The US Poker Open (USPO) is underway in Las Vegas inside the PokerGO Studio and plenty of familiar faces have already nabbed titles. It marks the live return of the USPO following the US Poker Open Online that was held on Global Poker last August and September.

Global Poker Review: Play Legal Online Poker in the US

The USPO consists of ten No-Limit Hold’em and Pot-Limit Omaha events with buy-ins ranging from $10,000 to $50,000. The series got underway on March 23 and saw Joey Weissman winning Event #1: $10,000 NL Hold’em for $231,000 and will wrap up on April 3 with Event #10: $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em.

Other winners so far at the USPO include the entertaining Ren Lin (Event #2: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em – $231,000) and high-stakes grinder Sam Soverel (Event #3: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em – $213,900), while Daniel Negreanu came close to winning another PGT title in Event #4: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha before bowing out in fourth place for $77,000.

Weissman picked up his second USPO title after previously taking down a $10,000 event at the 2021 USPO for $204,000. In 2022, the New York native won the inaugural BetMGM Poker Championship $3,500 Main Event in 2022 the same venue for $224,236.

Event #1: $10,000 NL Hold’em Final Table Results

After his deep run in Event #1, Lin made another run in Event #2 before overcoming heads-up opponent Barbero ($168,000), who earlier this month took down $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha at the PGT PLO Series for $234,000.

Others who made deep runs in the event include famed statistician Nate Silver, Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel (6th – $63,000) and reigning USPO overall champion Sean Winter (9th – $42,000).

Event #2: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Final Table Results

Seidel and Barbero both went on to make deep runs in Event #3, respectively finishing in ninth and sixth place, but it was Soverel who emerged victorious after defeating heads-up opponent Chris Brewer ($148,800).

There were other familiar faces who ran deep in Event #3 including Kristen Foxen (4th – $93,000) and Aram Oganyan (7th – $46,500).

Event #3: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Final Table Results

All eyes were on Negreanu as the beloved poker star called his shot on social media before the Event got underway.

Event #5 is currently underway with 76 runners in the field so far, according to PokerGO updates. The remaining schedule for the 2023 USPO is available in the table below.

2023 US Poker Open Remaining Schedule

_{Photo courtesy PokerGO}

Fresh off his first World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit ring title, Shaun Deeb is betting that he can get in shape and lose a significant amount of body fat within just 14 months.

The five-time WSOP bracelet winner put $100,000 on himself reaching just 17% body fat by the start of the 2024 WSOP. He’s betting against Bill Perkins, who is giving him 10:1 odds, meaning if Deeb wins, he’ll receive $1 million.

Perkins is no stranger to prop bets, especially ones that encourage a friend to become healthier. He recently narrowly won a similar prop bet with Doug Polk, who wagered $200,000 that he could lose 50% of his body fat within a year. In February, his final DEXA (DXA) scan showed he was less than 2% short of victory and paid up.

Although he lost the bet, and a bunch of money, Polk became healthier throughout the process, so it wasn’t a complete loss. Deeb will now attempt to beat Perkins, a wealthy hedge fund manager whose intentions in many of his prop bets are more about encouraging others to improve mentally and physically than him winning money.

Shaun Deeb Wins First WSOP Circuit Ring in Turning Stone Main Event

Poker Pro Has a Difficult Task Ahead

Deeb must reach 17% body fat by May 30, 2024 or lose, and it won’t be easy. It’s no secret to anyone who has followed his career that he’s struggled with his weight more so than he has with putting together coherent sentences on social media.

According to Deeb’s Wednesday tweet, he weighed in at 306 pounds and stands 5 feet 11 inches tall. This isn’t a weight loss prop bet, however. Only his final body fat percentage will matter when the bet concludes next year.

The 2018 WSOP Player of the Year wrote on Twitter that he’s in the processing of scheduling his first DEXA scan, a bone density test that also measures body fat and muscle mass. That will give him an idea of where he stands in terms of body fat percentage, and then he can begin coming up with a gameplan on how to collect that $1 million payout.

While many poker fans might think Deeb has no shot given his current weight issues, we’re talking about a successful professional gambler here, so don’t count him out. The New Yorker shared a brief video on Twitter of his first session at the gym on Wednesday, and said, “I’m coming for you, Bill.”

Can Shaun Deeb Get Down to 17% Body Fat?

As is always the case whenever a prop bet is placed between two poker players, poker Twitter takes sides and makes predictions. Some are even ready to bet on the outcome.

“Congrats Shaun on deciding to get healthy and maybe make a million dollars @bp22your a good man I see what your doing here,” @provemewrong23 tweeted.

“You can do this Shaun. Keep your mind strong, it’s going to be hard; but you CAN do it,” Ian Shirreffs advised.

There aren’t too many stipulations to the bet it appears. Dillon Schuler (@AD_Schuler) gave some advice to Deeb, to which Perkins responded with some brief info about what is permitted.

The Metaverse Poker Tour‘s final stop of season two is upon us, with thousands of virtual reality poker players donning their VR headsets and heading to PokerStars VR between March 30 and April 2. Those budding poker players will battle it out in the immersive Casino One across 62 events and satellites, including the coveted MPT Main Event.

Season 2 of the Metaverse Poker Tour kicked off on November 24, 2022, and it has been a roaring success, with players from far and wide competing for each stop’s top honors. Now it is time to conclude the second season, and there is plenty to play for.

The final stop takes place over four days of action-packed, intense poker action, with 15 events and satellites taking place each day, except April 1 which features an even busier 17-tournament schedule. There is plenty of swag to be had that your avatar can don, including Metaverse Poker Tour winner’s rings for the champions of each non-bracelet event, in addition to High Rollers reeling in some awesome virtual goodies, including hats, shades, all-in buttons, and special effects for when you enter or exit a tournament.

Each of the 62 tournaments comes with buy-ins from 5,000 of the in-game virtual currency up to a mind-boggling 100,000,000, the latter being reserved for the Ultra High Roller at 4:00 p.m. EST on April 2.

Of course, while all the tournaments will be fiercely fought over, it is the 5,000,000 buy-in MPT Main Event at 3:00 p.m. EST on April 1 that every PokerStars VR player wants to win. Taking down the MPT Main Event not only pads a player’s bankroll with an almost unfathomable number of chips, but earns them crucial points for the Player of the Season Leaderboard, which is wide open right now.

Thursday 30 March Metaverse Poker Tour Season 2 Final Stop Schedule

Saturday 1 April Metaverse Poker Tour Season 2 Final Stop Schedule

Season 2 Stop 1 Champion A.Chan Leads the Player of the Season Race

It is all still to play for in the Player of the Season race, with any of the top 10 and even beyond able to mount a charge for the title. Currently, it is “A.Chan” that leads the way, partly because they won the first Main Event of Season 2, while “Piqel” is hot on their heels; Piqel was the runner-up when A.Chan emerged victoriously.

The likes of “MissMilosh,” “Veegz,” and “Sharmstr” occupy places in the leaderboards top five and could mount a late charge to become Player of the Series.

How To Play in the Final Stop of PokerStars VR Metaverse Poker Tour Season 2

The awesome PokerStars VR ap is available to download via the Oculus Store, Steam, or Viveport from almost anywhere in the world, although you must be at least 18-years-old to enjoy the games.

You will need an Oculus Rift, Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest Pro, or a HTC Vive VR headset to play. Those using a PC need a Windows-based computer. You can find out what the minimum and recommended PC specifications are via the PokerStars VR website or via the relevant store page.

If you tick all of the boxes, download the excellent PokerStars VR app, create your free account, and get involved in the Metaverse Poker Tour Season 2.

Own a VR Headset? Here’s How To Receive PokerStars VR Chips?

Every new PokerStars VR customer receives 10,000 starting chips, in addition to many ongoing promotions designed to reward them. There is a virtual wheel that grants free chips every eight hours, plus you can boost your bankroll by becoming a subscriber. A $9.99 monthly investment grants you 100,000 chips and a whole host of custom goodies, while a $29.99 payment gifts you 300,000 chips and an even bigger selection of swag. Check out the graphic above for all the details.

Do you want to mix with your fellow PokerNews readers over a free-to-play poker tournament where there is $100 added to the prize pool? Of course you do! You can not only play in one $100 freeroll during April but five of them, thanks to the special relationship between PokerNews and PartyPoker.

We are always looking for ways to provide value to the members of our Discord channel, and what better way than to have our friends at PartyPoker host five freerolls, each with $100 prize pools, for you to get your teeth into?

All five PokerNews-exclusive PartyPoker $100 added freerolls are password protected, ensuring only members of our Discord channel can access them. The passwords are revealed in the PartyPoker section of the PokerNews Discord channel in the run-up to each freeroll, so make sure you are part of our crew and that you don’t miss out on up to $500 worth of value during April.

PokerNews-exclusive PartyPoker Freerolls in April 2023

The PokerNews-exclusive $100 PartyPoker freerolls are open to all PartyPoker.com customers that have a real money account. Your account is considered real money at PartyPoker if you have made at least one deposit since opening your account. If you’re already enjoying the cash games and tournaments at PartyPoker, join our free Discord server to stay up-to-date with all the latest poker news, and to discover those all-important freeroll passwords.

Sign Up to PartyPoker via PokerNews

Those who don’t have an account can download PartyPoker via PokerNews‘ links, and receive one of two welcome packages depending on the size of your initial deposit; a $10 deposit is all that is required to trigger a PartyPoker welcome package.

A $10 deposit yields $10 worth of tickets over the course of a week:

• Day 1: 2x $1 SPINS tickets + 1x $5.50 MTT ticket
• Day 2: 4x $0.25 SPINS tickets
• Day 4: 1x $3.30 MTT ticket
• Day 6: 4x $0.25 SPINS tickets

Increase your deposit to at least $20, and the following ticket package is yours:

• Day 1: 1x $5.30 MTT ticket
• Day 2: 2x $1 SPINS ticket
• Day 3: 1x $5.50 MTT ticket
• Day 4: 1x $5.50 MTT ticket
• Day 5: 3x $2.20 MTT tickets
• Day 6: 2x $3 SPINS tickets + 1x$3.30 MTT ticket

Residents of the United Kingdom enjoy a slightly different welcome from PartyPoker. Their deposit of at least £10 comes with a 100% match up to £400 first deposit bonus plus $10 worth of Party Dollars, which can be used in any of the site’s games, every day for six days.

To release the total Deposit Bonus amount, you must accumulate four times the Deposit Bonus amount in loyalty points. Each time the player accumulates 10% of the Total Loyalty Points required, they will receive a 10% increment of the Deposit Bonus

Event #13: $5,300 High Roller of the Merit Poker Carmen Series has drawn to a close after three days of play. Belarusian Aliaksandr Hirs emerged as the last player standing from an initial field of 187 to capture the lion’s share of the $860,200 prize pool after defeating Fahredin Mustafov in a one-sided heads-up affair.

This marks Hirs’ first live tournament victory, with the $204,700 first-place prize adding a significant chunk to his career earnings of $396,757. However, it’s not his largest ever cash, which took place in August 2022 at EPT Barcelona when he finished third in the $2,200 ESPT High Roller for $284,668.

2023 Merit Poker Carmen Series Final Table Results

Winner’s Reaction

Although Hirs is relatively new to the live poker scene, he has been racking up a steady slate of impressive results online, a fact he reflected on after his victory.

“It’s a similar game [online] but also a different atmosphere”.

That different ambience is something Hirs points to as a reason why he is now playing more live events.

“It’s interesting to play with different players because you can see them. Online, you can only see the icon. Now you can see the players and their emotions. It’s really good”.

Bubble Play

A total of 28 players returned for the final day, meaning none had yet made it into the money, as the top 23 would secure the min-cash.

With several short stacks in the field, bubble play did not last long. Ultimately, Alexandru Papazian, Romania’s all-time money leader, was the individual unfortunate enough to burst the bubble after he got in his last few chips in with a dominated hand against Carlos Aoun and failed to improve. Everyone left was guaranteed $8,100, but with such big money up top, nobody would be happy heading home just yet.

Final Table Action

The tournament average stack rarely strayed above the 35 big blind mark and was often significantly below that point. As a result, the final table was set not too long into the day after Sakis Adrianopoulos jammed his ace-four right into Anton Ionel’s ace-jack.

With that, the remaining nine took their seats to grind out what would be a relatively long final table. Lev Kydatov was the short stack entering the final table, and it came as no surprise that he was first out the door when his big slick failed to hold against the ace-jack held by Simeon Spasov.

Next to head to the exit was the congenial Egor Romaniuk. He flopped top-top to only to see a rampant Hirs turn over ladies for the overpair. Not long after, Aoun hit the showers in seventh place, as he was felled in a blind on blind encounter with Ionel.

It took some time for the next player to go, but eventually, Ionel, whose stack had been dwindling away for some time, lost a flip against Mustafov to send him to the rail in sixth place. Just a few hands later, Eduard Barsegian fell to the wayside, after being unable to overcome Hirs’ tens.

Spasov displayed great skill throughout the day and was near or at the top of the leaderboard for a good portion of the final table. But after taking a few bad beats, he got his remaining chips in with jack-nine against the eight-seven of Hirs, who paired up to scoop the pot.

Start of day chip leader Ryan Mandara coasted for much of the day but succumbed to a seemingly unstoppable Hirs after check-jamming his flush draw on the flop and failing to hit.

That elimination set up a heads-up showdown between Hirs and Mustafov. Hirs entered with a sizable chip advantage, one that he never relinquished. Though Mustafov put up a good fight, it was Hirs’ day. After flopping top pair, Hirs bet-called a shove from Mustafov, who had an open-ended straight draw. The draw failed to come in, and that was all she wrote.

Follow the Action on PokerNews

The PokerNews live reporting team will also have boots on the ground bringing you updates from the Main Event.

Make sure not to miss a hand by checking out our live reporting page when the events kick off.

Merit Poker Carmen Series Schedule

Brazilian grinder Ricardo “RFN1986” Nagamoto is on cloud nine today after becoming the PokerStars Sunday Million 17th Anniversary champion. Triumphing in such a prestigious tournament would be reason enough to celebrate, but the fact Nagamoto is now a millionaire, thanks to the $1,000,000 top prize, gives him even more reasons to bask in the glory of victory.

PokerStars slapped a $7.5 million guarantee on the prize pool, and it was easily reached, with the 39,500 entrants creating a $7,900,000 prize pool. The top 5,927 finishers received a slice of the seven-figure pie, a min-cash in this $215 buy-in event weighing in at $373, increasing to at least $70,374 for an appearance at the final table.

A whole host of top-tier players found themselves deep into the special edition Sunday Million but fell short of reaching the nine-handed final table. Chris “ImDaNuts” Oliver, Jans “Graftekkel” Arends, Renan “Internett93o” Bruschi, Sweden’s “mamamamama70,” Andrey “ThePateychuk” Pateychuk, and Stevan “random_chu” Chew being among those that saw healthy return on their investment.

Nick Walsh of Team PokerStars fame was eliminated in 16th place, a result good for $26,112. Walsh got his chips into the middle holding ace-king and lost a crucial coinflip against the pocket nines of the eventual champion, Nagamoto.

Once Hungary’s “DefBeat976” crashed out in tenth place, the final table was set, with each of all but two of those finalists guaranteed to take home at least a six-figure prize.

Sunday Million 17th Anniversary Edition Final Table Results

_{Final table action commences around the 1hr 38 min mark}

Austria’s Manuel “young_diam18” Blaschke was the first finalist heading for the exits. Blaschke came unstuck an hour into the final table’s action when the blinds were 1,750,000/3,500,000/450,000a. Vlad “dariepoker” Darie min-raised under the gun before calling the 58,227,684 three-bet shove from Blaschke on the button. Darie turned over pocket queens, Blaschke king-ten, and an ace-high board resulted in the first elimination of the final table.

Eighth place and the last five-figure score went to Brazil’s “Suferring102.” Blinds had increased to 2,000,000/4,000,000/500,000a when Suferring102 open-shoved for 25,372,418 from middle position with ace-five of clubs. Darie, from the next seat along, flat-called with pocket tens, but then relinquished his hand after “songoks” squeezed all-in from the small blind for 68,010,413 with what turned out to be ace-queen. Darie would have flopped a set had he stayed in the hand, but would have ultimately lost to the full house of songoks that won the pot after pairing their queen on the flop and seeing aces land on the turn and river. Game over for Suferring102.

Paulo “paulinhoo00” Brombin became seventh-place finisher after a clash with Nagamoto did not go to plan. Nagamoto min-raised to 8,000,000 with ace-ten before calling the 27,288,448 shove from Brombin, which he made with pocket kings. An ace on the flop proved enough to bust the dangerous Brombin from the 17th Anniversary edition of the PokerStars Sunday Million.

The final six became five when “atredezini” bowed out. A short-stacked atredezini doubled up after finding pocket aces, but those aces came back to haunt them later on. atredezini min-raised to 12,000,000 under the gun with pocket aces, and “PAX176” called in the big blind with pocket threes. The flop fell seven-four-five with two spades, PAX176 check before calling the 49,546,626 shove from atredezini. A six of spades improved PAX176 to a straight, but atredezini held the ace of spades for a flush redraw. However, the river bricked and atredezini was gone.

Darie’s participation in the tournament ended at the hands of Denmark’s “roflcopter88.” A short while before his exit hand, Darie lost a huge pot with ace-queen to the nine-eight suited of songoks when the latter flopped a straight. Darie exited when roflcopter88 min-raised to 12,000,000 with a pair of tens in the hole, and Darie decided to essentially three-bet shove for 63,745,798 with the inferior pocket nines. The Dane called Darie’s shove, and won the hand courtesy of a king-high board. That hand gave roflcopter88 what looked to be a unassailable lead, as they had a stack of more than 575,000,000 chips with their nearest rival sitting behind an 88,000,000 stack.

The rich became richer in a battle of the blinds immediately after Darie’s demise. Lithuania’s songoks, who won their seat for only $22, open-shoved for 42,627,599 with king-five, and roflcopter88 called with queen-seven. A queen on the river ended songok’s dreams of turning a satellite win into a seven-figure prize. They did, however, take home $372,317.

Team PokerStars’ Nick Walsh Shares His 5 Tips for Tournament Package Winners

Heads-up was set when PAX176 ran out of steam. Nagamoto limped in from the small blind with pocket aces, and instantly called when PAX176 moved all-in for 48,403,322 with the dominated ace-jack. The five community cards failed to come to PAX176’s rescue, and Nagamoto went into the one-on-one battle with roflcopter88 trailing 151,820,034 chips to 638,179,966. Nagamoto came out the better from the early confrontations and continued chipping away at the leader until they claimed the chip lead for himself. Nagamoto turned a set of deuces when roflcopter88 had flopped top pair on a ten-high flop to put himself in the driving seat.

The 17th Anniversary edition of the PokerStars Sunday Million concluded during the 4,000,000/8,000,000/1,000,000a level. roflcopter88 min-raised with ace-nine, Nagamoto three-bet to 56,000,000, and called when roflcopter88 committed their 204,819,864 stack. Nagamoto called with pocket queens, and those ladies held, crowned Nagamoto as the champion, an accolade that came with $1,000,000!

Shaun Deeb has five World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets to his name, and he can now add a WSOP Circuit ring to his list of poker accomplishments. Deeb took down the WSOPC Turning Stone $1,700 Main Event for $275,916 and his first Circuit ring after defeating heads-up opponent Giyeon Han, who took home $170,528.

The WSOPC Turning Stone ran March 16-27 and consisted of 16 No-Limit Hold’em and Pot-Limit Omaha events, including the Main Event that drew 1,070 runners for a prize pool of $1,621,050.

A New York native, Deeb no doubt felt comfortable throughout his path to victory. He entered the final table second in chips and at one point called out his opponent’s exact holding, according to WSOP live updates.

“I would hope I was the best player in the field,” Deeb told WSOP. “My ego says I’m the best, but it was actually tougher competition than I was expecting deep. People put me in some tough spots, I was three-betting a ton at this final table, way more than I thought I should have, but I think some of them caged me a little bit.”

WSOPC Turning Stone $1,700 Main Event Final Table Results

Hometown Hero

The victory at Turning Stone was a sentimental one for Deeb, who got his poker start playing in the very same New York casino.

“I’ve been coming to Turning Stone for 20 years,” Deeb told Turning Stone. “My grandmother and all my uncles and great-uncles used to come here all the time. My grandma was one of the most famous poker players in the $4/$8 Limit Hold’em game here. The staff were always amazing to her, this was always her favorite casino to go to.”

Now a year later, Deeb got that ring by getting through a field that included defending champion Joseph Rice (52nd – $4,479), David Kuder (47th – $4,479), Matthew Wantman (8th – $32,964) and Paul Ross (5th – $71,272).

Deeb is on a serious hot streak after winning the opening $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. event at last month’s PokerGo Tour Mixed Games festival for $208,800 and earlier finishing fourth in a PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $25,000 PLO High Roller for $121,500.

The Circuit victory sets Deeb up nicely for the upcoming WSOP festival in Las Vegas. Deeb won his fifth and most recent bracelet in 2021 in the WSOP Event #53: $25,000 PLO, which also brought him $1.3 million.

Perrone Wins Third Circuit Ring

Deeb was not the only big winner at the WSOPC Turning Stone stop. Earlier in the series, Chicago’s Michael Perrone took down Event #8: $400 No-Limit Hold’em Monster Stack to win his third Circuit ring and $77,407.

Perrone also has a bracelet after taking down Event #10: Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold’em (Freezeout) at the 2021 WSOP for a career-best $152,173.

Other notable winners at WSOPC Turning Stone included Rochester’s Timothy Russ, who took down Event #2: $400 No-Limit Hold’em for his first ring and a career-best $116,971, as well as Jeffrey Kurtz, who won his second ring by taking down Event #5: $600 NLH Black Chip Bounty for $37,653.

A full list of Circuit ring winners at the WSOPC Turning Stone stop is available in the table below.

WSOPC Turning Stone Ring Winners

Check out Shaun Deeb’s recent in-depth interview with PokerNews

_{Photo courtesy WSOP}

Having previously announced a partnership with the One Drop Foundation, the World Poker Tour (WPT) has unveiled two charity tournaments set to take place at this year’s Wynn Summer Classic.

See the 2023 Wynn Summer Classic schedule here!

Last year, ex-pro-gamer Jinho Hong took down the Wynn Summer Classic Championship, and many will be looking to follow in his footsteps.

Today’s announcement is no surprise, with the WPT having a long history of partnering with non-profit organizations, including the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the Tiger Woods Foundation

However, today’s announcement adds extra excitement to the Wynn festival, with WPT CEO Adam Pliska praising the speed it took to add the events to the festival’s schedule.

“We are proud to once again pair up with Wynn Las Vegas as the host venue for our maiden WPT EveryOne for One Drop event, and the return of Alpha8, during the Wynn Summer Classic,” said Pliska. “It is remarkable how quickly these events came together, but not surprising given One Drop’s worthy charitable cause of ensuring sustainable access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene to communities around the world.”

“We are excited to put on our first-ever One Drop Foundation events in partnership with WPT and the WPT Foundation,” said One Drop Foundation Chief Marketing and Events Officer Alexandre Meunier. “It is a pleasure to be hosted at the beautiful Wynn Las Vegas. We thank them for their hospitality and support in advancing our global mission.”

World Poker Tour, One Drop Foundation Partner for Charity Poker Initiatives

The One Drop Foundation

The One Drop Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 2007 by Guy Laliberté, the co-founder of Cirque du Soleil. The organization is dedicated to providing sustainable access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene education for communities around the world.

One Drop aims to address the global water crisis, which affects over 840 million people worldwide who do not have access to safe drinking water. The organization works with local communities to implement water access solutions, such as digging wells and constructing water systems, as well as providing education and training on water management and sanitation practices.

WPT EveryOne for One Drop

The first charity event announced is the WPT EveryOne for One Drop which comes with a buy-in of $10,500 and a guarantee of $10 million.

There will be three Day 1s, starting on July 9, 2023, and will conclude with a live-streamed final table on July 14.

WPT EveryOne for One Drop Schedule

_{*denotes live-streamed coverage}

WPT Alpha8 for One Drop

The second charity event announced is the return of a WPT classic with the WPT Alpha8 for One Drop. This three-day $111,000 High Roller tournament is the first Alpha8 tournament to take place since December 2015. It starts on July 14, with live-streamed coverage on both Day 2 and for the final table on July 16.

WPT Alpha8 for One Drop Schedule

_{*denotes live-streamed coverage}

Alpha8 History

The World Poker Tour first announced Alpha8 in July 2013, unveiling a global series of super high-roller poker tournaments that were to be broadcast on FOX Sports 1.

The first season saw four events, two of which were won sensationally won by Philipp Gruissem (pictured), who picked up titles in London and St. Kitts for over $2.4 million in combined winnings.

The first two seasons of Alpha8 were chockful of early-2010 high-roller tournament crushers, such as Dan Colman, Jason Mercier and Noah Schwartz, who won the last event of Season II in January 2015.

The final Alpha8 event, until now, came in December 2015 with a stop at the Five Diamond World Poker Classic. The last Alpha8 champion crowned? Fedor Holz, in what was the first seven-figure score of his career and perhaps precipitating his 2016 “Sun Run”

Fedor Holz Wins WPT Alpha8 Las Vegas for $1,589,219; Daniel Negreanu Takes Third

Former WPT Alpha8 Champions

With a new Alpha8 tournament announced, who will add themselves to the list of winners on the World Poker Tour’s most high-stakes tournament series?

Did You Know the World Poker Tour is Online?

The launch of WPT Global means that poker players around the world now have the chance to win their way to WPT events, win prizes and enjoy exciting games such as Poker Flips. As one of the world’s largest cash game poker networks, WPT Global is available in over 50 countries and territories around the world.

WPT Global offers a large deposit match bonus: 100% on deposits up to $1,200 (using any payment method). New players depositing a minimum of $20 automatically receive this match bonus which is unlocked in $5 increments (credited straight to the cashier) for every $20 of rake contribution.

Both tournaments and cash games count towards bonus unlocking; new players have 90 days from the date of the first deposit to unlock and claim their full bonus amount.

European Executive Editor

Will Shillibier is based in the United Kingdom. He started working for PokerNews as a freelance live reporter in 2015 and joined the full-time staff in 2019.

He graduated from the University of Kent in 2017 with a B.A. in German. He also holds an NCTJ Diploma in Sports Journalism.

Dusk Till Dawn poker club in Nottingham, United Kingdom, is set to host the latest edition of the exciting WPT 500 event. May 26-29 are the dates you need to keep free in your diaries if you plan on becoming a WPT500 UK champion and reeling in the largest slice of a prize pool guaranteed to weigh in at £500,000.

The £560 buy-in £500,000 guaranteed WPT500 UK features five Day 1s running from May 26-28, including a turbo-structured Day 1E. Day 2 commences on May 28, with the worthy champion crowned on May 29.

Dusk Till Dawn is hosting five live satellites, each costing £65, with a total of 60x £560 seats guaranteed. They take place before the festival on May 20, 21, 24, and 25, and between Day 1B and 1C on May 26.

Dusk Till Dawn Excited to Host WPT500 UK

Live Poker Director at Dusk Till Dawn, Simon Trumper, is delighted to see the Nottingham venue, regarded as the home of British poker, host the WPT500 UK again after a seven-year hiatus.

We’re very excited to be hosting the WPT500 UK at the club. It is an event we expect to highly resonate with our customers, and we hope the timing of the event over a UK bank holiday gives players an even better opportunity to take part.”

Previous WPT500 Results

Dusk Till Dawn hosted the inaugural WPT500 UK in November 2014, and saw 2,133 players take to the tables. Eleanor Gudger emerged triumphantly from that event, turning her £500 investment into £140,000. Gudger went on to become a sponsored pro of the now-defunct online poker site PKR.

WPT500 UK returned the following year and saw Welshman Richard Harris walk away with the title, the trophy, and £150,000 in prize money after outlasting 1,615 opponents. The last time Dusk Till Dawn played host to the WPT500 UK was in October 2016, when Benjamin Winsor helped himself to the £182,700 top prize, leaving 1,834 opponents in his wake.

The 2023 WPT500 UK is the first such tournament in a live setting since December 2019 thanks, in part, to the COVID-19 pandemic. The last three editions have all taken place online at PartyPoker, making Pedro Cavalieri of Brazil, champion in August 2021, the reigning champion.

There was a WPT500 held online in June 2021 that David Afework won, but he was subsequently disqualified for a breach of the PartyPoker terms and conditions.

Did You Know the World Poker Tour is Online?

The launch of WPT Global means that poker players around the world now have the chance to win their way to WPT events, win prizes and enjoy exciting games such as Poker Flips. As one of the world’s largest cash game poker networks, WPT Global is available in over 50 countries and territories around the world.

WPT Global offers a large deposit match bonus: 100% on deposits up to $1,200 (using any payment method). New players depositing a minimum of $20 automatically receive this match bonus which is unlocked in $5 increments (credited straight to the cashier) for every $20 of rake contribution.

Both tournaments and cash games count towards bonus unlocking; new players have 90 days from the date of first deposit to unlock and claim their full bonus amount.

Lin Chen became the latest in a long line of Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) Main Event champions when he triumphed in the 2023 GUKPT Blackpool Main Event. A popular stop on the GUKPT calendar, Chen outlasted 305 opponents on his way to the victory, which came sooner than anticipated with the intervention of a three-way chop that concluded play.

2023 GUKPT Blackpool Main Event Final Table Results

*reflects a three-handed deal

Among those who made it into the money place but fell short of making a final table appearance included Jamie O’Connor, Richard Ashby, Renee Xie, Tim Slater, the legendary Ali Mallu, Brandon Sheils, and final table bubble boy Ben Jackson. With Jackson out of the way in tenth, the nine-handed final table commenced.

Michael Howard‘s wait for a GUKPT Main Event title continues after Gregory King eliminated him in ninth place. Howard finished second in the 2014 GUKPT Leeds Main Event, the closest he has come to a victory on the long-running tour. He fell in ninth in Blackpool when he ran his pocket jacks into the pocket queens of King.

Blackpool Specialist Bows Out

Eighth place went to Will McMurray, who finished second in this very tournament in 2010 and fifth in 2019. He came unstuck when he lost a huge coinflip with pocket tens versus the ace-queen of Peter Charalambous. There is no doubt McMurray will be back at the tables for the ninth leg of the current season, as it is in the seaside town of Blackpool.

The last four-figure score went to Min Ji, who has racked up some impressive results over the past six months. Ji three-bet shoved for 18 big blinds with ace-ten over the top of an opening raise from King, and King called with the dominating ace-jack. A jack on the flop proved more than enough to send Ji to the showers.

Worthington-Leese Continues Rich Vein of Form

Sixth place went to Leo Worthington-Leese, who was fresh off the back of a tenth-place finish in the recent £1 million guaranteed GUKPT UK Open event. Last year, Worthington-Leese finished third in the GUKPT Blackpool High Roller, and he followed that result up with another final table in Lancashire. Worthington-Leese made a play for his 17 big blind stack with queen-jack, and Charalambous looked him up with a pair of queens in the hole. The ladies held, and Worthington-Leese bowed out.

Iman Sarkeshik banked the £15,140 fifth-place prize, which happens to be a career-best for the player new to the live tournament scene. Steve Warburton opened the preflop betting before snap-calling Sarkeshik’s 20 big blind shove. Sarkeshik turned over ace-ten, Warburton pocket kings, and the six-high board resulted in Sarkeshik heading to the cashier’s desk.

Warburton’s Luck Runs Out

With almost $2.4 million in live earnings, thanks partly to finishing second to John Juanda in the 2015 European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona Main Event, Warburton had far more winnings than anyone else at the final table. Earlier on Day 2, he was the beneficiary of a traditional Mallu blow-up when Mallu three-bet shoved for 88 big blinds with ten-five offsuit after Warburton had opened with pocket aces. Warburton’s stack had dwindled to eight big blinds before his final hand. He open-shoved with king-three, and Chen called with jack-ten. Warburton held the best hand preflop, but a ten on the flop was enough to send “Warbs” home in fourth.

Warburton’s seat had not even gone cold when the remaining three players paused the tournament clock and discussed a deal. The trio agreed on an ICM-based deal and to end the tournament there and then. That deal meant Charalambous finished third for £53,915, King was the runner-up for £57,855, and Chen became the GUKPT Blackpool champion, an accolade accompanied by £65,310.

Next Up on GUKPT Season 17

There is no GUKPT stop during April, with the tour returning from May 3-15 in Edinburgh. Last year’s GUKPT Edinburgh Main Event saw 390 players buy in for £750, and end with Gary Armstrong and Cameron Williamson striking a deal when heads-up. Armstrong clinched the title and £57,770, with Williamson walking away with £53,000.

_{Images courtesy of the Grosvenor Poker Facebook page}