The World Poker Championship (WPC) will ring in the new year with another ambitious festival in Hanoi, Vietnam. Mark your calendars because coming January 3 to 15, the WPC returns to the Grand Loyal Poker Club featuring a mighty US$ 1 MILLION guarantee. This is the largest live festival guarantee ever announced by any brand for Vietnam.
In collaboration with the Hanoi Series of Poker (HSOP), the thirteen-day event is only the WPC’s second festival in the country. On its inaugural run in September 2022, the brand came out swinging, announcing a massive ₫20 Billion guarantee. At the time, no other event – local or international – had ever proposed a figure of that size. The event closed with all of its guarantees crushed, paying out over ₫54.6 Billion (~$2.3M), and setting Vietnam Main Event records of largest prize pool and biggest field.
With that booming start, the WPC aims to deliver even better figures for the new year. The schedule features 24 trophy events, ten of which are backed by guaranteed prize pools. Adding to the excitement, there are talks of the 2016 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Qui Nguyen possibly in attendance.
Here’s a rundown of what to expect in just a couple of weeks.
WPC MAIN EVENT – ₫10,000,000,000 (~$425,080) guaranteed
During the inaugural WPC, the Main Event became the first tournament in Vietnam history to breach 1,000 entries for a buy in of ₫20M. The event settled at 1,020 entries, which drove the prize pool over double to ₫17.8 Billion (~$751K). This was more than impressive for a new brand on its first international run. The inaugural champion Ha Manh Tuong shipped it for a career high ₫3.2 Billion (~$136K).
For the upcoming second edition, the guarantee has been bumped up to a generous ₫10 Billion (which is ₫2B more than previous), with buy in also raised to ₫25M.
Dates: January 10 to 14
Buy in: ₫25,000,000 (~$1,060)
Day 1A: Tuesday, January 10
Day 1B: Wednesday, January 11
Day 1C: Thursday, January 12
Day 1D (Turbo): Thursday, January 12
Day 2: Friday, January 13
Day 3 / Final Table: Saturday, January 14
For players looking to get in at a cheaper cost, there are seven satellites at a very affordable buy in of ₫2,800,000 (~$120).
Kickoff Event – ₫2,000,000,000 (~$85,015) guaranteed
The WPC doors open with the Kickoff Event ₫2 Billion guaranteed. On its first run, this event tore past its guarantee early in Day 1B and eventually settled at a ₫4.6B prize pool. Expect another big turnout as players attempt to claim the first big prize and trophy of the new year.
Dates: January 3 to 6
Buy in : ₫8,800,000 (~$375)
Day 1A: Tuesday, January 3
Day 1B: Wednesday, January 4
Day 1C: Thursday, January 5
Day 2 / Final Day: Friday, January 6
Guaranteed Events (2 Day)
HSOP Main Event – ₫3,000,000,000 (~$127,524) guaranteed
The Hanoi Series of Poker Main Event is a new addition and it comes in with a confident ₫3 Billion guarantee. Players will be hunting down this inaugural title in preparation for the upcoming big one.
Dates: January 7 to 8
Buy in: ₫16,500,000 (~$ 700)
Flight A: Saturday, January 7 at 11:00
Flight B: Saturday, January 7 at 15:30
Day 2 / Final Day: Sunday January 8
Mystery Bounty – ₫1,500,000,000 (~$63,760) guaranteed
The Mystery Bounty has proven its worth to be a mainstay in nearly every festival lineup around in Asia. At the WPC inaugural run, this event amassed ₫3.8 Billion with a top mystery prize of ₫230 Million (~$9,775).
Date: January 9 to 10
Buy in: ₫11,000,000 (~$470)
Flight A: Monday, January 9 at 11:00
Flight B: Monday, January 9 at 15:30
Day 2 / Final Day: Tuesday January 10
High Roller Events
The high roller fields in Vietnam are on a consistent rise that festivals ensure several are scheduled. The WPC has five lined up, two of them feature guarantees.
Super High Roller – ₫4,000,000,000 (~$170,030) guaranteed
Date: January 13 to 14
Buy in: ₫66,000,000 (~$2,800)
Single Day High Roller – ₫1,500,000,000 (~$63,760) guaranteed
Date: Friday, January 6
Buy in: ₫55,000,000 (~$2,338)
Super Star Challenge – January 5 – ₫107,000,000 (~$4,550)
High Roller Single Day – January 3 & 15 – ₫33,000,000 (~$1,400)
Super High Roller – January 10 to 11 – ₫86,000,000 (~$3,655)
Guaranteed Events (Single Day)
Superstack – ₫500,000,000 (~$21,255) guaranteed
Date: Friday, January 6
Buy in: ₫6,600,000 (~$280)
Megastack – ₫1,000,000,000 (~$42,500) guaranteed
Date: Sunday, January 8
Buy in: ₫8,800,000 (~$375)
Monster Stack – ₫1,000,000,0000 (~$42,500) guaranteed
Date: Saturday, January 14
Buy in: ₫11,000,000 (~$470)
Megastack Closer – ₫500,000,000 (~$21,255) guaranteed
Date: Sunday, January 15
Buy in: ₫6,600,000 (~$280)
WPC – full schedule
Tricia David
Tricia David has long experience as a recreational poker player and has been covering poker events since 2010 for numerous outfits in Asia. She spent one year working part time with Poker Portal Asia then became editor and lead writer for all event coverage of the Philippine Poker Tour (PPT). Under the PPT, she overlooked content for their website, and produced live updates on all their events. In addition, she served as the live and online events website content writer for the Asian Poker Tour. Currently, she does live events reporting in Asia for online news site Somuchpoker and is also one of their news contributors.
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