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 17th 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.
1st place: Tony Ruberto (1,850 points) = 3 cashes, 2 final tables, 1 win
2nd place: Ping Liu (1,550 points) = 4 cashes, 2 final tables
3rd place: Dylan Linde (1,400 points) = 1 cash, 1 final table, 1 win
4th place: Erkut Yilmaz (1,300 points) = 3 cashes, 1 final table, 1 win
5th 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.
