WPT World Championship 2023: Festival to Be Bigger than Before

Article By Daniel Smyth

Last Updated: Mar 14^th, 2024

This week’s Twittertainment contains a gift from the World Poker Tour (WPT) in the form of a bigger and better grand finale. 

The festive season might only be a blip on most people’s radars right now, but the WPT has given poker players a reason to think ahead by announcing the 2023 World Championship. Following on from last year’s record-breaking festival, the WPT World Championship will return in late November. 

In fact, not only will it return, it’s set to be bigger than ever. Instead of starting in early December as it did in 2022, the 2023 WPT World Championship kicks off on Nov. 29. The final event will conclude on Dec. 23, which means players can enjoy a month’s worth of winter action inside the Wynn Las Vegas. 

Seven-Figure Payouts and More at WPT World Championship

The $10,400 WPT World Championship headlines the 2023 series.Last year's event exceeded all expectations, with 2,960 entries pushing the $15 million guarantee to almost $30 million. 

In the end, Canada’s Eliot Hudon took home the trophy and $4.1 million after beating Benny Glaser heads-up. 

The organizers are keeping this year’s guarantee quiet for now, but we know the series as a whole will feature more events than before. Familiar favorites will return, including the WPT Prime Championship and the ever-popular mystery bounty event. Those who travel to Vegas can also expect a few new surprises.

Some of the highlights already announced are:

• Dec. 6 to 8: The WPT Seniors Event
• Dec. 7 to 12: The WPT Prime Championship
• Dec. 12 to 18: WPT World Championship
• Dec. 16 to 18: The WPT Ladies Championship
• Dec. 18 to 21: The WPT Mystery Bounty Event

The rest of the 2023 WPT World Championship schedule will be released in the coming months. However, we already know WPT CEO Adam Pliska wants to beat last year’s efforts.

“It is our hope that we have started a tradition in poker that we can enhance and add to each season. We look forward to making this year’s World Championship even more memorable for players,” Pliska said in this week’s press release. 

Ryan Beauregard, Executive Director of Poker Operations at Wynn Las Vegas, echoed Pliska’s sentiments. 

“After paying out more than $53 million in total prize money last December, we are excited for the return of the WPT World Championship at Wynn. Due to last year’s incredible turnout and the strong rapport we built with WPT, we have extended the festival dates and will create a tournament schedule to make 2023 even more memorable,” said Beauregard.

More than a Poker Series

Gambling.com was in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the 2022 WPT World Championship and the spectacle didn’t disappoint. Mega payouts and world-class poker action was matched by the extracurricular activities available to attendees. From free food and drinks to parties, air hockey, and massage chairs, there were plenty of things to do away from the tournament area. 

The WPT’s latest tweet (see above) showed exactly this. As well as announcing the 2023 WPT World Championship, the tweet contained a video of last year’s revelry. The first to respond was Thomas Keeling, aka SrslySirius. 

He quipped that it looked like a fun event and asked if there was actually any poker on the schedule. The WPT’s social media team was all too happy to confirm there will be some poker among the festive frivolities.

The wait for November starts now. The WPT World Championship won the GPI’s Event of the Year for 2022, but the next one could be even better. 

Indeed, with more events planned and qualifiers set to start soon, we could see records broken between Nov. 29 and Dec. 23. 

Updated by

Daniel Smyth

Last Updated:   Mar 14^th, 2024

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