Wpt Online Via Partypoker Will Kick Off Season Xix
The pandemic sidelined the World Poker Tour – at least from the live poker tournament scene – since March 2020. For nearly one year, the WPT offered only online poker tournaments via its long-time partnership with partypoker. While WPTDeepStacks just jumped back into live poker with its stop in Hanoi, it is also gearing up for a big stop on the Gold Coast.
Even so, the World Poker Tour will keep an online presence. The WPT Online Series starts on partypoker on May 14 and will run through June 2 with a main tour Main Event title on the line.
WPT Online Series
The World Poker Tour just wrapped its longest season ever. Season XVIII started in July 2019 in California and didn’t conclude until April 2021. The pandemic kept the WPT from live poker tables for most of 2020.
So, in order to kick off Season XIX in the most inclusive and grand way possible, the World Poker Tour continued its partnership with partypoker to offer the WPT Online Series this month. In fact, the series will kick off on 14 May and run through 2 June online, complete with a WPT Main Event that will crown the first champion of the 19th season. That person will be the first name added to the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup for Season XIX.
Partypoker players around the world can participate in the series. There are 26 tournaments in total, with buy-ins ranging from $5.50 to $25,500.
Partypoker Head of Poker Room Management Chris Donnachie said, “The inaugural WPT Online Series back in 2020 was the first purposely-designed WPT festival to be run fully online at partypoker, and we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to do this all over again.” He noted that the Main Event and its $3M guarantee runs along side a mini version. The WPT and partypoker also included two WPT500 events.
Main Events
There is technically only one WPT Main Event for the series, the one that will find the newest WPT champion. But there is a Mini Main Event, one with a lower buy-in but still $500K guaranteed and with a win that any player will gladly put on her or his poker CV.
The main Main Event requires a $3,200 buy-in and guarantees $3M in the prize pool. It is Event 20 on the schedule and will play out as follows:
- Sunday, 23 May: Day 1A (first of two starting flights, 1 reentry allowed)
- Sunday, 30 May: Day 1B (second of two starting flights, 1 reentry allowed
- Monday, 31 May: Day 2 (combination of Day 1 survivors)
- Tuesday, 1 June: Day 3 (playdown to final table)
- Wednesday, 2 June: Final table
As for the Mini Main Event, players need only a $530 buy-in for the $500K guarantee. It is Event 2 on the schedule with these dates:
- Saturday, 15 May: Day 1A (first of two starting flights, 1 reentry allowed)
- Sunday, 16 May: Day 1B (second of two starting flights, 1 reentry allowed)
- Monday, 17 May: Day 2 (combination of Day 1 survivors)
- Tuesday, 18 May: Day 3 (playdown to final table)
- Wednesday, 19 May: Final table
In addition, there is a Micro Main Event with only a $55 buy-in and $150K guarantee. This also falls under Event 2 on the schedule and plays out alongside the Mini.
Other Series Highlights
The entire schedule is full of great tournament options, each with at least two buy-in levels. Event 1 is the opener with three buy-in options of $1,050 (for a $500K guarantee), $109 (for a $250K guarantee), and $11 (for $50K GTD). Event 4 is a knockout, Event 6 is an Omaha PKO, and Event 7 is a turbo bounty.
There is a unique event – Event 00 in the tournament lobby – called the WPT Pro Hunt on 14 May. The buy-in is only $33, and it offers a $30K guarantee. More, the WPT and partypoker are adding $6K in additional prizes, such as tournament tickets. Players must knock out partypoker pros like Patrick Leonard and Kristen Bicknell to win satellites for the Main Event. And the winner of the Pro Hunt will win an actual seat into the Main Event worth $3,200.
There are two WPT500 tournaments in the mix. In conjunction with those, there are Super50 and Super5, the smaller versions.
The first is a knockout format and starts on 17 May, offers nine starting flights for each, and plays its Day 2 on 24 May.
- Event 8: $530 buy-in WPT500 Knockout ($1M GTD)
- Event 9: $55 buy-in Super50 ($400K GTD)
- Event 10: $5.50 buy-in Super5 Knockout ($50K GTD)
The second set is not a PKO. It starts on 24 May, also offers nine starting flights, and combines the survivors on 31 May.
- Event 24: $530 buy-in WPT500 ($1M GTD)
- Event 25: $55 buy-in Super50 ($300K GTD)
- Event 26: $5.50 buy-in Super5 ($50K GTD)
Satellites for all events are running on partypoker now, with chances to qualify for as little as $0.01. Those are Phase satellites that build up to weekly finals. Those finals guarantee at least 15 Main Event seats.
