WPT Reveals World Championship Schedule – $40M GTD in the Main, One Drop Is Back

The WPT World Championship event, scheduled to play out this December at the Wynn, has been on the calendar for quite some time.

However, the full details of the festival were not released until now, with WPT coming out with the full schedule and more information regarding the event.

Last year, WPT World Championship offered a $15 Million guarantee, and ended up nearly doubling it by end of registration. Now, the Tour is going all-in and guaranteeing a gargantuan $40 million, the greatest guaranteed prize pool for a live poker tournament ever.

“The WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas is poised to reach new heights and we wanted to match that expectation with a guarantee that no live poker tournament has ever seen before,” said Adam Pliska, WPT CEO.

“The journey to December begins now, and we plan on giving players another unforgettable experience at Wynn Las Vegas.”

The guarantee mean that WPT World Championship 2023 will be the biggest $10k buy-in outside of the WSOP ever played, assuming WPT actually manage to bring enough players enough to meet this incredible guarantee.

World Championship Event to Remember

Starting on December 12, WPT World Championship will kick off after a number of supporting side events have already concluded, will feature a $10,400 buy-in, four starting days, and a $40 million guarantee.

Players will begin play with 100,000 in chips, with one-hour levels guaranteeing plenty of play and making it an event that won’t boil down to luck or a good run of cards.

Instead, players will be asked to put their poker skills to the ultimate test and remain patient, forced to attempt big bluffs, make difficult calls, and fold some monsters on their way to the final table.

Players are allowed to enter more than one Day 1 flight, should they bust out early, giving everyone a fair opportunity to qualify for Day 2 action.

Following Day 1, six more days of play are planned, with Day 7 representing the final day, when a televised final table will be put together and play out to the champion.

That title is currently held by Canadian Eliot Hudon, who took home $4.1 Million for his win last winter, with the next champion likely to win an even heftier prize, as the guarantee alone is far greater than last year’s final prize pool.

Big One for One Drop is Making a Return

On December 18, WPT is bringing back the Big One for One Drop, a million dollar tournament which was first played at the 2012 WSOP, historically won by Antonio Esfandiari.

For the first time ever, Big One for One Drop will be played in the US outside of the WSOP, with WPT now partnering with Guy Laliberte’s One Drop Foundation to support their charitable cause.

The return of Big One for One Drop after five years gives the high rollers plenty of reason to make way to Las Vegas just ahead of Christmas, as the short two-day schedule will allow players to come in for the event and leave Sin City before the holiday.

While WPT Big One for One Drop does not feature any guarantee at this time, we can expect about 25 to 50 players to show up for the extravaganza, although a higher number would not be a shocker either, given the nature of high stakes poker scene over the last couple of years.

Side Events Across All Buy-in Levels

WPT World Championship festival kicks off on November 29, and will feature several dozen events in total, with buy-ins ranging from just $600 to $1,000,000.

The series will kick off with a couple of $600 events, with the NLH edition featuring a $1,000,000 guarantee, a great way to warm up for what’s to come.

The popular Mystery Bounty format is back on the docket, featuring a $1,600 Mystery Bounty event with a $2 Million guarantee planned for December 4 to 7.

Seniors and Ladies Events will be included in the schedule as well, along with plenty of action in various daily tournaments which will carry significant guarantees to keep players interested and involved.

This was the most memorable tournament series for me last year, it crushed in every way possible. Awesome to have this taking place at the nicest property in LV. I can’t wait to see what’s in store this year with a guarantee that’s almost 3x bigger! https://t.co/H0DwaDf3Ru

— Brad Owen (@TheBradOwen) August 31, 2023

The WPT Prime Championship is also coming to Las Vegas, starting on December 7, and featuring a $5 Million guarantee at a modest buy-n price of $1,100.

HORSE, PLO, PLO 8, and 8-Game are all mixed games formats that will be included in the schedule, with buy-ins of $1,100 and $2,200 making them available to most mixed games specialists.

On December 20, WPT will offer both a $3k Dealer’s Choice Championship and a $50k WPT Alpha8 NLH event, with a $10k PLO and a couple of $1k NLH events closing out the calendar on December 23, just in time for everyone to get back home and enjoy a Merry Christmas!

WPT World Championship to Face Stiff Competition

Normally, the biggest poker events like WPT, EPT, and WSOP are all played in a unique time slot. This December, however, will be a truly action-packed month with more action than players could possibly handle.

Following the end of the 2023 WSOP in Las Vegas, the World Series announced their very own winter festival, WSOP Paradise, with 15 gold bracelets set to be given out in the period between December 3 and 14.

The festival thus has a significant overlap with WPT World Championship, but that’s not all! EPT Prague is also running in a similar slot, with events on the calendar from December 7 to 18.

This means that high rollers and lower stakes poker enthusiasts alike will have some hard decisions to make, as all three festivals have plenty to offer.

Yet, WPT World Championship has exceeded all expectations in terms of guarantees and schedule, making it likely the best place to play this winter, whether you are a recreational, mixed games, or a high stakes NLH pro.

More details on the upcoming WPT World Championship festival, and the ways you can qualify for the Main Event, are yet to come in the following weeks, so stay tuned as we reveal all you need to know about one of the biggest live tournament stops of the year.