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If you’re in Las Vegas and not at the Wynn for the World Poker Tour World Championships (WPTWC), what are you even doing?

The WPT’s flagship festival, and one of December’s “Big Three,” has moved into fifth gear, with the WPT Prime Championship playing down to its final six players. Also adding to the buzz is the groundbreaking ClubWPT Gold $5M Invitational Freeroll, which kicked off at 10 a.m. on Friday. This $5 million guaranteed tournament, featuring a $1 million top prize, has captured much of the spotlight as players from around the globe competed fiercely to secure a coveted Golden Passport.

With the Freeroll now underway, all eyes are turning to the crown jewel of the series: the $10,400 WPT World Championship. And PokerNews is your ultimate source for everything you need to know about one of the most anticipated events on the poker calendar.

WPT World Championship: The Key Info

Clear your schedule this weekend, as the WPT World Championship kicks off with Day 1A on Saturday, December 14, at 11 a.m. local time. Players can secure their spot at the tables with a $10,400 buy-in or take a shot at a more budget-friendly entry through satellites running at Wynn from December 13–16.

To reach Day 2, players must survive one of the three Day 1 flights, with Day 1B and 1C scheduled for December 15 and 16, respectively. Each player is permitted one entry per flight, meaning those who bust on Day 1A will need to try again in one or both of the remaining flights to stay in the game.

All players start with a 100,000-chip stack (200 big blinds). Each Day 1 wraps up after 11 one-hour levels, with late registration available until the start of Level 8 (approximately 7:45 p.m.). Notably, this event does not feature a guaranteed prize pool.

WPT World Championship Schedule

WPT World Championship Satellite Schedule

Players looking to secure their spot in the WPT World Championship can take advantage of an extensive satellite schedule. A total of 120 seats are guaranteed across six satellite events, including four with at least 25 seats each and two offering a minimum of 10 seats.

These are milestone satellites, meaning players earn their seat as soon as their chip stack reaches a designated threshold. Each satellite comes with a $1,100 buy-in.

WPT World Championship History

The 2024 WPT World Championship marks only the third instalment of this prestigious event, which debuted in Las Vegas just two years ago. The inaugural festival carried lofty ambitions, headlined by a $15 million guarantee for its marquee tournament. Demand for a major poker event in December on U.S. soil was evident, and players turned out in droves. The 2,960 entries pushed the final prize pool to an incredible $29,008,000, almost double the guarantee.

Canada’s Eliot Hudon emerged victorious, claiming the $4,136,000 top prize after defeating poker legend Benny Glaser in heads-up. The event’s overwhelming success encouraged the WPT to raise the stakes even further for its second edition in 2023, increasing the guarantee on the WPT World Championship to a then-unprecedented $40 million.

The big question heading into the 2023 WPT World Championship was whether the event would meet its ambitious $40 million guarantee. The answer? Almost.

The event attracted an impressive 3,835 entries—a significant increase from the previous year—but ultimately resulted in a slight overlay. Despite narrowly missing the guarantee, the poker community applauded the WPT for its bold vision and dedication to growing the game. Far from being viewed as a failure, the effort underscored the tour’s commitment to pushing boundaries and setting a new standard for how poker events should be organized.

Dan Sepiol took the crown from Hudon, and became the new WPT World Championship winner. His reward was a $5,282,954 payout, and his name was etched and immortalized on the Mike Sexton Cup.

Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game. Calum has written for various poker outlets but found his home at PokerNews, where he has contributed to various articles and live updates, providing insights and reporting on major poker events, including the World Series of Poker (WSOP).

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