After receiving player feedback, partypoker and the World Poker Tour have made some changes to the World Online Championships. The Mini and Main Event have been extended with more chances for players to qualify.
The $10,300 Main Event features a $10 million guarantee with Day 1A set for Sunday, Sept. 6. Day 1B has been moved to Sept. 13 with Days 2, 3 and 4 on the following days.
Players will now have more opportunities to qualify for Day 1B, even if they bust on Day 1A. Partypoker will add even more satellite events in the intervening week.
The entire WOC series features a $100 million guarantee and events for all bankroll levels. That ranges from $30 to $100,000 with numerous tournaments left on the schedule.
Changes mean more opportunities in WPT World Online Championships
The $1,050 Mini Main Event also sees a bit of a schedule change, which comes with a $5 million guarantee. Day 1A is Sunday, Aug. 30, with 1B now on Sept. 6 and the final two days afterward.
The $109 Micro Main Event, with a guarantee of $1 million, will keep its original schedule for the whole four days. Day 1A is set for Aug. 29 and Sept. 1 as the final day of action.
This allows for all three main events to be live streamed on partypoker’s Twitch channel. This now gives Micro players a chance to shine in front of live viewers.
Plenty still on the line in WPT events
The WOCs have passed the halfway point but there remains a plethora of action. The Main Event is one of five Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup events held during the series.
On top of the prize money, the winner adds a $15,000 package to the next WPT Tournament of Champions (presented by Baccarat Crystal). The champion’s name is also engraved on the Sexton Cup.
Championship winners also join the exclusive Champions Club and win a Hublot watch and set of Baccarat tumblers. The series comes with almost $150,000 in added value for players.
The series features a $100 million guarantee and tries to replicate an authentic live WPT experience.
Tournaments use players’ real names and allow a maximum of two Day 1s for the 10 championship events. Only one re-entry is allowed per day. Here’s a look at the complete schedule.
| Date | Event | Buy-in | Fee | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug. 29 | #07 World Championship Main Event Day 1A [4-Day Event] | $10,000 | $300 | $10,000,000 |
| Aug. 30 | #07 World Championship Main Event Day 1B [4-Day Event] | $10,000 | $300 | None |
| Sept. 2 | #08 World Championship Heads Up [No Late Reg, 256 Cap, 2-Day Event] | $3,000 | $200 | $500,000 |
| Sept. 2 | #08 Mini World Championship Heads Up [No Late Reg, 512 Cap, 2-Day Event] | $300 | $20 | $100,000 |
| Sept. 2 | #08 Micro World Championship Heads Up [No Late Reg, 1024 Cap, 2-Day Event] | $30 | $3 | $20,000 |
| Sept. 5 | #09 World Championship Mix-Max Day 1A [3-Day Event] | $3,000 | $200 | $3,000,000 |
| Sept. 5 | #09 Mini World Championship Mix-Max Day 1A [3-Day Event] | $300 | $20 | $1,000,000 |
| Sept. 5 | #09 Micro World Championship Mix-Max Day 1A [3-Day Event] | $30 | $3 | $300,000 |
| Sept. 5 | #10 World Championship Super High Roller Day 1A [3-Day Event] | $25,000 | $500 | $10,000,000 |
| Sept. 6 | #09 World Championship Mix-Max Day 1B [3-Day Event] | $3,000 | $200 | None |
| Sept. 6 | #09 Mini World Championship Mix-Max Day 1B [3-Day Event] | $300 | $20 | None |
| Sept. 6 | #09 Micro World Championship Mix-Max Day 1B [3-Day Event] | $30 | $3 | None |
| Sept. 6 | #10 World Championship Super High Roller Day 1B [3-Day Event] | $25,000 | $500 | None |
| Sept. 7 | #11 World Championship Super High Roller [2-Day Event] | $100,000 | $2,000 | $5,000,000 |
| Sept. 8 | #12 World Championship Turbo | $3,000 | $200 | $1,000,000 |
| Sept. 8 | #12 Mini World Championship Turbo | $300 | $20 | $300,000 |
| Sept. 8 | #12 Micro World Championship Turbo | $30 | $3 | $100,000 |
| *** All events allow one re-entry per Day 1 |
Partypoker adds to mobile app allowing portrait mode for tournaments, SNGs
Partypoker has made some other news recently. Mobile players will now find a bit more comfort at the virtual tables. The site’s app now lets players compete in multi-table tournaments (MTTs) and Sit & Go tournaments (SNGs) in portrait mode.
This means players can now take part in major tournaments like the WOCs while on the go. The change makes it simpler to play in events like this. A big part of that is the ability to play multiple games at the same time.
“This marks a very important milestone for us, with all games now being available in portrait mode,” said Ross McQuater, partypoker head of poker product. “Tournament play presented a number of interesting challenges, and the team have done a great job in overcoming them.
“The result sees a significant overhaul for tournaments that extends to the game lobbies too, not just the portrait game table. We have an exciting raft of new features that we will continue to add in the coming months, as we also work to improve the portrait experience for our other labels. We are confident our players will enjoy the latest experience.”
Partypoker began making major improvements to its app in 2019, including a much more user-friendly experience. There are now several extra features to make tournament play more enjoyable as well.
As part of the new release, the “diamonds” virtual currency and “rabbit hunt” features are available in portrait mode. Party also revamped portrait lobbies for tournaments and SNGs. These improvements include:
- new game listings
- filters
- improved tournament detail pages
More details and a clearer design has refined the mobile experience to replicate the quality of a desktop lobby.
Diamonds are part of a shift toward introducing some social gaming-type features to the mobile app. These are rewarded based on the number of hands played.
A player can then use those diamonds to spend on animations or the opportunity to rabbit hunt. Rabbit cards give the full picture of hands, allowing a player to see the remaining cards not dealt. The feature adds some extra excitement and fun.
The moves come after the company enhanced the mobile offering earlier this year. Portrait table mode was extended to cash games, with single-handed play spread across heads-up and six-handed games.
Last year, party launched a new SPINS interface with a selection of new social game features. Some of those included bubble chat, emojis, animations, and enhanced dialogues.
Mobile gaming continues to be a major focus for the online poker industry. The sites hop the efforts expand the player pool and grow the industry.
Operators are adapting to those prefer their gaming more on the go. Partypoker has been a big part of that and continues to enhance its mobile product.
Champions Cup photo courtesy WPT/Joe Giron