Poker Tournaments in December: WPT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, WSOP PARADISE and EPT PRAGUE
With the WPT World Championship, WSOP Paradise Main Event and EPT Prague Main Event all clashing on the calendar, which of poker’s biggest three brands will win the attendance war before the presents are handed out?
What do poker players want for Christmas? In recent years, the return of any live poker tournament has been all the more welcome given our starvation of them during the COVID pandemic. This year, however, there is a trio of tournaments all taking place during the weeks preceding Christmas.
WPT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP HOPING TO BREAK RECORDS
Last year, the World Poker Tour launched the WPT World Championship. With 2,960 entrants, the guarantee of $15 million at the Wynn Las Vegas was smashed, with $29 million in the prizepool when late registration closed. This year, the tournament, which costs $10,400 to play – comprising a $9,800 entry, a $400 registration fee and a $200 staff fee – will have a record $40 million guarantee.
That guarantee means that the event needs to achieve a record tournament buy-in for any major event outside the WSOP Main Event. Whether it can do so will largely depend on whether enough players turn up for the initial Day 1a flights that it looks like the total will exceed the numbers needed to make the guarantee – a massive 4,082 players.
WSOP WELCOMES PLAYERS TO PARADISE FOR THE FIRST TIME
If Las Vegas isn’t your scene, then you might fancy the sun, sea and sand of Atlantis Island. Yes, the World Series of Poker is heading to The Bahamas in December and the WSOP Paradise festival is at the heart of Atlantis. Previously home to the European Poker Tour’s island excursion, the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA), this year’s WSOP Paradise festival is sure to be a hit with anyone who attends. The first-ever WSOP bracelet event series to hit the island has a $5,000-entry WSOP Paradise Main Event with a $15 million guarantee.
Players such as GGPoker ambassadors Daniel Negreanu can’t wait for the action.
“GGPoker is delighted to launch WSOP Paradise and welcome hundreds of players from all over the world to Atlantis Paradise Island this December,” Negreanu said. “It’s going to be an absolutely amazing experience, the best of poker at one of the world’s most luxurious resorts.”
EPT PRAGUE
Finally, but by no means least, the European Poker Tour returns to its traditional winter welcome in bringing players to the ‘City of a Hundred Spires’, Prague. The capital of the Czech Republic is sure to be the go-to location for most European players, with the season-ending EPT stop in one of Europe’s most historic and stunning cities taking place between December 6th and 17th.
With 11 days of consecutive action taking place in the Czech capital, the €5,300 ($5,750) buy-in EPT Main Event is going on between December 11th and 17th. The €1,100 Eureka Main Event: (December 6th – 11th), €50,000 EPT Super High Roller (December 10th and 11th) and €3,000 EPT Mystery Bounty (December 13th – 15th) are all sure to be a hit with poker fans wrapping up their year on the live circuit with the perfect pre-Christmas festival.
For most poker players the choice they face will be which festival to attend.
Poker Tournaments in December: WPT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, WSOP PARADISE and EPT PRAGUE
By Paul Seaton / tightpoker
