ClubWPT Qualifiers Taking Their Shot Today at the WPT SHRP Championship
3 minutes
Last Updated: May 3, 2024
The first of the two starting flights at the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Championship gets underway today, and it will feature three qualifiers who secured their seat in the event via online qualifiers at ClubWPT.
These three qualifiers will be looking to claim their share of poker fame and riches in one of the most famous stops on the World Poker Tour itinerary, and it’s fair to say that they’ll have their work cut out for them.
So far, Day 1A saw many of poker’s biggest names turn up, creating one of the toughest fields you'd expect to find in a poker tournament.
As the day progresses, we expect the field to continue growing and more big names to roam the halls of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, so the three hopefuls will have a big mountain to climb. But, as we all know, that’s exactly how some of the most memorable poker stories have started.
Time to Shine
The three players who secured their seats via ClubWPT qualifiers have been the site members for a few years.
Mitch Knuckles, who is the oldest of the three, is 69 years old, and he’s been with ClubWPT since August 2023. Rick Bartels, 67, has been a member since January 2022, while 65-year-old Ray Cochrane has been with the site since January 2021.
ClubWPT is a social online poker platform operating on a sweepstakes model, which makes it legal in the almost entire United States. Members pay a monthly subscription, which gives them access to daily tournaments, many of which are qualifiers to live World Poker Tour events.
Cochrane, Bartles, and Knuckles were able to secure their seats in the prestigious WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Championship, which is probably one of the greatest events you can play from a poker fan perspective.
The event is known to bring out many familiar faces, and we caught glimpses of the likes of Erick Lindgren, John Jaffe, Erik Seidel, Brian Altman, and the rising start Bin Weng in the field.
At the same time, because it tends to attract such strong competition, this could be the hardest of all Championships. So, the qualifiers will need to put the best performance of their lives and have some luck on their side to survive all the obstacles and come out on the other side unscathed.
The World Poker Tour Story Continues
In recent years, the World Poker Tour has gone from strength to strength, spreading its presence and becoming a truly global phenomenon that goes with the name.
With the events like the WPT World Championship and having numerous online qualifiers in the fields, the tour has helped restore some of that original appeal of the game. The poker dream is still well and alive, and it’s never too late to go after it.
This year’s Seminole Hard Rock event is on pace to continue writing this story, as the organizers are looking to beat the last year’s attendance record.
Today will be a long day for everyone in the field, not just the qualifiers. With 60-minute levels and late registration available for the first eight levels, the path to securing a bag for Day 2 will be a fun but grueling one.
An Exciting Day Ahead
Trying to predict things in a poker tournament is always an ungrateful thing to do. There are always upsets, surprises, and unexpected developments no one saw coming.
The only thing we can be pretty certain of is that today’s field will be a big one and filled with familiar faces and many up-and-coming pros looking for their five minutes in the spotlight.
In this huge field, scattered across three different tables, the three qualifiers will be looking for their spots, hoping that, once it comes to it, their cards can hold and their stacks aren’t turned into dust.
When you have to do all this while facing people who play tournaments like this virtually every day, it’s not a small challenge. But, the beauty of poker is that, on any given day, anyone can have a run of their lives and beat the odds.
As the action gets under way, we’ll be keeping an eye out for the qualifiers and (secretly) keep our fingers crossed for them. For the pros, winning this one is important, but it’s just another tournament at the end of the day.
For these three satellite winners, though, making the final table of such a prestigious event would be a dream-come-true and yet another piece of evidence that the poker dream is still a thing in 2024!
