The World Poker Tour is back and, despite being unable to set up shop inside Montreal’s Playground Casino, the show goes on.
An executive decision was made in the latter part of 2020 to host the series online. With COVID-19 creating an uncertain climate, the WPT team committed to running the series on Partypoker.
That was a wise decision, as the Playground Poker Club has been closed since October. Fortunately for players, Partypoker has stepped into the breach, and WPT Montreal will begin online this Sunday.
WPT Offering Something for Everyone
The final schedule for this year’s event wasn’t ready when the WPT announced that the action will take place on Partypoker. However, with the start date fast approaching, the two companies have finally released the full list of tournaments.
The action kicks off on Jan. 17 with Day 1A of the $3,200 main event. Starting stacks will be 200,000 chips and players can re-enter once.
The second and final starting flight (Day 1B) will take place the following Sunday on Jan. 24. From there, Day 2 will build toward a final table on Jan. 27.
This year’s WPT Montreal main event has a $2 million guarantee. Based on the success of 2020’s live to online tournament conversion, the final prize pool could be much larger.
Also on the docket between Jan. 17 and Feb. 1 are mini and micro main events. Other than giving players a way to ante up during a global pandemic, these types of innovations are some of the best things to happen to poker players in recent months.
Partypoker Creating New Opportunities
The $320 mini and $33 micro main events give recreational players the chance to compete for WPT honors that they may not have been able to play for otherwise. And, while everyone wants to see live poker return to full capacity as soon as possible, the internet has opened up new possibilities to make major MTTs, such as those offered by the WPT, more accessible than before.
As such, there’s a chance this year’s WPT Montreal main event will be the largest ever, simply because it’s easier for players to enter. Those who couldn’t — or wouldn’t — travel to Canada can now ante-up without fear of playing in public during a pandemic.
