WPT, partypoker Announce $100M WPT World Online Championships
The World Poker Tour and partypoker have tabled their hand with their summer plans. On Friday, the two premier poker brands announced the first-ever WPT World Online Championships, a nearly two-month-long online series that offers players a shot at becoming a WPT champion while guaranteeing $100,000,000 million in total prize money.
Just weeks removed from the successful conclusion of the record-setting WPT Online Championship series, the World Poker Tour and partypoker have teamed up once again. The WPT World Online Championships will take place from July 17-September 8 and hold 12 WPT Online Championship events.
Five of the 12 events will be considered full-featured WPT Main Tour Events. The winners of those tournaments will earn all the same perks as a player who has gone the distance in a live event. This includes membership in the WPT Champions Club, a $15,000 seat to the Season XVIII WPT Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas, and the player’s name engraved on the WPT Trophy.
The $10M Gtd Main Event, which kicks off on August 29, has a $10,300 buy-in and two starting flights, each with a single re-entry available. The tournament will take five days to play out and, as the tournament progresses, has a structure close to that of a live event with levels at the final table extended to 60 minutes each.
The other four WPT Champions Club tournaments each have a $3,200 buy-in and a $3 million guarantee over a variety of NLHE formats.
“The WPT World Online Championships brings together the World Poker Tour and partypoker together once more for what will be the largest series in both of our histories,” said Adam Pliska, CEO of the World Poker Tour in a press release. “The spectacle on display during the WPT Online Series will be heightened once more come July with another major milestone for the World Poker Tour. Five WPT Champions crowned in a single series is a first for the WPT in 18 seasons and we look forward to welcoming them all into the WPT Champions Club.”
The full schedule is packed with No-Limit Hold’em events including 8-Max, 6-Max, and Knockout tournaments. For variety, there is also a Pot Limit Omaha, PLO Hi-Lo, as well as Heads Up tournament. Most of the events also have three tiers of buy-ins. For each of the Main Events, there is a Mini and a Micro version of the events.
In addition to the Main Event, there are a pair of tournaments aimed at pleasing the biggest names in the game. The $25,500 High Roller on September 5 guarantees $10 million while the $102,000 Super High Roller has a $5 million guarantee. Also of note, on July 29, the WPT is holding a one-off WPT Shooting Stars for Charity PKO tournament with a $1,100.
“This is a true series for players across the board,” said Hermance Blum, WPT VP Europe. “Limited re-entries, buy-ins at all levels, and five ways to become a WPT Champion are all highlights of the first-ever WPT World Online Championships.”
With no live World Series of Poker taking place in Las Vegas this summer, the race to fill the void with online offerings is on. The WPT World Online Championships will go head-to-head with the recently announced World Series of Poker online schedule which kicks off on July 1.
Like the WPT, the World Series of Poker was forced to adjust to the times. They pivoted to offer 31 gold bracelet events for players in the United States on the WSOP.com platform and another 54 bracelet events on through their partnership with GGPoker which concludes on September 6.
Between the two series, there will be no shortage of online titles to battle for this summer and the industry is still awaiting a potential announcement from PokerStars as to what they may have planned.
“I’m delighted that we have been able to partner with the WPT to revive the WPT World Championships and bring the series online for the first time,” said partypoker Managing Director, Tom Waters. “We want to give the festival more of a live event feel, so the tournaments will be structured as such, including single re-entry for all No Limit Hold’em event, freezeouts, limited late registration, and limited Day 1’s. Due to popular demand, players will be able to see each other’s real names at the tables.”
WPT World Online Championships Schedule
| START DATE | EVENT | BUY-IN | GTD |
|---|---|---|---|
| 07-18 | WPT World Championship Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo | $3,200 | $500,000 |
| 07-25 | WPT World Championship Pot Limit Omaha | $3,200 | $1,000,000 |
| 08-01 | WPT World Championship 8-Max | $3,200 | $3,000,000 |
| 08-08 | WPT World Championship Knockout | $3,200 | $3,000,000 |
| 08-15 | WPT World Championship 6-Max | $3,200 | $3,000,000 |
| 08-29 | WPT World Championship Main Event | $10,300 | $10,000,000 |
| 09-02 | WPT World Championship Heads Up | $3,200 | $500,000 |
| 09-05 | WPT World Championship Mix-Max | $3,200 | $3,000,000 |
| 09-05 | WPT World Championship High Roller | $25,500 | $10,000,000 |
| 09-07 | WPT World Championship Super High Roller | $102,000 | $5,000,000 |
| 09-08 | WPT World Championship Turbo | $3,200 | $1,000,000 |
* bold events indicate Main Tour events.
For a Full Festival schedule of events, click here.
