The World Poker Tour is making up for time lost in 2020 by hosting events in a variety of settings this year. In addition to live festivals on both sides of the Atlantic, WPT will also host a new cross-continent series online.
Although Europe is emerging from its COVID-induced lockdown, running live events is still tricky. The WPT has adapted better than most to these conditions and, for its latest series, it’s using its digital partners to good effect.
888poker will host three concurrent WPT DeepStacks events between April 18 and 26. Although players will be confined to the network available in their region, everyone will be competing at the same time.
888poker syncs up three regions
This will be the first time the WPT and 888poker have synced events across three networks. They’ll mark the occasion with more than $3 million in guaranteed prize money.
- WPTDS Iberia Online (Portugal and Spain – buy-ins and prizes in EUR)
- WPTDS Italy Online (Italy – buy-ins and prizes in EUR)
- WPTDS London Online (the Rest of World, excluding the US – buy-ins and prizes in USD)
Each network will host 16 tournaments. That means there will be 48 winners, and each will receive a WPT DeepStacks trophy.
WPTDS London Online will have the largest overall guarantee at $2 million. Its main event will cost $1,050 and feature a $1 million guarantee.
The Iberian and Italian main events will cost €125, and their guarantees will be set at €150,000. Additionally, the WPT will stream four days’ worth of action across its network of online and OTT platforms.
WPT CEO embraces digital evolution
COVID-19 may have disrupted the live tournament scene, but it’s given the WPT a chance to explore new ideas. It was experimenting with online events prior to the pandemic but, when things went into lockdown, it fully immersed itself in the digital sphere.
The transition has been a success. The WPT World Online Championships was, by some metrics, better than the WSOP’s inaugural online series.
All three @888poker networks will welcome a @WPTDeepStacks festival in April!
Starting on April 18th, the festivals will run simultaneously with over $3,000,000 in guarantees across the networks.Qualifiers are running soon. Stay tuned! pic.twitter.com/Hu4F6JQQJ3
— World Poker Tour (@WPT) March 3, 2021
Subsequent events have been even better, and now the tournament team is pushing the boundaries once again.
Even though the WPT bandwagon has rolled in various Australian, US, and European casinos over the last two weeks, CEO Adam Pliska isn’t abandoning his online ambitions.
“The World Poker Tour’s online presence continues to grow, and these three concurrent series mark further expansion of the WPT DeepStacks brand,” said Pliska.
COVID-19 can’t be described as a positive on any level. However, the WPT has shown what’s possible when poker companies are willing and able to adapt.
Indeed, it’s no longer a live-only tour. Instead, it straddles two mediums and reflects the current dynamics of the poker industry.
