. Should the match end in a tie, each country is awarded five points.

Each country plays a total of three matches and the top two teams in each group then advance to the Live Final. The five players from each country who collect the most bounties during this round will be selected to represent their country at the Live Final.

The Live Final

The live final, which runs June 23 to 27, is being held at Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City and is set to coincide with the COPA America finals in East Rutherford. There the players will be competing for their country’s share of $100,000 in prizes.

Live Final Prizes

  1. $30,000
  2. $25,000
  3. $17,500
  4. $12,500
  5. $7,500
  6. $5,000
  7. $2,500

In 2015, Argentina came out on top with longtime football rival Brazil finishing as the runner-up.