One of the biggest and longest-running online poker series returns in September. PokerStars announced on Monday that the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) is back for a 21st year and runs Sept. 4-28.
The series is one of the most anticipated on the tournament calendar and now adds to an already-packed online poker schedule in August and September.
Players will find $85 million in guaranteed prize pools across 104 events. That again includes Low, Medium, and High buy-in levels ranging from $5.50 to $25,000. PokerStars has also added “World Championship” events to this year’s series as well, ramping up the series’ prestige even more.
“WCOOP has long been the pinnacle of online tournament series and with the addition of World Championship events we are looking to elevate the prestige of winning a WCOOP title event further,” PokerStars director of online poker experience Chris Straghalis said in a news release.
“Not only are we offering a wide variety of buy-ins to provide a way for virtually anyone who desires to participate in a WCOOP event, we also offer the most formats and variants in online poker with a choice of mixed games that are unique to PokerStars.”
PokerStars adding more to WCOOP
Players jumping in the WCOOP action will find a wide range of events and tournament styles. Some No Limit Hold’em options include: progressive knockout (PKO), heads-up, and six-max. Other tournament options include HORSE, Badugi, Pot Limit Omaha, eight-game mix, and more.
This year, players will also find 12 World Championship events competitors to become world champions of a specific poker discipline.
That includes a $10,300 World Championship NLHE Main Event with a $6 million guarantee. In total, Stars is offering six Main Events on Sept. 25 with over $14 million guaranteed including two World Championship events in NLHE and PLO. Here’s a look at all the major events just on Sept. 25 alone.
- 92-L: $109 NLHE Main Event – $2.5 million guaranteed
- 92-M: $1,050 NLHE Main Event, $4 million guaranteed
- 92-H: $10,300 World Championship of NLHE – $6 million guaranteed
- 94-L: $109 PLO Main Event – $250,000 guaranteed
- 94-M: $1,050 PLO Main Event, $600,000 guaranteed
- WCOOP 94-H: $10,300 World Championship of PLO – $1 million guaranteed
Players looking to win a World Championship will also find several other poker variants including: NLHE PKO, HORSE, PLO Hi/Lo, Badugi, Razz, and several others.
Even more planned for WCOOP
Following on from this year’s SCOOP, the WCOOP also sees the first official WCOOP women’s event. That tournament is set for Sept. 25 with a combined guaranteed prize pool of $38,000 across the three buy-in levels.
A World Championship women’s event is also planned for Sept. 18 with a $530 buy-in and $65,000 guarantee.
Stars is once again offering WCOOP leaderboards throughout the series. Players can battle for the Player of the Series title in Low, Medium, High, and Overall leaderboards. The standings come with an extra $100,000 in cash prizes for winners.
All WCOOP winners will receive a trophy, including larger versions for Main Event and leaderboard winners. Also new for 2022, a special trophy is planned for World Championship winners.
Satellites and freerolls a big part of the series
There are plenty of ways players can win their way into WCOOP. Fast Track satellites award tournament seats every day from Aug. 15 – Sept. 25. These include Main Event seats worth $10,300 and players can win a seat starting at just $0.50. The satellites offer a total of $100,000 in added value.
Special WCOOP Spin & Go’s will also award Main Event entries, other tournament tickets, and cash prizes. Those buy-ins start at just $0.50.
Stars is also hosting a Champions Freeroll on Sept. 4 for last year’s WCOOP champions with a chance to win a $10,300 NLHE Main Event seat. The freeroll offers $50,000 in tournament seats up for grabs. Here’s a look at the entire WCOOP schedule.
2022 PokerStars WCOOP