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The Asian poker market has been opening up over the past few years, and there is no doubt that the region holds immense potential for poker operators. To take advantage of what the Asian poker sector has to offer, World Poker Tour (WPT) has joined hands with one of the continent’s largest online poker operators, Poker King. The two brands are collaborating for the upcoming WPT Spring Festival to be held online on Poker King from February 11 to 22.
With over 1.2 Million registered users, Poker King is a prominent player in the Asian poker circuit. Its association with the WPT is sure to give the online poker company a much-needed boost in the region. Coming together to host the WPT Spring Festival, WPT will not only get access to Poker King’s flourishing user base, but the series showstopper – the ¥10 Million GTD (~US$1.5 million) WPT Main Event – will feature Poker King Ambassadors and poker superstars, Phil Ivey and Tom Dwan, in action with star bounties on their heads.
Poker King has also invited well-known poker regs like Allen Iverson, Nick Petrangelo, Stephen Chidwick, Daniel Dvoress, Celina Lin – to name a few – to participate in the Main Event that will run from February 17 to 22.
Wait! That’s not all. The Main Event will also be live-streamed (with a 60-minute delay) and feature Hindi commentary from poker greats Nipun Java and Mohsin Charania!
How’s that for pulling out all the stops!?
WPT Spring Festival
The WPT Spring Festival will be the first venture together for these two big brands, WPT and Poker King. The 12-day series boasts over ¥12 Million (~$1.85 Million) in prize pool guarantees. Comprising of 13 events, the series features buy-ins ranging from ¥200 (~$1.90) to ¥10,000 (~$95.03).
WPT Spring Festival Complete Schedule
Date | Day | Time (HKT) | Event | Buy-in | GTD |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
February 11 | Thursday | 14:30 | WPT Kickoff Event Day 1 (2 Day Event) | ¥600.00 | ¥500,000 |
February 11 | Thursday | 18:30 | Mini Main Mega (50 seats GTD) | ¥20.00 | 50 seats to Event 4 |
February 12 | Friday | 14:30 | NLHE PKO Event (6max) | ¥300.00 | ¥40,000 |
February 12 | Friday | 13:00 | WPT Kickoff Event Day 2 | 600 | ¥500,000 |
February 13 | Saturday | 14:30 | Monster Stack Turbo | ¥300.00 | ¥200,000 |
February 13 | Saturday | 18:30 | Mini Main Mega (50 seats GTD) | ¥20.00 | 50 seats to Event 4 |
February 14 | Sunday | 14:30 | WPT Mini Main Event Day 1A | ¥200.00 | ¥500,000 |
February 14 | Sunday | 18:30 | PLO Deepstack (6 max) | ¥200.00 | ¥40,000 |
February 14 | Sunday | 20:00 | Mini Main Mega (50 seats GTD) | ¥20.00 | 50 seats to event 4 |
February 15 | Monday | 14:30 | WPT Mini Main Event Day 1B | ¥200.00 | ¥500,000 |
February 15 | Monday | 18:30 | Main Event Mega (25 Seats GTD) | ¥100.00 | 25 seats |
February 16 | Tuesday | 14:30 | WPT Mini Main Event Day 2 | ¥200.00 | ¥500,000 |
February 16 | Tuesday | 18:30 | Short Deck PKO (6 max) | ¥200.00 | ¥40,000 |
February 16 | Tuesday | 20:00 | Main Event Mega (40 Seats GTD) | ¥200.00 | 40 seats |
February 17 | Wednesday | 14:30 | Main Event 1A | ¥2,000.00 | ¥10,000,000 |
February 17 | Wednesday | 18:30 | NLHE Deepstack Hyper | ¥300.00 | ¥50,000 |
February 18 | Thursday | 14:30 | Main Event 1B | ¥2,000.00 | ¥10,000,000 |
February 18 | Thursday | 18:30 | PLO Progressive Knockout | ¥220.00 | ¥40,000 |
February 19 | Friday | 14:30 | Main Event 1C | ¥2,000.00 | ¥10,000,000 |
February 19 | Friday | 18:30 | SD Championship | ¥500.00 | ¥70,000 |
February 20 | Saturday | 14:30 | Main Event Day 2 | - | ¥10,000,000 |
February 20 | Saturday | 18:30 | High Roller Day 1 (2 days) | ¥10,000.00 | ¥400,000 |
February 20 | Saturday | 20:00 | NLHE Heads Up | ¥400.00 | ¥50,000 |
February 21 | Sunday | 14:30 | NLHE Finale Event | ¥300.00 | ¥100,000 |
February 21 | Sunday | 14:30 | Main Event Day 3 | - | ¥10,000,000 |
February 21 | Sunday | 18:00 | High Roller Day 2 | ¥10,000.00 | ¥400,000 |
February 22 | Monday | 17:00 | Main Event Final Table (Live Stream) | - |
WPT Main Event
The series highlight will be the ¥10 Million GTD (~$1.5 million) WPT Main Event. Sporting a ¥2,000 (~$300) buy-in, the Main Event has three starting flights and will run from February 17 to 22.
WPT Main Event Schedule
> Day 1A – February 17
> Day 1B – February 18
> Day 1C – February 19
> Day 2 – February 20
> Day 3 – February 21
> Final Table – February 22
The Main Event final table will be live-streamed with a 60-minute delay in four languages: English, Chinese, Hindi, and Vietnamese. Calling the action in Hindi will be WSOP bracelet winners Nipun Java and Mohsin Charania. Stay tuned on our social media channels for the stream.
The Main Event will award numerous star bounties, each with a ¥1,500 price tag. The star bounties will be awarded on eliminating Poker King Ambassadors Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, and Jean-Robert Bellande, along with special invitees like Allen Iverson, Nick Petrangelo, Stephen Chidwick, Daniel Dvoress, Celina Lin, and others.
Other Marquee Events on the Schedule
The series has tourneys in all the popular game variants such as NLHE, Short Deck, and PLO on its schedule.
The headline tourneys at the series include:
> The series-opener ¥500,000 GTD WPT Kickoff Event will run from February 11 to 12, sporting a ¥600 buy-in.
> The ¥500,000 GTD WPT Mini Main Event, with a ¥200 buy-in, will kick-off on February 14 and consist of two starting flights. Day 2 will be hosted on February 16.
> The two-day long ¥400,000 GTD High Roller will run from February 20 to 21.
Two events featuring the Short Deck variant are also featured on the schedule. The first will be the ¥40,000 GTD Short Deck PKO (6 max) that will take place on February 16, while the ¥70,000 GTD SD Championship will play out on February 19.
Other events that are sure to draw in the crowds include the ¥200,000 Monster Stack Turbo (February 13) and the ¥100,000 GTD NLHE Finale Event (February 21).
Talking about the upcoming series, VP of Global Tour Management for the WPT, Angelica Hael, said, “The WPT Spring Festival provides the familiarity and prestige of the WPT tournament experience along with opportunities to win huge prizes at all bankroll levels.”
WPT’s Expanding Presence in Asia
Expanding its presence in the East is not new for the WPT that had launched its WPT Asia Swing in 2017 by hosting live poker stops in Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, and India. However, due to the COVID-19-induced worldwide pandemic, live poker was taken out of the picture for most of 2020. WPT was among the few brands that successfully moved most of its live stops to the virtual felts this past year, including hosting its first-ever WPT Online India series in November.
Commentating on the upcoming series, Adam Pliska, CEO of the WPT, said, “As the WPT global footprint continues to expand, we are extremely happy that our players in the Asian region will be able to experience the thrill of a WPT event conveniently from their mobile devices.”
WPT Joining Hands with Poker Kings
The international online poker giant, WPT’s association with Poker King, is sure to strengthen its roots in the Asian and South-Asian poker circuit. Poker King is counted among the industry leaders in Asia, with over 1.2 million registered users. With poker legends Tom Dwan and Phil Ivey as its brand ambassadors, Poker King is a force to be reckoned with in the Asian poker scene.
Sharing her views on the WPT’s latest partnership with Poker King, WPT’s Angelica Hael stated, “The WPT looks forward to working alongside the Poker King team to operate this first-of-its-kind festival and live stream the Main Event final table in multiple regions and languages.”
Keep following PokerGuru for more updates from the upcoming WPT Spring Festival.