World Poker Tour Announces WPT Online Poker Open Main Tour Event To Run In DecemberThe $3,500 Buy-In Will Take Place On partypoker US Network From Dec. 27-29 |
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The COVID-19 outbreak of 2020 has led many major live poker tours to move events online, including the World Series of Poker, the European Poker Tour, and the World Poker Tour. On the day that the inaugural EPT Online main event champion is set to be decided, the WPT has announced its first-ever WPT Main Tour online event held in New Jersey.
“The WPT Online Poker Open brings the most prestigious prize in poker to New Jersey and the partypoker US Network,” said WPT CEO Adam Pliska. “The WPT’s continued pivot toward online will continue with another landmark for regulated online poker in the United States.”
In a press release distributed on Wednesday, Nov. 18, the WPT revealed plans for a $1,000,000 guaranteed, $3,500 buy-in WPT Online Poker Open Main Event set to take place December 27–29, 2020 on the partypoker US Network. Action from the final table on Dec. 29 will be live-streamed online.
The eventual champion of this event will officially join the WPT Champions Club and have their name added to the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup. They will also win a $15,000 entry into the WPT Tournament of Champions. As a main tour event, this tournament awards points toward the Hublot WPT Player of the Year race.
While this is the first WPT Main Tour online event to be held in the US, the tour did hold several international-facing main tour events earlier this year. The first was the $3,200 buy-in WPT Championship held in May, which drew 2,130 entries to create a $6,390,000 prize pool. Christian Jeppsson took home $923,786 as the champion. The WPT then hosted the massive WPT World Online Championships from July through late September, with five main tour main events included on the schedule, including a $10,300 buy-in that featured a $10,000,000 guarantee. Phillip Mighall emerged victorious in that event, topping a field of 1,011 entries to earn $1,550,298.
Players interested in playing in this upcoming series can open and deposit into their online accounts from anywhere in the US prior to traveling to New Jersey in order to play in the series, as one must be physically present within the Garden state’s borders in order to participate. The series will be available to play through BorgataPoker.com, BetMGMPoker.com, or NJ.PartyPoker.com, with satellites running in the lead up to the $3,500 buy-in event. More info can be found on the WPT’s official website.