The partnership between World Poker Tour and partypoker continues with the WPT Montreal now heading online in January. While a complete schedule hasn’t been released yet, the $3,200 championship features $2 million guarantee.
The two starting flights for that event are set to kick off Jan. 10 and 17. WPT Montreal Online now replaces the annual live series at Playground Poker Club in Kahnawake, Quebec, Canada.
“The World Poker Tour and partypoker continue their thriving partnership into 2021 as we look forward to crowning another WPT champion online,” WPT CEO Adam Pliska said in a news release. “Players around the globe have shown their support of WPT Online and the continued prestige on display at our final tables.”
Shifting the Montreal poker action online
Montreal has been a regular stop for the WPT since 2012. Several major names have won titles including former WPT commentator Mike Sexton, Seth Davies, and Ema Zajmovic, the first WPT Main Event open champion.
Geoffrey Hum won the live championship in 2019 for $380,648. Zajmovic also almost made it back-to-back titles in 2018, finishing runner-up for $424,893.
Patrick Serda took that title for $668,388 and many may remember his amazing call to finish off Zajmovic.
The Playground Club closed on Oct. 4 after the Kahnawake COVID-19 Task Force raised the pandemic status from orange to red. The Canadian government has also restricted travel from the US, keeping any possible American poker players away.
The series now moves online offering players around the world a chance at some WPT glory. The Montreal event also marks the seventh WPT champion to be crowned on partypoker in Season XVIII.
As in a live event, the winner of WPT Montreal Online receives:
- a seat in the WPT Tournament of Champions presented by Baccarat Crystal
- his or her name inscribed on the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup
- membership in the WPT Champions Club
Qualifiers for the event are already underway and start at $.01. A full schedule is expected to be released soon.
“I can’t tell you how excited I am about WPT Montreal being played out on partypoker,” partypoker LIVE president John Duthie said. “Playground is one of my favourite places to play on the globe and the players there are just such a great community.
“As the scene of his famous WPT victory, it was also one of Mike Sexton’s favorite stops on the tour; he’ll be with us all in spirit I’m sure.”
Series adds to a growing WPT presence online at partypoker
With WPT Montreal Online, players can expect a similar experience to the recent WPT Online Series and WPT World Online Championships. For those series, partypoker made use of:
- real names at final tables
- limited re-entries
- numerous opportunities to qualify
The two series focused on getting players into the action, no matter the bankroll. That is expected to continue with the Montreal series.
The WPT Online World Championships were held in August and September, awarding $101 million. The series also gave out 45,000 tournament seats via qualifiers.
The WPT Online Series was held in April and May with $52 million paid out. The tour has incorporated its main brand as well as WPTDeepStacks and WPT500 in some of these series.
The operator’s partypoker US Network arm has also partnered with WPT for online events in New Jersey. These efforts now continue with WPT Montreal and the festival’s popularity in Canada should help.
Players from Toronto to Vancouver can still get in on the action via partypoker. Like these other recent events, poker fans should expect plenty of streaming coverage via the WPT Twitch channel.
“Another exceptional event for players comes to partypoker this January,” WPT Europe Vice President Hermance Blum said. “The proven success of limited re-entries and real names carries over to WPT Montreal Online and we are excited to be partnering once more with partypoker.”
Look for a complete schedule at PokerScout soon.
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