Last year’s World Poker Tour (WPT) World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas easily surpassed its lofty $15 million guaranteed prize pool with $29 million in the pot. This coming December, the same $10,400 buy-in tournament is going to be even bigger — much bigger — with a record $40 million guaranteed.
The historic no-limit hold’em tournament runs Dec. 12-21 as part of a WPT festival that kicks off Nov. 29 on the Las Vegas Strip. On Dec. 21, the final table will be live-streamed, and those six players could be competing for an eight-figure payday.
Outside of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, never before has a $10k tournament had as many entrants as it will take to reach that record-setting guarantee. It may seem like an ambitious goal to hit $40 million in one event, but the inaugural WPT World Championship in 2022 wasn’t far off, and this year’s edition figures to attract even more players.
2023 WPT World Championship Event Details
As you probably assumed, achieving that huge promised prize pool will take more than just one or two Day 1 sessions, and of course re-entry will be permitted. Players can enter any and all of the four starting flights beginning Dec. 12 with one per day planned.
The structure should be to the liking of both pros and recreational players. Everyone starts with 100,000 chips and plays 60 minute levels on Day 1 with the levels increasing to 90 minutes throughout the remainder of the tournament until heads-up play begins (45 minutes).
Eliot Hudon is the reigning champion, having won $4.1 million for beating out 2,960 entrants, the largest field ever for a non-WSOP $10k. This year’s winner will almost certainly take home a significantly higher prize than Hudon’s score.
The WPT World Championship series will be competing heavily with the first ever World Series of Poker (WSOP) Paradise series in the Bahamas, which runs Dec. 3-15. Many players will travel back and forth from the Bahamas to Las Vegas, and also the Czech Republic for the European Poker Tour (EPT) Prague stop, which also takes place in December.
More than Just One Big Event
The WPT World Championship series has a host of juicy tournaments on the schedule. Action begins on Nov. 29 with two events — $600 Limit Omaha/8 ($60,000 guaranteed) and $600 No-Limit Hold’em ($1,000,000 guaranteed).
There are numerous other major tournaments on the schedule, none more anticipated than the $1 million buy-in WPT Big One for One Drop from Dec. 18-19, the first time the seven-figure charity event has been hosted in the US outside of the WSOP.
WPT Bringing Back $1 Million Buy-In Charity Event
On Dec. 4, the $1,600 Mystery Bounty starts, and that one will have a $2,000,000 minimum prize pool. The return of the WPT Prime Championship at Wynn, an $1,100 buy-in no-limit hold’em contest with $5,000,000 guaranteed, kicks off Dec. 7 with the first of four Day 1 starting flights. Stephen Song, who beat out 5,430 entrants for $712,650, is the defending champion.
Back by popular demand is the $1,100 Ladies Championship, a three-day no-limit hold’em tournament with $250,000 guaranteed starting Dec. 6. Last year’s same event was one of the biggest female-only poker tournaments in history. Lina Niu beat out a field of 578 entrants for a $105,136 payday.
There’s something for just about every type of tournament poker player on the schedule, and many opportunities to win life-changing money.
Full 2023 WPT World Championship Series Schedule
| Dates | Tournament | Buy-In | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 29 | Limit Omaha/8 | $600 | $60,000 |
| Nov. 29-Dec. 4 | No-Limit Hold’em | $600 | $1,000,000 |
| Dec. 3 | No-Limit Hold’em 8-Max | $10,000 | |
| Dec. 4-7 | Mystery Bounty No-Limit Hold’em | $1,600 | $2,000,000 |
| Dec. 4-6 | Seniors Championship (55+) | $1,100 | $500,000 |
| Dec. 4 | No-Limit Hold’em 6-Max | $1,100 | $100,000 |
| Dec. 5 | No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha | $1,100 | $100,000 |
| Dec. 6-8 | Ladies Championship | $1,100 | $250,000 |
| Dec. 7-12 | WPT Prime Championship | $1,100 | $5,000,000 |
| Dec. 8 | 8-Game Mix | $2,200 | $200,000 |
| Dec. 12-21 | WPT World Championship | $10,400 | $40,000,000 |
| Dec. 12-13 | HORSE Championship | $1,100 | $100,000 |
| Dec. 13 | Pot-Limit Omaha | $1,100 | $100,000 |
| Dec. 15 | No-Limit Hold’em Turbo ($500 Bounty) | $1,100 | $100,000 |
| Dec. 16 | No-Limit Hold’em Progressive Bounty (PKO) | $3,000 | $500,000 |
| Dec. 17-18 | Limit Omaha/8 Championship | $1,100 | $100,000 |
| Dec. 17-20 | No-Limit Hold’em | $3,000 | $3,000,000 |
| Dec. 17-18 | No-Limit Hold’em High Roller | $25,700 | |
| Dec. 18-19 | WPT Big One for One Drop | $1,000,000 | |
| Dec. 19-23 | No-Limit Hold’em | $1,600 | $2,000,000 |
| Dec. 19-20 | Seniors High Roller (50+) | $10,000 | $500,000 |
| Dec. 19 | No-Limit Hold’em 6-Max | $3,000 | $500,000 |
| Dec. 20-21 | Dealers Choice Championship | $3,000 | $200,000 |
| Dec. 20-21 | WPT Alpha8 | $50,000 | |
| Dec. 21 | Pot-Limit Omaha | $10,500 | |
| Dec. 22 | No-Limit Hold’em | $1,100 | $200,000 |
| Dec. 23 | No-Limit Hold’em | $1,100 | $100,000 |