With everyone adjusting to the new scheme of things, more live events are slowly coming back to the scene in anticipation of the normalcy the world once had. So far, smaller field tournaments are popping up left and right, catering solely to local players in efforts to ensure public health and safety. The reputable World Poker Tour has been a prime operator having established its name all across the globe since 2002. Despite having a chunk of its 2020 schedule cancelled or postponed, the premier brand is letting its followers know the status of its upcoming events as well as a tentative line up for the following year ahead.
WPT Taiwan December event confirmed; WPT Cambodia remains on standby
Coming from a six-month hiatus, the WPT returned last month having hosted a successful series in Japan wherein over 700 locals participated in its highlighting Main Event. The restrictions imposed, although heavily meticulous for the back end, have paid off by satisfying player demands in the Land of the Rising Sun. Having a better idea on how to tackle the risks imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, WPT seems to be more confident with its live operations and confirms its WPT Taiwan series for this December.
Diving deeper into the events to be carried out in the Asia Pacific region this 2020, the Somuchpoker team has been in contact with WPT live event specialist Danny McDonagh for more information.
“WPT Japan has given us hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel for live poker tournaments. Just last week we had a call with our Taiwan partner CTP with both parties committed to proceeding with the event Dec 11 to 21. If travel restrictions remain in place we will work together to adapt the yet to be released schedule to suit the local market.”, revealed McDonagh in a statement.
In addition to confirming WPT Taiwan’s schedule for later this year, McDonagh relayed that the coverage for the said series may possibly be adjusted to a lower buy-in, taking into account that the event will only address the local poker community. Given the uncertainty the current global health crisis holds, the exact details for the awaited event will soon follow once a clearer picture of the regional status comes to light.
On the other hand, WPTDeepStacks Cambodia 2020 initially scheduled for November 11 – 24, 2020 to be held in NagaWorld still remains tentatively on schedule as travel restrictions across neighboring countries stand in effect.
Should international travel restrictions across Asia ease in the next few weeks, a green light for this event may possibly be on the horizon.
Plans for first half of 2021 events released
With 2020 undeniably not a great year for live poker in general, poker enthusiasts across the Asia Pacific have at least something to look forward to next year.
In a Facebook post, McDonagh revealed tentative dates for events set for the first half of 2021.
While the announcement did not divulge much details regarding the upcoming festivals, poker enthusiasts are given the idea on what the new year may eventually bring.
“Regarding the first half of 2021, Australia and Cambodia events were announced in early 2020. We believe in these uncertain times it’s too early to announce additional events but it makes sense to get our planned dates out to the market. Essentially it is 4 events in total as the January dates have an April back up if Covid-19 continues to impact through 2020. Fingers crossed all 4 events will proceed and normality will return to live poker in 2021.”, added McDonagh.
