WPT Season XVII Continues into 2019 with New Events and HyperX

The end of the calendar year means little for most poker tours. The World Poker Tour is the prime example, as its seasons begin in the summer of one year and wrap up in the spring of the following year.

Currently, the WPT is in its 17^th season. While the future remains a mystery due to the recent acquisition of the company by Black Ridge and its new overall organization umbrella of Allied Esports Entertainment, fans hope there will be no major changes to the tour. Everyone will expect the rollout of WPT XVIII in the coming months to keep the World Poker Tour in motion.

Meanwhile, let’s look at Season XVII thus far and what’s to come.

Season XVII: First Half in the Bag

The season kicked off in July in Southern California, not far from the WPT offices. And it didn’t stop until December at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

WPT Gardens Poker Festival at Gardens Casino, Southern California

Dates:  July 21-26

Buy-in:  $5,000

Entries:  584

Prize pool:  $2,944,800

Winner:  Simon Lam for $565,055 and Mercedes Benz SLC Roadster

Simon Lam Wins WPT Gardens main event for $565,000 & new car ???

➡️https://t.co/aZFAgpXpSP via @WPT pic.twitter.com/GrO7xRLg9V

— Dailymotion (@DailymotionUSA) July 30, 2018

WPT Choctaw

Dates:  August 3-7

Buy-in:  $3,700

Entries:  755

Prize pool:  $2,548,225

Winner:  Brady Holiman for $469,185

WPT Borgata Poker Open

Dates:  September 16-21

Buy-in:  $3,500

Entries:  1,075

Prize pool:  $3,441,075

Winner:  Erkut Yilmaz for $575,112

WPT Maryland at Live! Casino

Dates:  September 21-25

Buy-in:  $3,500

Entries:  554

Prize pool:  $1,757,800

Winner:  Tony Ruberto for $344,755

WPT bestbet Bounty Scramble

Dates:  October 19-23

Buy-in:  $5,000

Entries:  356

Prize pool:  $1,648,280

Winner:  Tony Tran for $341,486

WPT Montreal

Dates:  October 28 – November 4

Buy-in:  C$5,300

Entries:  792

Prize pool:  $5,000,000 (GTD)

Winner:  Patrick Serda for C$855,000

WPT Seminole Rock ’N’ Roll Poker Open

Dates:  November 23-28

Buy-in:  $3,500

Entries:  898

Prize pool:  $2,873,600

Winner:  Pavel Plesuv for $504,820

WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic

Dates:  December

Buy-in:  $10,400

Entries:  1,001

Prize pool:  $9,709,700

Winner:  Dylan Linde for $1,631,468

.@DylanLinde finds victory at #WPT5D through his lucky dog, River, to win at @BellagioPoker. Winner's story from @PokerTraditions. https://t.co/DZ6ZTeagac pic.twitter.com/V5kKj138a8

— World Poker Tour (@WPT) December 16, 2018

WPT POY Standings

With half of the season completed, it’s a good time to take a look at the WPT Player of the Year rankings. It’s no surprise that the top five players include three of the champions listed above, but others have had significant cashes to catapult them to the top of the leaderboard.

At the end of the season, the winner will take home the grand prize, which is a $15K WPT Passport, which can be used in any Season XVIII global WPT event and includes complimentary accommodations, ground transportation, food and beverage credits, a Hublot WPT POY trophy, and a Hublot watch valued at $15K.

The second-place finisher will receive a $7,500 WPT Passport, and the third-place player will receive a passport worth $2,500.

1^st place:  Tony Ruberto (1,850 points) = 3 cashes, 2 final tables, 1 win

2^nd place:  Ping Liu (1,550 points) = 4 cashes, 2 final tables

3^rd place:  Dylan Linde (1,400 points) = 1 cash, 1 final table, 1 win

4^th place:  Erkut Yilmaz (1,300 points) = 3 cashes, 1 final table, 1 win

5^th place:  Sorel Mizzi (1,300 points) = 3 cashes, 1 final table

Happy Holidays from the WPT Family! pic.twitter.com/jSX90M6GYd

— World Poker Tour (@WPT) December 23, 2018

Remaining WPT Events

After the holidays, players will have a few extra days to rest before getting back to the World Poker Tour tables. It will all get underway again back in Southern California where the season began.

WPT Gardens Poker Championship at Gardens Casino, Southern California

Dates:  January 12-16

Buy-in:  $10,000

WPT Russia at Casino Sochi, Russia

Dates:  January 21-27

Buy-in:  ₽198,000 (approximately $2,800)

Guarantee:  ₽90,000,000

WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open at Borgata Casino, Atlantic City

Dates:  January 27-31

Buy-in:  $3,500

Guarantee:  $3 million

Three WPT Main Tour events are coming up in January with two Season XVII televised events and the first WPT event ever held in Russia. #TheCupAwaits#WPTGardens: https://t.co/4BpX5Rm9ml#BWPO2019: https://t.co/TNYJFvWNoA#WPTRussia: https://t.co/xJcwX184XD pic.twitter.com/eLkwRA5HSs

— World Poker Tour (@WPT) December 21, 2018

WPT Fallsview Poker Classic at Fallsview Casino, Ontario, Canada

Dates:  February 23-25

Buy-in:  C$5,000 ($3,600)

WPT L.A. Poker Classic at Commerce Casino, Southern California

Dates:  March 2-6

Buy-in:  $10,000

WPT Rolling Thunder at Thunder Valley Casino, Sacramento, California

Dates:  March 8-12

Buy-in:  $5,000

WPT Barcelona at Casino Barcelona, Spain

Dates:  March 11-17

Buy-in:  €3,300 ($3,700)

Guarantee:  €3 million

WPT Venetian at Venetian Casino, Las Vegas

Dates:  March 22-26

Buy-in:  $3,500

Guarantee:  $1 million

WPT Choctaw at Choctaw Casino, Durant, Oklahoma

Dates:  May 17-20

Buy-in:  $3,700

WPT ARIA Summer Championship at ARIA Casino, Las Vegas

Dates:  May 27-31

Buy-in:  $10,000

Baccarat Crystal WPT Tournament of Champions at ARIA Casino, Las Vegas

Dates:  June 1-3

Buy-in:  $15,000

The Gardens, Borgata, and Commerce events will have delayed final tables, each of which are scheduled for March 12, 13, and 14, respectively. They will be played and filmed at the HyperX Esports Arena in Las Vegas, which is at the Luxor Casino property. If any later tournaments will also be delayed for HyperX playdown and filming, the WPT will make that announcement at a later date.