The WPT Tournament of Champions is in full swing here at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. For those unfamiliar with this event, it has been the crowning jewel season-ender of the World Poker Tour for the past two years. Currently on its third edition, the WPT TOC is an invitational event bringing together the creme de la creme of the WPT. The field is colored entirely with former WPT champions. Buy-in is US$15,000 and it is rake-free.
With 8 tables now up and running and around 60 champions at the tables so far, one of them is Asia’s very own Pete Yen Han Chen. Chen took a seat moments ago; he is the sole representative for Asia. Chen won the tour’s Season XVI opener, the WPT Beijing, back in April 2017.
Among the other champions at the felt are Anthony Zhinno, Daniel Negreanu, Tony Dunst, Mike Leah, Jonathan Little, Dietrich Fast, Antonio Esfandiari, Dominik Nitsche, Erik Seidel, Nam Le, JC Tran and Hublot WPT Player of the Year 2018 Art Papazyan.
Also in attendance is last year’s winner Daniel Weinman.
This most anticipated season finale event will run a course of three days, from May 24 – 26. The final day will be held at the recently opened Esports Arena at the Luxor, the newest entertainment and gaming stage in the Las Vegas strip. This edition aims to draw in a much bigger field than previous with the brand hosting the event in Sin City just before the WSOP. Another big lure is the US$300,000 in added prizes:
- US$100,000 cash added to the prize pool
- US$1,000 player gift bag
- To the ultimate champion: US$50,000 cash, Hublot watch, and US$50,000 membership to JetSmarter
For a quick look at the game mechanics, this is a freezeout tournament using a big blind ante format and the Action Clock. Players have 30 seconds to act but will be allowed to extend with the 6 time chips allotted per player.
Somuchpoker is on-site so stick with us, we will be here until the WPT champion of champions is crowned.
Brief history of the WPT Tournament of Champions
The WPT Tournament of Champions is the brainchild of WPT commentator Mike Sexton. In a brief interview with Sexton last year, he told us,
“The Tournament of Champions has a special place in my heart, because I created the original Tournament of Champions back in the 90’s, and to this day, I still think it’s the greatest event in the history of poker”.
Sexton is a WPT champion as well. He has a lifetime invitation to this exclusive tournament so we do hope to see him make his way to the felt. He was spotted yesterday at the final day of the inaugural WPT Bobby Baldwin Classic. The event was championed by Darren Elias, becoming the first player to capture 4 WPT titles. He just took his seat.
More: Darren Elias wins record 4th title at the WPT Bobby Baldwin Classic
Article by Tricia David
Louis Hartwell
Graduated in Media Communication at the University of Lausanne, Louis Hartman is a co-founder of somuchpoker.com. He began his career in Cambodia as freelance journalist. In same time he was making his living by playing poker every night at that time. Intense learner, he read dozens of poker strategy books to improve his skills during many years. With a strong interest about poker "behind the scene" in Asia and his communication skills, Louis launched Somuchpoker in 2014.
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