World Poker Tour Explained

World Poker Tour
Current Season:World Poker Tour 2023 results
Pixels:220px
Sport:Poker
Founded:May 27, 2002
Country: (Founded)
Most Champs: Darren Elias (4)
Website:www.worldpokertour.com
Ceo:Adam Pliska
Tv:Bally Sports, BT Sport (UK)

The World Poker Tour (WPT) is an internationally televised gaming and entertainment brand similar to its larger rival the European Poker Tour (EPT) Since 2002, the World Poker Tour has operated a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting playdown and the final table of each tournament.

The most prominent of World Poker Tour events belong to the WPT Main Tour. The WPT Main Tour focuses on the buy-in range of $3,500–$25,000, and winners of official WPT Main Tour events are awarded a membership to the WPT Champions Club. The WPT Champions Cup is the trophy awarded to all winners of WPT Main Tour events, and champions have their names engraved on the Cup.

History

The World Poker Tour was started in 2002 in the United States by attorney/television producer Steven Lipscomb, who served as CEO of WPT Enterprises, Inc. (WPTE).

Winners on the World Poker Tour are awarded a bracelet, inspried by a similar bracelet by the World Series of Poker (WSOP).[1] While the champions of the first six seasons did not initially receive bracelets, they were awarded them at a special event at the Bellagio in Las Vegas on April 21, 2008.[2] The bracelets are crafted from titanium and diamond by Tiffany and Company.

In November 2009, PartyGaming announced its acquisition of the World Poker Tour for $12.3 million.[3] In 2011, PartyGaming merged with bwin to form bwin.Party Digital Entertainment.

In December 2014, World Poker Tour announced an alliance with Ourgame, agreeing to license products and services on an exclusive basis in more than a dozen countries across Asia. In addition, Ourgame received the rights to use the WPT logo and trademark exclusively in Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Korea, Nepal, Macau, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, Philippines, and Vietnam and operate on pokermonster.com.[4]

In June 2015, The World Poker Tour (WPT) announced that bwin.party sold the company to Ourgame International Holdings Ltd. for a price of $35 million in cash.[5]

In 2021 the World Poker Tour was sold to Element Partners for $105 million.[6]

Sherman Act lawsuit

In July 2006, seven poker professionals sued WPTE, alleging violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act, the California Cartwright Act, and intentional interference with contract. The professionals (Chris Ferguson, Andy Bloch, Annie Duke, Joe Hachem, Phil Gordon, Howard Lederer, and Greg Raymer) alleged that WPTE's standard release forms, required for participation in WPTE events, were anti-competitive and designed to interfere with their contractual obligations to other companies. The anti-competition claim was based on the fact that WPTE's contracts with the casinos that host its tournaments barred those casinos (and other casinos owned by the same parent companies) from hosting non-WPTE poker events. The claim of interference with contract was based on the releases' claim to perpetual rights to the players' likenesses for any use WPTE wished. The players claimed that this would put them in violation of other contracts (such as Ferguson's Activision Games contract or several players' contracts with online poker sites).[7]

Hachem and Raymer dropped out of the lawsuit before its eventual settlement.

In April 2008, WPT Enterprises, Inc. settled with the five players remaining in the lawsuit. Chris Ferguson said about the settlement, "We are happy to have come to an agreement that is fair to all players, and to have put in place a new release that clears up ambiguities in how players' images may be used. We are especially happy that this new release will apply to all poker players who wish to participate in WPT tournaments and events."[8]

Television

The year-round WPT television show has broadcast globally in more than 150 countries and territories, and is currently producing its 21st season, which airs on Bally’s Sports Regional Networks in the United States. In August 2016, the World Poker Tour and Fox Sports (now Bally’s Sports) announced a five-year deal to see Fox Sports broadcast the WPT through Season 19.[9]

The WPT television show currently features commentary and analysis by Tony Dunst and Vince Van Patten. Dunst joined the World Poker Tour as host of the WPT Raw Deal during Season 9 after winning the role through an open casting competition. Following the retirement of Mike Sexton[10] from the WPT commentary booth after 15 years, Dunst was elevated into the role alongside Van Patten.

Joining Dunst and Van Patten for all WPT televised broadcasts is anchor Lynn Gilmartin. Gilmartin's role focuses on hosting and presenting the show, as well as offering intimate interviews and sideline reporting. Gilmartin assumed the anchor role for Season 12[11] and remains the current anchor.

Prior to Gilmartin, Shana Hiatt served as the show host and sideline reporter in its first three seasons. Courtney Friel took over the host role for the fourth season, and Sabina Gadecki for the fifth. Layla Kayleigh and Kimberly Lansing began serving as hostesses in Season VI. Poker player and reporter Amanda Leatherman was the host for Season VII while Lansing was on maternity leave. Lansing returned as the anchor for Season 9 through 11.

The first season aired on the Travel Channel on American cable television in the spring of 2003. The show made its network debut on February 1, 2004, on NBC with a special "Battle of Champions" tournament, which aired against CBS coverage of the Super Bowl XXXVIII pre-game show. The Travel Channel aired the first five seasons of the Tour. In April 2007, WPTE announced that the series would move to GSN for its sixth season in the spring of 2008.[12] 'The first WPT tournament to air on GSN, the Mirage Poker Showdown, debuted on March 24, 2008. In July 2008, WPTE announced that the series would move to Fox Sports Regional Networks for its seventh season.

Following the November 2009 acquisition of the World Poker Tour by PartyGaming plc, the new owners added a second series of televised WPT events under their PartyPoker brand name. This series has, to date, focused on televising the European stops of the WPT. Mike Sexton continues to provide commentary, though he is partnered with Denmark-based American commentator Jesse May rather than Vince Van Patten. The role of female show host and sideline reporter has been served by a number of personalities, often from the country where the event is held. One exception is Canadian born poker player Kara Scott, who has served as host for a number of the PartyPoker branded telecasts of these European WPT events.[13]

The show's hosts, Tony Dunst and Vince Van Patten, sit at a booth near the final table, providing commentary and occasionally interacting with the players during the game. However, their specific comments about hole cards are recorded after the tournament takes place because gaming regulations prohibit them from observing a live feed of the "hole card cameras" while on the set. These cameras, built into the table, allow viewers to see the face-down hole cards dealt to each player.

In 2014, the World Poker Tour launched a high roller tournament series, WPT Alpha8, broadcasting on Fox Sports 1. The series originally featured commentary and analysis by Ali Nejad and Olivier Busquet, with Gilmartin serving as anchor. In later seasons, Vince Van Patten and Tony Dunst replaced Nejad and Busquet, while Lynn Gilmartin continued to serve as anchor.

The first three seasons of WPT are available on NTSC DVD.

In February 2019, WPT announced a deal with BT Sport to broadcast season XV of WPT. The deal expands WPT coverage to the UK and Ireland. During season XV, former WPT television commentator Mike Sexton won his first WPT event.[14]

In March 2019, WPT announced a deal with TV Azteca to bring WPT assets to Latin America.[15]

Other Tours

Professional Poker Tour

A series of spin-off tournaments, titled the Professional Poker Tour, began filming in 2004. Broadcast of the series was delayed, which was partly due to a dispute with the Travel Channel over rights. In the fall of 2005, WPTE announced that "a cable channel" (believed to be ESPN) had withdrawn from bidding for the PPT series, and that WPTE was negotiating with the Travel Channel to air the series. On January 30, 2006, WPTE and the Travel Channel announced that they had dismissed all open lawsuits. The series began regular broadcast July 5, 2006, but was suspended after one season as WPTE couldn't find a television home for a second season.

ClubWPT

In 2008, the WPT launched a new product called ClubWPT. It is a subscription-based club where members can pay a monthly fee to play in tournaments that award over $100,000 in cash and prizes each month.[16]

PlayWPT

In 2016, WPT launched a new social casino platform called PlayWPT, offering poker and slots.[17]

With PlayWPT Poker, players can participate in ring games, tournaments, and sit-n-gos, and players can represent themselves at the table with avatars animated emojis. PlayWPT is available on desktop and mobile.[18]

WPT Player of the Year

While the winner of the season-ending WPT World Championship (simply the WPT Championship before season 9) is deemed that season's WPT Champion, the WPT also determines a Player of the Year to recognize the player who achieves consistent high finishes in WPT events throughout the entire season.

The Player of the Year is determined by a points system, with the player who earns the most points each season being named the WPT Player of the Year. The season-ending WPT World Championship is a points-earning event for the Player of the Year calculation.

Through the end of Season 9, no player has been named WPT Player of the Year and also captured the WPT Championship. The closest to date is Season 7 WPT Player of the Year Bertrand Grospellier, who finished 3rd in that season's WPT Championship.

In the first eight seasons of the World Poker Tour, only four players have finished in the money at least once. These players are Phil Hellmuth, Erik Seidel, Mark Seif, and Surinder Sunar.

SeasonYearsWPT Player of the YearWins
12002–2003 Howard Lederer2
22003–2004 Erick Lindgren2
32004–2005 Daniel Negreanu2
42005–2006 Gavin Smith1
52006–2007 J. C. Tran1
62007–2008 Jonathan Little1
72008–2009 Bertrand Grospellier1
82009–2010 Faraz Jaka0
92010–2011 Andy Frankenberger1
102011–2012 Joe Serock0
112012–2013 Matthew Salsberg1
122013–2014 Mukul Pahuja0
132014–2015 Anthony Zinno2
142015–2016 Mike Shariati1
152016–2017 Benjamin Zamani0
162017–2018 Art Papazyan2
172018–2019 Erkut Yilmaz2
182019–2021 Brian Altman1
192021 Jake Ferro1
202022 Chad Eveslage1
212023 Bin Weng2

Points system

During the first 8 seasons, only the 6 players at the final table in each Open event, plus the last (7th) player eliminated before the final table, earned points as follows:

Starting with season 9, the points system was adjusted to recognize the number of entries and the size of the prize pool for each event:[19]

WPT Main Event winners

PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event winner.
Winner of poker's Triple Crown.
SeasonYearsDateEventLocationMain Event winnerPrize
12002–200327 May–1 June 2002Five Diamond World Poker Classic Bellagio, Las Vegas Gus Hansen$556,460
30–31 August 2002Legends of Poker The Bicycle Hotel & Casino, Bell Gardens, California Chris Karagulleyan$258,000
9 October 2002Ultimate Poker Classic Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino, Palm Beach Juha Helppi$50.000
19 October 2002Costa Rica Classic Casinos Europa, San José Jose Rosenkrantz$108,730
10–11 November 2002Gold Rush Lucky Chances Casino, Colma Paul Darden$146,000
14–17 November 2002World Poker Finals Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket Howard Lederer$320,400
28–31 January 2003World Poker Open Binion's Horseshoe, Tunica Dave Ulliott$589,175
12–15 February 2003Euro Finals of Poker Aviation Club de France, Paris Christer Johansson$538,213 (€500,000)
21–24 February 2003L.A. Poker Classic Commerce Casino, Los Angeles Gus Hansen (2)$532,490
6 March 2003PartyPoker Million II Card Player Cruises Howard Lederer (2)$289,150
31 March–2 April 2003World Poker Challenge Reno Hilton, Reno Ron Rose$168,298
14–18 April 2003WPT Championship Bellagio, Las Vegas Alan Goehring$1,011,886
22003–200410–13 July 2003Grand Prix de Paris Aviation Club de France, Paris David Benyamine$410,886 (€357,200)
1–3 September 2003Legends of Poker The Bicycle Hotel & Casino, Bell Gardens, California Mel Judah$579,375
20–22 September 2003Borgata Poker Open Borgata, Atlantic City Noli Francisco$470,000
18 October 2003Ultimate Poker Classic Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino, Palm Beach Erick Lindgren$500,000
14–17 November 2003World Poker Finals Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket Hoyt Corkins$1,089,200
15–18 December 2003Five Diamond World Poker Classic Bellagio, Las Vegas Paul Phillips$1,101,908
25 January 2004PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas Gus Hansen (3)$455,780
26–29 January 2004World Poker Open Horseshoe Casino & Hotel, Tunica Barry Greenstein$1,278,370
21–24 February 2004L.A. Poker Classic Commerce Casino, Los Angeles Antonio Esfandiari$1,399,135
3–5 March 2004Bay 101 Shooting Star Bay 101, San José Phil Gordon$360,000
18 March 2004PartyPoker Million III Card Player Cruises Erick Lindgren (2)$1,000,000
30 March–1 April 2004World Poker Challenge Reno Hilton, Reno Mike Kinney$629,469
19–23 April 2004WPT Championship Bellagio, Las Vegas Martin de Knijff$2,728,356
32004–200517-20 July 2004Grand Prix De Paris Aviation Club de France, Paris Surinder Sunar$828,956 (€679,860)
29 July-1 August 2004Mirage Poker Showdown The Mirage, Las Vegas Eli Elezra$1,024,574
28-31 August 2004Legends of Poker The Bicycle Hotel & Casino, Bell Gardens, California Doyle Brunson$1,198,260
19-22 September 2004Borgata Poker Open Borgata, Atlantic City Daniel Negreanu$1,117,400
26 September-1 October 2004Aruba Poker Classic Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino, Palm Beach Eric Brenes$1,000,000
19-22 October 2004Doyle Brunson North American Poker Championship Bellagio, Las Vegas Carlos Mortensen$1,000,000
13-17 November 2004Foxwood World Poker Finals Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket Tuan Le$1,549,588
14-18 December 2004Five Diamond Poker Classic Bellagio, Las Vegas Daniel Negreanu (2)$1,770,218
5-12 January 2005PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Atlantis Casino and Resort, Paradise Island John Gale$890,000
24-27 January 2005World Poker Open Horseshoe Casino & Hotel, Tunica Johnny Stolzmann$1,491,444
18-22 February 2005L.A. Poker Classic Commerce Casino, Los Angeles Michael Mizrachi$1,859,909
23-24 February 2005WPT Celebrity Invitational Commerce Casino, Los Angeles Alex Brenes$100,000
7-11 March 2005Bay 101 Shooting Star Bay 101, San José Danny Nguyen$1,025,000
19-24 March 2005Cruisin' Mexico with PartyPoker Million IV MS Oosterdam - Holland America Line Michael Gracz$1,525,500
29 March-1 April 2005World Poker Challenge Reno Hilton, Reno Arnold Spee$633,880
18-24 April 2005World Championship Bellagio, Las Vegas Tuan Le (2)$2,856,150
42005–200623-26 May 2005Mirage Poker Showdown The Mirage, Las Vegas Gavin Smith$1,153,778
25-29 July 2005Grand Prix De Paris Aviation Club de France, Paris Roland De Wolfe$574,419 (€479,680)
27-31 August 2005The Bicycle Casino Legends of Poker The Bicycle Hotel & Casino, Bell Gardens, California Alex Kahaner$1,150,900
19-22 September 2005Borgata Poker Open Borgata, Atlantic City Al Ardebili$1,498,650
26 September-3 October 2005Aruba Poker Classic Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino, Palm Beach Freddy Deeb$1,000,000
18-21 October 2005Doyle Brunson North American Poker Championship Bellagio, Las Vegas Minh Ly$1,060,050
13-18 November 2005World Poker Finals Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket Nick Schulman$2,167,500
12-16 December 2005Five Diamond Poker Classic Bellagio, Las Vegas Rehne Pedersen$2,078,185
5-10 January 2006PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Atlantis Casino and Resort, Paradise Island Steve Paul-Ambrose$1,388,600
19-23 January 2006World Poker Open Horseshoe Casino & Hotel, Tunica Scotty Nguyen$969,421
29 January-1 February 2006Borgata Poker Classic Borgata, Atlantic City Michael Mizrachi (2)$1,173,373
16-21 February 2006L.A. Poker Classic Commerce Casino, Los Angeles Alan Goehring (2)$2,391,550
22-24 February 2006WPT Celebrity Invitational Commerce Casino, Los Angeles Barry Greenstein (2)$100,000
10-14 March 2006Bay 101 Shooting Star Bay 101, San José Nam Le$1,198,300
27-30 March 2006World Poker Challenge Mike Simon$1,052,890
6-9 April 2006Foxwoods Poker Classic Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket Victor Ramdin$1,331,889
18-24 April 2006World Championship Bellagio, Las Vegas Joe Bartholdi Jr.$3,760,165
52006–200714-17 May 2006Mirage Poker Showdown The Mirage, Las Vegas Stanley Weiss$1,320,255
4-8 June 2006Mandalay Bay Poker Championship Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino Joseph Tehan$1,033,440
12-16 June 2006Grand Prix De Paris Aviation Club de France, Paris Christian Grundtvig$907,066 (€712,500)
26-30 August 2006Bicycle Casino Legends of Poker The Bicycle Hotel & Casino, Bell Gardens, California Joe Pelton$1,602,670
15-19 September 2006Borgata Poker Open Borgata, Atlantic City Mark Newhouse$1,519,020
16-20 October 2006Festa Al Lago Bellagio, Las Vegas Andreas Walnum$1,090,025
22-30 October 2006Canadian Poker Open Fallsview Casino Resort Scott Clements$222,524 (C$250,027)
25-29 October 2006North American Poker Championship Fallsview Casino Resort Soren Turkewitsch$1,225,920 (C$1,380,378)
12-16 November 2006World Poker Finals Foxwoods Resort Casino Nenad Medić$1,717,194
14-19 December 2006Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic Bellagio, Las Vegas Joe Hachem$2,207,575
5-10 January 2007PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Atlantis Casino and Resort, Paradise Island Ryan Daut$1,535,255
21-25 January 2007World Poker Open Binion's Horseshoe, Tunica Bryan Sumner$913,986
26-30 January 2007Borgata Poker Classic Borgata, Atlantic City John Hennigan$1,606,223
24 February-1 March 2007L.A. Poker Classic Commerce Casino, Los Angeles Eric Hershler$2,429,970
3-5 March 2007WPT Celebrity Invitational Commerce Casino, Los Angeles Adam Weinraub$125,000
12-16 March 2007Bay 101 Shooting Star Bay 101, San José Ted Forrest$1,100,000
25-28 March 2007World Poker Challenge Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, Nevada J. C. Tran$683,473
30 March-4 April 2007Foxwoods Poker Classic Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut Raj Patel$1,298,405
21-27 April 2007WPT World Championship Bellagio Resort & Casino, Las Vegas Carlos Mortensen (2)$3,970,415
62007–200819-23 May 2007WPT Mirage Poker Showdown The Mirage, Las Vegas Jonathan Little$1,091,295
29 May-2 June 2007Mandalay Bay Poker Championship Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas Shawn Buchanan$768,775
10-15 July 2007Bellagio Cup III Bellagio, Las Vegas Kevin Saul$1,342,320
25-30 August 2007WPT Legends of Poker The Bicycle Hotel & Casino, Bell Gardens, California Dan Harrington$1,599,865
6-9 September 2007Gulf Coast Poker Championship Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi William Edler$747,615
16-20 September 2007WPT Borgata Poker Open Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Atlantic City, New Jersey Roy Winston$1,575,280
25-30 September 2007WPT Turks & Caicos Poker Classic The Players Club, Turks and Caicos Islands Rhynie Campbell$436,675
11-16 October 2007WPT Spanish Championship Casino Barcelona, Barcelona Spain Markus Lehmann$789,592 (€537,000)
26 October-2 November 2007North American Poker Championships Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort, Niagara Falls, Ontario Scott Clements (2)$1,505,312 (C$1,456,585)
7-13 November 2007WPT Foxwoods World Poker Finals Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut Michael Vela$1,704,986
12-18 December 2007Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic Bellagio, Las Vegas Eugene Katchalov$2,482,605
20-24 January 2008World Poker Open Gold Strike Casino & Resort, Tunica County, Mississippi Brett Faustman$892,413
27-31 January 2008WPT Borgata Poker Classic Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Atlantic City, New Jersey Gavin Griffin$1,401,109
23-28 February 2008WPT L.A. Poker Classic Commerce Casino, Los Angeles Phil Ivey$1,596,100
1-3 March 2008WPT Celebrity Invitational Commerce Casino, Los Angeles Van Tuyet Nguyen$125,500
10-14 March 2008Bay 101 Shooting Star Bay 101, San Jose, California Brandon Cantu$1,000,000
25-28 March 2008World Poker Challenge Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, Nevada Lee Markholt$493,815
4-9 April 2008Foxwoods Poker Classic Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut Erik Seidel$992,890
19-26 April 2008WPT World Championship Bellagio, Las Vegas David Chiu$3,389,140
72008–200923-27 May 2008WPT Spanish Championship 2008 Casino Barcelona, Barcelona Spain Casper Hansen$662,592 (€425,000)
11-17 July 2008WPT Bellagio Cup IV Bellagio, Las Vegas Mike Watson$1,673,770
23-28 August 2008WPT Legends of Poker The Bicycle Hotel & Casino, Bell Gardens, California John Phan$1,116,428
14-18 September 2008WPT Borgata Poker Open Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Atlantic City, New Jersey Vivek Rajkumar$1,424,500
10-16 October 2008North American Poker Championships Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort, Niagara Falls, Ontario Glen Witmer$1,084,256 (C$1,224,852)
20-25 October 2008WPT Festa al Lago Bellagio, Las Vegas Bertrand Grospellier$1,411,015
5-11 November 2008WPT Foxwoods World Poker Finals Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut Jonathan Little (2)$1,120,310
13-19 December 2008Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic Bellagio, Las Vegas David Rheem$1,538,730
14-17 January 2009WPT Southern Poker Championship Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi Allen Carter$1,025,500
21-26 February 2009WPT L.A. Poker Classic Commerce Casino, Los Angeles Cornel Andrew Cimpan$1,686,760
28 February-2 March 2009WPT Celebrity Invitational Commerce Casino, Los Angeles Freddy Deeb (2)$100,000
16-20 March 2009WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star Bay 101, San Jose, California Steve Brecher$1,025,500
3-8 April 2009WPT Foxwoods Poker Classic Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut Vadim Trincher$731,079
18-25 April 2009WPT World Championship Bellagio, Las Vegas Yevgeniy Timoshenko$2,143,655
82009–20106-10 May 2009WPT Venice Casino Di Venezia, Venice, Italy Sven-Ragnar Arstrom$532,388
26-30 June 2009WPT Spanish Championship 2008 Casino Barcelona, Barcelona Spain Mark Flowers Jr$386,170 (€277,0000
13-19 July 2009WPT Bellagio Cup V Bellagio, Las Vegas Alexandre Gomes$1,187,670
22-26 August 2009WPT Legends of Poker The Bicycle Hotel & Casino, Bell Gardens, California Prahlad Friedman$1,009,000
31 August-4 September 2009WPT Slovakia Golden Vegas, Bratislava, Slovakia Richard Toth$148,756 (€104,000)
6-12 September 2009WPT Merit Cyprus Classic Merit Crystal Cove Hotel-Casino, Kyrenia, Cyprus Thomas Bichon$579,165
19-24 September 2009WPT Borgata Poker Open Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Atlantic City, New Jersey Olivier Busquet$925,514
16-18 October 2009WPT Marrakech Casino de Marrakesh, Marrakesh, Morocco Christophe Savary$558,515 (€379,014)
21-26 October 2009WPT Festa al Lago Bellagio, Las Vegas Tommy Vedes$1,218,225
5-10 November 2009WPT Foxwoods World Poker Finals Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut Cornel Andrew Cimpan (2)$910,058
14-19 December 2009Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic Bellagio, Las Vegas Daniel Alaei$1,428,430
24-27 January 2010WPT Southern Poker Championship Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi Hoyt Corkins (2)$739,486
20 February 2010WPT Celebrity Invitational Commerce Casino, Los Angeles Leron Washington$100,000
26 February-4 March 2010WPT L.A. Poker Classic Commerce Casino, Los Angeles Andras Koroknai$1,788,001
8-12 March 2010WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star Bay 101, San Jose, California McLean Karr$878,500
20-24 March 2010WPT Hollywood Poker Open Hollywood Casino, Lawrenceburg, Indiana Carlos Mortensen (3)$391,212
27 March-2 April 2010WPT Bucharest Regent Casino, Bucharest, Romania Guillaume Darcourt$193,387 (€144,530)
18-24 April 2010WPT World Championship Bellagio, Las Vegas David Williams$1,530,537
92010–20118-15 May 2010WPT Grand Prix de Paris Aviation Club de France, Paris, France Theo Jørgensen$848,736 (€638,377)
19-23 May 2010WPT Spanish Championship 2010 Casino Barcelona, Barcelona Spain Ali Tekintamgac$343,307 (€278,000)
11-15 July 2010WPT Bellagio Cup VI Bellagio, Las Vegas Moritz Kranich$875,150
20-25 August 2010WPT Legends of Poker The Bicycle Hotel & Casino, Bell Gardens, California Andy Frankenberger$750,000
30 August-4 September 2010WPT London Palm Beach Casino, London, UK Jake Cody$425,492 (£273,783)
18-23 September 2010WPT Borgata Poker Open Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Atlantic City, New Jersey Dwyte Pilgrim$733,802
15-20 October 2010WPT Festa al Lago Bellagio, Las Vegas Mark Flowers Jr (2)$831,500
28 October-2 November 2010WPT Foxwoods World Poker Finals Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut Jeff Forrest$548,752
2-6 November 2010WPT Amneville Casino Tranchant Seven, Amnéville, France Sam El Sayed$594,627 (€426,425)
27-30 November 2010WPT Marrakech Casino de Marrakesh, Marrakesh, Morocco Sébastian Homann$341,798 (€250,196)
3-8 December 2010Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic Bellagio, Las Vegas Antonio Esfandiari (2)$870,124
23-27 January 2011WPT Southern Poker Championship Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi Alexander Kuzmin$575,969
3-8 February 2011WPT Venice Casino Di Venezia, Venice, Italy Alessio Isaia$518,382 (€380,000)
19-20 February 2011WPT Celebrity Invitational Commerce Casino, Los Angeles Davidi Kitai$100,000
25 February-3 March 2011WPT L.A. Poker Classic Commerce Casino, Los Angeles Gregory Brooks$1,654,120
14-18 March 2011WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star Bay 101, San Jose, California Alan Sternberg$1,039,000
25-29 March 2011WPT Vienna Montesino Wien, Vienna, Austria Dmitry Gromov$636,733 (€447,840)
30 March-3 April 2011WPT Slovakia Golden Vegas, Bratislava, Slovakia Roberto Romanello$197,861 (€140,685)
9-13 April 2011WPT Hollywood Poker Open Hollywood Casino, Lawrenceburg, Indiana Michael Scarborough$273,664
27 April-2 May 2011WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, Florida Taylor von Kriegenbergh$1,122,340
14-20 May 2011WPT World Championship Bellagio, Las Vegas Scott Seiver$1,618,344
102011–201225-29 May 2011WPT Spanish Championship 2010 Casino Barcelona, Barcelona Spain Lukas Berglund$327,546 (€231,500)
17-21 July 2011WPT Slovenia Grand Casino Portorož, Slovenia Miha Travnik$144,399 (€102,623)
25-30 August 2011WPT Legends of Poker The Bicycle Hotel & Casino, Bell Gardens, California Will Failla$758,085
5-10 September 2011WPT Grand Prix de Paris Aviation Club de France, Paris, France Matthew Waxman$721,178 (€500,000)
18-23 September 2011WPT Borgata Poker Open Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Atlantic City, New Jersey Bobby Oboodi$922,441
20-24 September 2011WPT Malta Portomaso#Portomaso Casino, St. Julian's, Malta Matt Giannetti$276,457 (€200,000)
27 October-1 November 2011WPT Foxwoods World Poker Finals Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut Daniel Santoro$449,910
1-6 November 2011WPT Amneville Casino Tranchant Seven, Amnéville, France Adrien Allain$471,025 (€336,133)
18-22 November 2011WPT Jacksonville BestBet Poker Room Jacksonville, Florida Anthony Ruberto$325,928
24-27 November 2011WPT Marrakech Casino de Marrakesh, Marrakesh, Morocco Mohamed Ali Houssam$214,983 (€159,150)
1-5 December 2011WPT Prague King's Casino, Prague, Czech Republic Andrey Pateychuk$599,720 (€450,000)
6-10 December 2011Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic Bellagio, Las Vegas James Dempsey$821,612
13-18 December 2011WPT Venice Casino Di Venezia, Venice, Italy Edoardo Alescio$234,597 (€175,000)
5-8 January 2012WPT Dublin Citywest Hotel, Dublin, Ireland David Shallow$289,032 (€222,280)
6-10 February 2012WPT Venice Grand Prix Casino Di Venezia, Venice, Italy Rinat Bogdanov$301,939 (€229,800)
10-14 February 2012Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, Florida Matt Juttelstad$268,444
24-29 February 2012WPT L.A. Poker Classic Commerce Casino, Los Angeles Sean Jazayeri$1,370,240
5-9 March 2012WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star Bay 101, San Jose, California Moon Kim$960,900
10-15 April 2012WPT Vienna Montesino Wien, Vienna, Austria Morten Christensen$417,458 (€313,390)
18-23 April 2012WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, Florida Tommy Vedes (2)$779,520
27 April-2 May 2012WPT Jacksonville BestBet Poker Room Jacksonville, Florida Shawn Cunix$426,100
19-26 May 2012WPT World Championship Bellagio, Las Vegas Marvin Rettenmaier$1,196,858
112012–20134-9 August 2012WPT Merit Cyprus Classic Merit Crystal Cove Hotel-Casino, Kyrenia, Cyprus Marvin Rettenmaier (2)$287,784
10-15 August 2012WPT Parx Open Poker Classic Parx Casino, Bensalem, Pennsylvania Anthony Gregg$416,127
24-28 August 2012WPT Legends of Poker The Bicycle Hotel & Casino, Bell Gardens, California Josh Hale$500,000
10-15 September 2012WPT Grand Prix de Paris Aviation Club de France, Paris Matthew Salsberg$478,415 (€380,000)
16-20 September 2012WPT Malta Portomaso#Portomaso Casino, St. Julian's, Malta Yorane Kerignard$155,049 (€120,000)
18-21 September 2012WPT Borgata Poker Open Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Atlantic City, New Jersey Ben Hamnett$818,847
22-26 October 2012WPT Emperors Palace Poker Classic Emperors Palace Hotel Casino, Johannesburg, South Africa Dominik Nitsche$206,153
9-13 November 2012WPT Jacksonville bestbet Fall Poker Scramble BestBet Poker Room Jacksonville, Florida Noah Schwartz$402,972
12-17 November 2012WPT Copenhagen Casino Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark Emil Olsson$230,036 (DKr1,346,000)
23-26 November 2012WPT Montreal Playground Poker Club, Kahnawake, Canada Jonathan Roy$779,210
27 November-1 December 2012WPT Mazagan Mazagan Beach Resort, El Jadida, Morocco Giacomo Fundaro$166,704 (درهم 4,731,700)
3-9 December 2012WPT Prague King's Casino, Prague, Czech Republic Marcin Wydrowski$413,667 (€318,295)
4-9 December 2012Five Diamond World Poker Classic Bellagio, Las Vegas Ravi Raghavan$1,268,571
27 January-1 February 2013WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Atlantic City, New Jersey Yung Hwang$730,053
8-12 February 2013Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, Florida Matt Giannetti (2)$298,304
19-24 February 2013WPT Baden Casinos Austria, Baden, Austria Vladimir Bozinovic$247,588 (€185,000)
23-28 February 2013WPT L.A. Poker Classic Commerce Casino, Los Angeles Paul Klann$1,004,090
4-8 March 2013WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star Bay 101, San Jose, California WeiKai Chang$1,138,350
25-30 March 2013Gioco Digitale WPT Venice Grand Prix Casino Di Venezia, Venice, Italy Rocco Palumbo$180,692 (€140,000)
5-10 April 2013bwin WPT Barcelona Casino Barcelona, Barcelona Spain Chanracy Khun$232,487 (€181,400)
11-16 April 2013WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, Florida Kevin Eyster$660,395
26-30 April 2013WPT Jacksonville bestbet Open BestBet Poker Room Jacksonville, Florida Mike Linster$296,521
3-9 May 2013partypoker WPT Canadian Spring Championship Playground Poker Club, Kahnawake, Canada Amir Babakhani$430,986 (C$442,248)
18-24 May 2013WPT World Championship Bellagio, Las Vegas David Rheem (2)$1,150,297
122013–201416-21 August 2013bwin WPT Merit Cyprus Classic Merit Crystal Cove Hotel-Casino, Kyrenia, Cyprus Alexey Rybin$258,000
29 August-4 September 2013WPT Legends of Poker The Bicycle Hotel & Casino, Bell Gardens, California Jordan Cristos$613,355
15-20 September 2013WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Atlantic City, New Jersey Anthony Zinno$825,099
25-30 October 2013bwin WPT Grand Prix de Paris Aviation Club de France, Paris Mohsin Charania$449,856 (€328,750)
7-11 November 2013WPT Emperors Palace Poker Classic Emperors Palace Hotel Casino, Johannesburg, South Africa Daniel Brits$132,128
15-19 November 2013WPT Jacksonville bestbet Fall Poker Scramble BestBet Poker Room Jacksonville, Florida Jared Jaffee$252,749
19-24 November 2013WPT Caribbean Casino Royale, St. Maarten Tony Dunst$145,000
29 November-5 December 2013partypoker WPT Montreal Playground Poker Club, Kahnawake, Canada Derrick Rosenbarger$517,049
6-11 December 2013Five Diamond World Poker Classic Bellagio, Las Vegas Dan Smith$1,161,135
15-19 December 2013WPT Korea Ramada Hotel, Jeju, South Korea Masato Yokosawa$100,000
15-21 December 2013bwin WPT Prague Andel's Hotel & Card Casino, Prague, Czech Republic Julian Thomas$280,097 (€206,230)
26-31 January 2014WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Atlantic City, New Jersey Robert Merulla$842,379
7-11 February 2014Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open Seminole Casino, Coconut Creek, Florida James Calderaro$271,103
22-24 February 2014WPT Fallsview Poker Classic Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort, Niagara Falls, Ontario Matthew Lapossie$326,235 (C$363,197)
1-6 March 2014WPT L.A. Poker Classic Commerce Casino, Los Angeles Chris Moorman$1,015,460
10-14 March 2014WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star Bay 101, San Jose, California James Carroll$1,256,550
10-15 March 2014Gioco Digitale WPT Venice Carnival Casino Di Venezia, Venice, Italy Andrea Dato$145,439 (€104,822)
15-19 March 2014WPT Rolling Thunder Thunder Valley Casino Resort, Lincoln, California J. C. Tran (2)$302,750
21-25 March 2014WPT Jacksonville bestbet Open BestBet Poker Room Jacksonville, Florida Nabil Hirezi$206,041
10-16 April 2014WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, Florida Eric Afriat$1,081,184
21-26 April 2014WPT World Championship Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Atlantic City, New Jersey Keven Stammen$1,350,000
132014–20151-6 July 2014partypoker presents WPT500 Aria Aria Resort and Casino, Las Vegas Sean Yu$260,000
23-29 August 2014WPT Legends of Poker The Bicycle Hotel & Casino, Bell Gardens, California Harry Arutyunyan$560,969
5-10 September 2014partypoker WPT Merit Classic North Cyprus Merit Crystal Cove Hotel-Casino, Kyrenia, Cyprus Alexander Lakhov$325,400
14-19 September 2014WPT Borgata Poker Open Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Atlantic City, New Jersey Darren Elias$843,744
3-7 November 2014WPT Caribbean Casino Royale, St. Maarten Darren Elias (2)$127,680
7-11 November 2014WPT Jacksonville bestbet Bounty Scramble BestBet Poker Room Jacksonville, Florida Ryan Van Sanford$421,668
9-16 November 2014partypoker presents WPT500 Nottingham Dusk Till Dawn, Nottingham, England Eleanor Gudger$222,176 (£140,000)
14-16 November 2014WPT Emperors Palace Poker Classic Emperors Palace Hotel Casino, Johannesburg, South Africa Dylan Wilkerson$145,836
18-23 November 2014partypoker WPT Nottingham Dusk Till Dawn, Nottingham, England Matas Cimbolas$313,327 (£200,000)
20-26 November 2014partypoker WPT Montreal Playground Poker Club, Kahnawake, Canada Jonathan Jaffe$409,657 (C$464,252)
15-20 December 2014Five Diamond World Poker Classic Bellagio, Las Vegas Mohsin Charania (2)$1,177,890
25-30 January 2015WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Atlantic City, New Jersey Aaron Mermelstein$712,305
5-11 February 2015WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, Florida Brian Altman$723,008
13-16 February 2015WPT Fallsview Poker Classic Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort, Niagara Falls, Ontario Anthony Zinno (2)$302,235 (C$380,021)
28 February-5 March 2015WPT L.A. Poker Classic Commerce Casino, Los Angeles Anthony Zinno (3)$1,015,860
9-13 March 2015WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star Bay 101, San Jose, California Taylor Paur$1,214,200
12-17 March 2015partypoker WPT Vienna Montesino Wien, Vienna, Austria Konstantinos Nanos$159,464 (€150,000)
15-19 March 2015WPT Rolling Thunder Thunder Valley Casino Resort, Lincoln, California Ravee Mathi Sundar$266,857
16-22 April 2015WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, Florida Griffin Paul$1,000,000
25-29 April 2015WPT World Championship Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Atlantic City, New Jersey Asher Conniff$973,683
142015–20161-6 May 2015partypoker WPT Canadian Spring Championship Playground Poker Club, Kahnawake, Canada Sheraz Nasir$197,025 (C$237,390)
11-16 May 2015WPT Amsterdam Holland Casino Amsterdam City centre, Netherlands Farid Yachou$225,073 (€201,000)
31 May-6 July 2015partypoker presents WPT500 Aria Aria Resort and Casino, Las Vegas Craig Varnell$185,800
31 July-4 August 2015WPT Choctaw Choctaw Casinos & Resorts, Durant, Oklahoma Jason Brin$667,575
29 August-4 September 2015WPT Legends of Poker The Bicycle Hotel & Casino, Bell Gardens, California Mike Shariati$675,942
20-25 September 2015WPT Borgata Poker Open Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Atlantic City, New Jersey David Paredes$723,227
25-29 September 2015WPT Maryland Live Live! Casino & Hotel, Hanover, Maryland Aaron Mermelstein (2)$250,222
24 October-3 November 2015partypoker presents WPT500 Nottingham Dusk Till Dawn, Nottingham, England Richard Harris$230,641 (£150,000)
30 October-1 November 2015WPT Emperors Palace Poker Classic Emperors Palace Hotel Casino, Johannesburg, South Africa Ben Cade$100,218 (ZAR1,382,000)
3-8 November 2015partypoker WPT Nottingham Dusk Till Dawn, Nottingham, England Iaron Lightbourne$308,766 (£200,000)
6-10 November 2015WPT Jacksonville bestbet Bounty Scramble BestBet Poker Room Jacksonville, Florida Tyler Patterson$375,270
13-19 November 2015partypoker WPT Montreal Playground Poker Club, Kahnawake, Canada Jared Mahoney$341,332 (C$453,122)
1-6 December 2015partypoker WPT Prague King's Casino, Prague, Czech Republic Javier Gomez$185,110 (€175,000)
14-19 December 2015Five Diamond World Poker Classic Bellagio, Las Vegas Kevin Eyster (2)$1,587,382
31 January-5 February 2016WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Atlantic City, New Jersey Christopher Leong$816,246
21-24 February 2016WPT Fallsview Poker Classic Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort, Niagara Falls, Ontario David Ormsby$278,426 (C$383,407)
27 February-3 March 2016WPT L.A. Poker Classic Commerce Casino, Los Angeles Dietrich Fast$1,000,800
7-11 March 2016WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star Bay 101, San Jose, California Stefan Schillhabel$1,298,000
12-16 March 2016WPT Rolling Thunder Thunder Valley Casino Resort, Lincoln, California Harrison Gimbel$275,112
15-20 March 2016partypoker WPT Vienna Montesino Wien, Vienna, Austria Vlad Darie$174,735 (€157,000)
15-20 April 2016WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, Florida Justin Young$669,161
17-21 April 2016WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Finale Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, Florida David Rheem (3)$705,885
22-24 April 2016Monster WPT Tournament of Champions Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, Florida Farid Yachou (2)$381,600
152016–2017 Seth Davies$
Andjelko Andrejevic$
James Mackey$
Pat Lyons$
Jesse Sylvia$
Zachary Smiley$
Sam Panzica$
Luis Rodriguez Cruz$
Mike Sexton$
Niall Farrell$
Oleg Vasylchenko$
James Romero$
Daniel Weinman$
Ema Zajmović$
Darren Elias (3)$
Daniel Strelitz$
Sam Panzica (2)$
Mike Del Vecchio$
Tony Sinishtaj$
Ryan Riess$
Daniel Weinman (2)$
162017–2018 Pete Chen$
Daniel Daniyar$
Jay Lee$
Art Papazyan$
Guo Liang Chen$
Art Papazyan (2)$
Paul Petraglia$
Maxime Heroux$
Ryan Tosoc$
Ole Schemion$
Darryll Fish$
Eric Afriat (2)$
Mike Leah$
Dennis Blieden$
David Larson$
Scott Margereson$
Rens Feenstra$
Larry Greenberg$
Darren Elias (4)$
Matthew Waxman (2)$
172018–2019 Simon Lam$
Brady Holiman$
Erkut Yilmaz$
Tony Ruberto$
Tony Tran$
Patrick Serda$
Pavel Plesuv$
Dylan Linde$
Frank Stepuchin$
Denys Shafikov$
Vinicius Lima$
Demo Kiriopoulos$
David "ODB" Baker$
Erkut Yilmaz (2)$
Vitalijs Zavorotnijs$
Ben Palmer$
James Carroll (2)$
Craig Varnell$
Matthew Wantman$
Ole Schemion (2)$
182019–2021 Roger Teska$
Aaron Van Blarcum$
Donald Maloney$
Nitis Udornpim$
Simon Brändström$
Josh Adkins$
Geoffrey Hum$
Milen Stefanov$
Alex Foxen$
Markus Gonsalves$
Brian Altman (2)$
Aleksey Badulin$
Veerab Zakarian$
Christopher Puetz$
Eric Afriat (3)$
Balakrishna Patur$
Tony Tran (2)$
Christian Jeppsson$
Gavin Cochrane$
Nick Petrangelo$
Daniel Smyth$
Andrey Kotelnikov$
Phillip Mighall$
Soheb Porbandarwala$
Jack Hardcastle$
Ilyas Muradi$
Maksim Sekretarev$
Qing Liu$
Brek Schutten$
192021–2022 Christian Rudolph$
Brian Altman (3)$
Chad Eveslage$
Adedapo Ajayi$
$
$
$
$
$

Records

Information correct as of May 24, 2024

Titles
RankNameTitles
1 Darren Elias4
2 Eric Afriat3
Brian Altman
Gus Hansen
Carlos Mortensen
David Rheem
Anthony Zinno
Final tables
RankNameFinal tables
1 Darren Elias13
2 Phil Ivey9
3 Scotty Nguyen8
4 Eric Afriat7
Brian Altman
Tony Dunst
Darryll Fish
Gus Hansen
Michael Mizrachi
Daniel Negreanu
David Pham
J.C. Tran
Anthony Zinno
Money finishes
RankNameMoney finishes
1 Darren Elias46
2 Anthony Zinno39
3 Brian Altman34
4 Jake Schwartz33
T5 Mohsin Charania32
Justin Zaki

Record winnings

The largest win in a WPT event is the $5,282,954 paid to Daniel Sepiol for winning the season-ending WPT Championship for season 21.

Progression of largest winnings

The progression of the "highest payout" through the history of the WPT, starting with the win by Gus Hansen in Event 1 of WPT Season 1. Entries have declined since the poker boom ended, with no increase in "highest payout" for a number of years – the highest has not increased since an event in 2007.

SeasonEventWinnerPrize
1
  1. 1 – Five Diamond World Poker Classic 2002
Gus Hansen$556,480
1
  1. 6 – World Poker Open 2003
Dave Ulliott$589,175
2
  1. 5 – World Poker Finals 2003
Hoyt Corkins$1,089,200
2
  1. 6 – Five Diamond World Poker Classic 2003
Paul Phillips$1,101,980
2
  1. 8 – World Poker Open 2004
Barry Greenstein$1,278,370
2
  1. 9 – LA Poker Classic 2004
Antonio Esfandiari$1,399,135
3
  1. 7 – World Poker Finals 2004
Tuan Le$1,549,588
3
  1. 8 – Five Diamond World Poker Classic 2004
Daniel Negreanu$1,759,218
3
  1. 11 – LA Poker Classic 2005
Michael Mizrachi$1,859,909
4
  1. 7 – World Poker Finals 2005
Nick Schulman$2,142,000
4
  1. 12 – LA Poker Classic 2006
Alan Goehring$2,391,550
5
  1. 14 – LA Poker Classic 2007
Eric Hershler$2,429,970
6
  1. 11 – Doyle Brunson Classic 2007
Eugene Katchalov$2,482,605

WPT World Championship ($25,000 buy-in)

Each WPT season culminates with the $25,000 buy-in WPT World Championship (simply the WPT Championship before season 9). As with regular events, the prize pool has declined since the poker boom ended: participants dropped from a peak of 639 in 2007, to 146 in 2013. The WPT organizers reacted by dropping the buy-in to $15,000 from 2014 onwards, limiting participation to winners of WPT events since the start of the series, and changing the name again, to WPT Tournament of Champions. There has been no increase in "highest payout" since the $3,970,415 at the 2005 World Championship, and the top prize has consistently been under $500,000 since the 2016 World Championship. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the WPT rebranded its World Championship event with a $10,000 buy-in open tournament in 2022 and 2023, hosted at the Wynn Las Vegas. Both events set WPT records in field size and prize pools guarantees, with the 2023 edition prize pool guarantee of 40 million setting a poker industry record and a top prize of over $5 million.

SeasonEventWinnerPrize
1WPT Championship – Season I Alan Goehring$1,011,866
2WPT Championship – Season II Martin de Knijff$2,728,356
3WPT Championship – Season III Tuan Le$2,856,150
4WPT Championship – Season IV Joe Bartholdi Jr.$3,760,165
5WPT Championship – Season V Carlos Mortensen$3,970,415
6WPT Championship – Season VI David Chiu$3,389,140
7WPT Championship – Season VII Yevgeniy Timoshenko$2,149,960
8WPT Championship – Season VIII David Williams$1,530,537
9WPT World Championship – Season IX Scott Seiver$1,618,344
10WPT World Championship – Season X Marvin Rettenmaier$1,196,858
11WPT World Championship – Season XI David Rheem$1,150,279
12WPT World Championship – Season XII Keven Stammen$1,350,000
13WPT World Championship – Season XIII Asher Conniff$973,683
14WPT Tournament of Champions – Season XIV Farid Yachou$381,600
15WPT Tournament of Champions – Season XV Daniel Weinman$381,500
16WPT Tournament of Champions – Season XVI Matthew Waxman$463,375
17WPT Tournament of Champions – Season XVII Ole Schemion$440,395
18–19No events
20WPT World Championship 2022 Eliot Hudon$4,136,000
21WPT World Championship 2023 Daniel Sepiol$5,282,954

WPT Ladies

In January 2008, the WPT announced a set of tournaments for women, known as WPT Ladies.[20] The first season had five events, with buy-ins ranging from $300 to $1,500. Nancy Todd finished first in the Ladies Championship with Vanessa Selbst finishing second. There are currently no WPT Ladies events scheduled.

WPT Walk of Fame

See also: Poker Hall of Fame.

The World Poker Tour Walk of Fame was designed to honor those poker players who have played the game well at the highest levels as well as those who have promoted the spread of it through film, television, and literature.

The first inductees were poker legends Doyle Brunson and Gus Hansen, as well as actor James Garner.[21]

In February 2004, the World Poker Tour Walk of Fame inducted its second members at the Commerce Casino in a ceremony before top pros and celebrities in town for the World Poker Tour Invitational Poker Tournament. The induction ceremony was staged on the doorstep of Commerce Casino.

No new players have been inducted since 2004.

WPT Honors Award

The WPT Honors Award launched in early 2017, with Ms. Linda Johnson named as the first recipient.[22] Later that year, 15-year WPT commentator Mike Sexton and gaming industry icon Bruno Fitoussi became the second and third honorees.[23] In 2018, Steve Lipscomb and Lyle Berman each received the fourth and fifth honors.[24]

The WPT Honors Award is the WPT's highest honor, awarded to members of the poker industry in celebration and appreciation of exceptional contributions made to the World Poker Tour and the poker community as a whole. Presented as determined by WPT CEO Adam Pliska and the World Poker Tour, the WPT Honors Award is given in recognition to those who distinguish themselves by excellence and dedication beyond expectations.

WPT Honors Award Recipients

Deal

A fictional WPT championship match is the setting for the 2007 feature film Deal. Sexton, Van Patten, and Friel play themselves and a number of other poker professionals and poker-playing celebrities are reportedly in the cast. The WPT set was shipped to New Orleans for filming following the season 4 championship.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Burton, Earl. 2006 World Series of Poker Bracelet Unveiled. June 7, 2006. Pokernews.com Accessed July 30, 2007
  2. Web site: World Poker Tour Giving 96 Winners Bracelets. 2008-04-09. 2009-02-11.
  3. News: PartyGaming buys World Poker Tour. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/6532586/PartyGaming-buys-World-Poker-Tour.html . 2022-01-12 . subscription . live. Telegraph.co.uk . 10 November 2009 . London . Alistair . Osborne . November 9, 2009.
  4. News: World Poker Tour Announces Alliance With Ourgame in asia.
  5. Web site: Ourgame International Acquires World Poker Tour for $35 Million. 21 June 2015.
  6. News: Costelloe . Kevin . Allied Esports Revised Deal with Element for World Poker Tour . 13 April 2021 . Orange County Business Journal . 30 March 2021.
  7. Web site: Law.com. Law.com. 8 August 2017.
  8. Web site: World Poker Tour Settles Player Release Lawsuit . 2008-04-20 . Hintze . Haley . April 19, 2008 . PokerNews.com .
  9. World Poker Tour® and Fox Sports Sign Historic Five-Year Deal. World Poker Tour. WPT.com. WPT Enterprises, Inc.. 17 August 2016. 21 January 2018.
  10. Tony Dunst Replaces Mike Sexton as WPT Commentator After Historic 15-Year Career. World Poker Tour. WPT.com. WPT Enterprises, Inc.. 22 May 2017. 21 January 2018.
  11. Web site: Lynn Gilmartin to Replace Kimberly Lansing as World Poker Tour Anchor . Ryan, Rich . 2013-09-03 . PokerNews.
  12. Web site: Media Game WPT World Championship Level 28: 400,000-800,000 - World Poker Tour. www.worldpokertour.com. 8 August 2017.
  13. Web site: WPT Announces Alpha8 Series Super High-Roller Tournaments; Lynn Gilmartin New Anchor . Holloway, Chad . 2013-07-18 . PokerNews.
  14. News: BT Sports Broadcasts WPT in UK and Ireland. February 13, 2019.
  15. Web site: WPT®, Grupo Salinas and TV Azteca to Bring WPT Assets to Growing Latin America Audience. 2019-03-06. www.businesswire.com. en. 2019-03-18.
  16. Web site: About ClubWPT. ClubWPT. World Poker Tour. 21 May 2012.
  17. Web site: World Poker Tour Launches Social Casino Game PlayWPT. Nuwwarah, Mo . 2016-09-02 . PokerNews.
  18. World Poker Tour® Launches PlayWPT™. World Poker Tour. WPT.com. WPT Enterprises, Inc.. 31 August 2016. 21 January 2018.
  19. Web site: WPT | StatsAndTools | POY Point System . Worldpokertour.com . 2014-03-03 . 2014-04-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140410030524/http://www.worldpokertour.com/StatsAndTools/Player_of_the_Year_Point_System.aspx . dead .
  20. Web site: Women's Poker Spotlight: WPT Ladies League, Tour Announced. 10 January 2008 . 8 August 2017.
  21. World Poker Tour Unveils WPT Poker Walk of Fame at Commerce Casino. World Poker Tour. Cardplayer. Cardplayer Magazine. 17 March 2004. 7 November 2011.
  22. World Poker Tour® to Present Linda Johnson with Inaugural WPT® Honors Award. World Poker Tour. WPT.com. WPT Enterprises, Inc.. 22 February 2017. 21 January 2018.
  23. World Poker Tour® To Present Mike Sexton and Bruno Fitoussi with WPT® Honors Awards. World Poker Tour. WPT.com. WPT Enterprises, Inc.. 28 June 2017. 21 January 2018.
  24. Web site: World Poker Tour® To Present Steve Lipscomb and Lyle Berman with WPT® Honors Awards World Poker Tour. en-US. 2019-03-18.