The World Poker Tour (WPT) is an internationally televised gaming and entertainment brand. 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.

World Poker Tour
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event World Poker Tour season 22 results
SportPoker
FoundedMay 27, 2002
CEOAdam Pliska
Country United States (Founded)
Most titlesUnited States Darren Elias (4)
TV partner(s)Bally Sports, BT Sport (UK)
Official websitewww.worldpokertour.com

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

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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

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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

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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

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Professional Poker Tour

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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

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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

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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

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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.

Season Years WPT Player of the Year Wins
1 2002–2003   Howard Lederer 2
2 2003–2004   Erick Lindgren 2
3 2004–2005   Daniel Negreanu 2
4 2005–2006   Gavin Smith 1
5 2006–2007   J. C. Tran 1
6 2007–2008   Jonathan Little 1
7 2008–2009   Bertrand Grospellier 1
8 2009–2010   Faraz Jaka 0
9 2010–2011   Andy Frankenberger 1
10 2011–2012   Joe Serock 0
11 2012–2013   Matthew Salsberg 1
12 2013–2014   Mukul Pahuja 0
13 2014–2015   Anthony Zinno 2
14 2015–2016   Mike Shariati 1
15 2016–2017   Benjamin Zamani 0
16 2017–2018   Art Papazyan 2
17 2018–2019   Erkut Yilmaz 2
18 2019–2021   Brian Altman 1
19 2021   Jake Ferro 1
20 2022   Chad Eveslage 1
21 2023   Bin Weng 2

Points system

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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:

  • Winner: 1,000 points
  • Runner-up: 700 points
  • 3rd place: 600 points
  • 4th place: 500 points
  • 5th place: 400 points
  • 6th place: 300 points
  • 7th place: 200 points (television final table bubble)

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]

  • Generally, 10% of the participants in each event will finish in the money (ITM), so the system now gives Player of the Year points to all ITM players.
  • The maximum number of points awarded to the event winner are now scaled to the size of the prize pool, with 600 points to the winner of an event with a prize pool smaller than $500,000 and 1400 points to the winner of an event with a prize pool larger than $4,000,000. The season-ending WPT World Championship, no matter the prize pool, also starts at 1400 points to the winner.
  • The system still operates on a descending scale, though the scale provides a minimum of 50 points to all the 'bottom' ITM players in any event.

WPT Main Event winners

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

Records

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Information correct as of May 24, 2024

Titles
Rank Name Titles
1   Darren Elias 4
2   Eric Afriat 3
  Brian Altman
  Gus Hansen
  Carlos Mortensen
  David Rheem
  Anthony Zinno
Final tables
Rank Name Final tables
1   Darren Elias 13
2   Phil Ivey 9
3   Scotty Nguyen 8
4   Eric Afriat 7
  Brian Altman
  Tony Dunst
  Darryll Fish
  Gus Hansen
  Michael Mizrachi
  Daniel Negreanu
  David Pham
  J.C. Tran
  Anthony Zinno
Money finishes
Rank Name Money finishes
1   Darren Elias 46
2   Anthony Zinno 39
3   Brian Altman 34
4   Jake Schwartz 33
T5   Mohsin Charania 32
  Justin Zaki

Record winnings

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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

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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.

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

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

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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.

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

WPT Ladies

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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

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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.[citation needed]

WPT Honors Award

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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

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Deal

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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.[citation needed]

See also

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References

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