WPT Online Series Extended To May 31, Guarantees Double To $30M

The World Poker Tour (WPT) Online Series which is currently underway at partypoker will now run until the end of May. The decision was made following feedback from players about the overlap of two of the biggest events on the schedule – WPT Online Series and the WPT DeepStacks.

Based on the original schedule, the WPT Main Event would crown a winner on its final day, May 19. This was also the date for the WPT DeepStacks event to conclude. This clash of dates would make it quite difficult to qualify players who want to enter both events. To sort this out, partypoker and the WPT have decided to introduce some changes to the schedule, with new events also being added.

The $1,050 buy-in WPT Deepstacks was originally scheduled to run from May 11 to 19, has now been moved to May 18 to 27. This was how the event would have taken place in a live setting, so a similar approach has been adopted for the online edition. Dusk Till Dawn owner and partypoker partner Rob Yong announced the changes over the weekend and confirmed that this event will now award an increased guarantee of $3 million.

A new $109 buy-in Mini WPTDeepStacks will also take place, featuring $1,000,000 in guarantees.

Additionally, both the Closer and Mini Closer events have been moved to May 31 with increased guarantees. The Closer now carries a massive $1,000,000 guaranteed prize money, up from the previous $200,000, with the buy-in remaining the same at $530, while the Mini version will give away $300K in guaranteed prizes. Yong also expects a handful of side events to be sprinkled in between May 20 and May 25.

WPT Online Series Main Event Kicks Off

The WPT Online Series Championship (Main Event) kicked off this week, and the first starting flight already attracted a strong field of 808 entries, generating nearly $2.5 million in prize pool. With three more Day 1’s still about to take place, the event is poised to smash its initial $5 million guarantee.

Dutch player Abdelhakim Zoufri is currently leading the chips and he will look to maintain this standing through to the final day.

All in all, the WPT Online Series line-up of events has now been expanded to accommodate a total of 40 events, more than double the original 10. The overall guarantee has also now reached $30 million, doubling the previous guaranteed prize pool of $15 million.