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We all know the World Championship of online Poker hosted by Poker Stars year after year, we all know it’s a great deal of excitement for the poker community, we know how it attracts some of the biggest names in poker. What we didn’t know about the 2008 WCOOP though, was that it was going to be much richer than the 2007 one. Here’s a preview of what it’ll entertain the poker community with between September 5th and 21st: There will be a 10,300 (fee included) high roller tournament. Think about it: the buy-in is equal to the WSOP Main Event’s which means that provided enough people show up for it, the prize pool will be somewhat comparable too.
There will be a mixed tournament featuring no fewer than 8 games. The $25,500 heads-up NL Holdem event will be the biggest one of its kind in online poker. There will be a 6-player only short handed mixed event, and there will be a NL 2-7 Single Draw one. The WCOOP will debut September 5th with a $215 short handed NL Holdem event, and a $215 PL 5-card draw one. It will conclude on September 21st with the Main Event, the $10,300 NL Holdem one mentioned above. In between there will be no fewer than 2 events each and every single day. With all these in mind, the question one has to ask about the WCOOP is not whether or not it is a lucrative enterprise, but rather when it’ll surpass the WSOP in player numbers and prize-pool sizes.
On the schedule, there will be 3 2-day events: the $530 NL Holdem one, on 7th, the 1,050 NL Holdem one on the 14th, and the Main Event on the 21st.
The first prize of the Main Event has seen an almost exponential growth from year to year. In 2002, player “MultiMarine” won about 65k, a sum which seems diminutive by today’s standards. In 2003, the first prize grew to about $222k, only to reach $424k the following year. In 2005, player “Panella86” walked away with $577k, and in 2006, poker pro JC Tran pocketed $600k. 2007 set a record far and high above all previous years. Player “Ka$ino” won 1,378,330.
Sure, most of the direct buy-ins featured by the WCOOP events are out of the reach of your average online poker player wannabe. That’s exactly why PokerStars has made it possible for its players to win seats in WCOOP events via online qualifiers and sub-qualifiers. If you make your way into the WCOOP this way, you may get away paying only $2.20 for your seat or 10 FPPs. Satellites run in all sorts of formats, MTT, STT and Steps, so whatever you prefer, you’re certain to find something to your liking.
Steps tournaments work like this: the lowest tier ones can be accessed for 500 FPPs or $7.50. Those who either win it or finish in second spot, move on to the next level. There are 6 Steps levels to beat before you get to battle it out for a WCOOP seat, in a tournament which has 3 such seats on offer.
