It's almost time for WCOOP! The 2016 World Championship of Online Poker will kick off on Sunday September 4th on PokerStars. This year's WCOOP has been expanded to include 82 events with 12 new events plus a four-day Marathon Event and a $102,000 buy-in Super High-Roller. The Main Event will have a $10 million guarantee with first place winning at least $1.5 million. Plus, PokerStars created an additional accompanying series called Mini-WCOOP. Yeah, there will be baller events for the sharks and smaller buy-in events for beginners and players with modest bankrolls.
The 2016 WCOOP is less than a month away. The World Championship of Online Poker will kick off on Sunday September 4th and run for over three weeks with 80+ events on their schedule. A total of 12 additional events have been added this year, along with some new changes. There's also a four-day Marathon Event and a special $102,000 buy-in Super High Roller Event. The actual guarantees for all WCOOP events have not been posted yet, but the winner of the WCOOP Main Event Championship will get at least $1.5 million and the Main Event itself will have a $10 million guarantee. For ful details, check out the post on PokerStars Blog.
Plus, the folks at PokerStars decided to finally ditch Second Chance tournaments because most of their events have re-entry formats and almost all of them have extended registration periods. In addition, PokerStars created Mini-WCOOP, which is a special series to run alongside the 2016 WCOOP. The schedule will be similar to WCOOP except the buy-ins for the Mini-WCOOP are 1% or 1/100 of the WCOOP buy-ins (e.g. $1.09 vs. $109).
Other new events on the 2016 WCOOP docket include $320 Razz, a 3-Max PLO event, and 3-Max Progressive Knockout Zoom NLHE (which was a hugely popular event from the 2016 SCOOP). They also added a $21,000 PLO High Roller along with the $102K SHR. This year marks the return of events that were missing last year including $320 FL Omaha 8 and $320 FL Stud 8.
Players will also get to nominate and vote on specific formats for a pair of Players' Choice events on September 17 a.k.a Players' Choice Saturday. Stay tuned for that info.
According to Bryan Slick, Senior Manager of Online Championships for PokerStars, whomever tops the WCOOP Leaderboard is going to get some swanky stuff. Over at PokerStars Blog, Slick posted... "This year's WCOOP Leaderboard is going to give away over $70,000 in cash prizes, TCOOP Main Event tickets, and one Ultimate Bahamas Experience. That last Bahamian poker holiday-based prize will be won by the ultimate WCOOP Leaderboard Champion, along with the Champion's Trophy, and will include a $5,000+ Main Event entry in Nassau, return Business Class flights for two people, a luxury suite stay for two people in a suite at the Cove Tower on the Atlantis resort, limo pick-up, VIP treatment throughout, a massive room credit, and many extras throughout the winner's stay."
On the flip side, the suits at Amaya decided to eliminate bracelets as prizes. Wait, what? I could see ditching bracelets for TCOOP, but not for the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP OF ONLINE POKER! Another sketchy move by corporate bean counters.
Here's how Bryan Slick explained the decision to eliminate bracelets... "Also in 2016, we have decided to stop awarding WCOOP bracelets. As part of an extensive review, we have found that although some players have been highly appreciative and valued the bracelets as the prestigious trophies we intended them to be from the start, the vast majority of players have made it clear that going after a bracelet is not something which motivates them to play the series. Given the fact that the spending on the bracelets represents a significant cost which is devoted to a very small percentage of the WCOOP population each year, the decision to discontinue them was clearer than it might have seemed initially. We will of course continue to send all WCOOP final table participants and winners a token of recognition of their achievement, in addition to the massive prize awaiting each WCOOP Champion at the top of each prize table."
So here's the 2016 WCOOP skinny that PokerStars Blog posted....
2016 World Championship of Online Poker Schedule (All Times ET)
Sunday, September 4th
- 08:00 - Event 01: $109 NL Hold'em [Sunday Kickoff SE, Final Day 1]
- 11:00 - Event 02: $215 NL Hold'em [6-Max, Sunday Warm-Up SE], Max Re-Entries: 3
- 12:30 - Event 03: $1,050 NL Hold'em [Marathon Event - Four-Day Event], Max Re-Entries: 5
- 14:00 - Event 04: $215 NL Hold'em [Sunday Million SE], Max Re-Entries: 2
- 17:00 - Event 05: $320 NL Omaha Hi/Lo [6-Max]
Monday, September 5th
- 10:00 - Event 06: $215 NL Hold'em [6-Max, Rebuys]
- 13:00 - Event 07: $700 NL Hold'em [8-Max, Progressive Knockout (50%)]
- 16:00 - Event 08: $700 PL Omaha [3-Max, Progressive Knockout (25%), Zoom]
Tuesday, September 6th
- 10:00 - Event 09: $1,050 NL Single Draw 2-7 Championship, Max Re-Entries: 1
- 13:00 - Event 10: $1,050 NL Hold'em [Super Tuesday SE]
- 16:00 - Event 11: $320 FL Omaha Hi/Lo [8-Max]
Wednesday, September 7th
- 10:00 - Event 12: $1,050 NL 5-Card Draw Championship, Max Re-Entries: 1
- 13:00 - Event 13: $215 NL Hold'em [Progressive Knockout (50%)]
- 16:00 - Event 14: $215 NL Hold'em [Big Antes], Max Re-Entries: 3
Thursday, September 8th
- 10:00 - Event 15: $215 PL Omaha [1R1A]
- 13:00 - Event 16: $1,050 NL Hold'em [Progressive Knockout (50%), Thursday Thrill SE]
- 16:00 - Event 17: $320 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo
Friday, September 9th
- 10:00 - Event 18: $320 NL Hold'em [Heads-Up]
- 13:00 - Event 19: $1,050 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo Championship, Max Re-Entries: 1
- 16:00 - Event 20: NL Hold'em [3-Max, Progressive Knockout (25%), Zoom]
Saturday, September 10th
- 04:00 - Event 21: $215 NL Hold'em, Max Re-Entries: 3
- 07:00 - Event 22: $215 PL 5-Card Omaha Hi/Lo [6-Max], Max Re-Entries: 3
- 10:00 - Event 23: $10,300 NL Hold'em [Heads-Up, High-Roller, No Late Registration]
- 13:00 - Event 24: $530 NL Hold'em [Progressive Knockout (25%)]
- 16:00 - Event 25: $1,050 NL Omaha Hi/Lo Championship [6-Max], Max Re-Entries: 1
Sunday, September 11th
- 08:00 - Event 26: $215 PL Omaha [6-Max, Progressive Knockout (25%)]
- 11:00 - Event 27: $215 NL Hold'em [Deep Payouts, Sunday Warm-Up SE], Max Re-Entries: 2
- 12:30 - Event 28: $102,000 NL Hold'em [8-Max, Super High-Roller], Max Re-Entries: 1
- 14:00 - Event 29: $700 NL Hold'em [Sunday Million SE]
- 17:00 - Event 30: $109 NL Hold'em [6-Max, Sunday Cooldown SE]
Monday, September 12th
- 10:00 - Event 31: $215 NL Hold'em [Rebuys]
- 13:00 - Event 32: $320 PL Omaha Hi/Lo [8-Max]
- 16:00 - Event 33: $320 NL Hold'em [6-Max], Max Re-Entries: 3
Tuesday, September 13th
- 10:00 - Event 34: $215 PL Omaha [6-Max, Progressive Knockout (50%)]
- 13:00 - Event 35: $1,575 NL Hold'em [Super Tuesday SE]
- 16:00 - Event 36: $1,050 PL Omaha Hi/Lo Championship [8-Max]
Wednesday, September 14th
- 10:00 - Event 37: $215 NL Hold'em [2R1A]
- 13:00 - Event 38: $320 NL Hold'em [6-Max, Shootout, No Late Registration]
- 16:00 - Event 39: $1,050 FL Omaha Hi/Lo Championship [8-Max], Max Re-Entries: 1
Thursday, September 15th
- 10:00 - Event 40: $320 NL Hold'em [8-Max]
- 13:00 - Event 41: $1,575 NL Hold'em [Progressive Knockout (50%), Thursday Thrill SE]
- 16:00 - Event 42: $320 Eight-Game
Friday, September 16th
- 10:00 - Event 43: $1,050 Triple Draw 2-7 Championship, Max Re-Entries: 1
- 13:00 - Event 44: $320 NL Hold'em [Ante Up, Progressive Knockout (33%)]
- 16:00 - Event 45: $320 FL Hold'em [6-Max]
Saturday, September 17th
- 04:00 - Event 46: $320 NL Hold'em, Max Re-Entries: 3
- 07:00 - Event 47: $1,050 Badugi Championship, Max Re-Entries: 1
- 10:00 - Event 48: $215 Players' Choice Event #1 [NL Hold'em]
- 13:00 - Event 49: $700 NL Hold'em [Mix-Max, Part 1, 8-Max]
- 16:00 - Event 50: $215 Players' Choice Event #2 [non-NL Hold'em]
Sunday, September 18th
- 08:00 - Event 51: $1,050 NL Hold'em [6-Max, Ultra-Deep]
- 11:00 - Event 52: $215 NL Hold'em [Sunday Warm-Up SE], Max Re-Entries: 2
- 12:30 - Event 53: $10,300 NL Hold'em [8-Max, High-Roller], Max Re-Entries: 1
- 14:00 - Event 54: $2,100 NL Hold'em [Sunday Million SE]
- 17:00 - Event 55: $530 NL Hold'em, Max Re-Entries: 3
Monday, September 19th
- 10:00 - Event 56: $215 NL Hold'em [Progressive Knockout (25%)]
- 13:00 - Event 57: $1,050 FL Hold'em Championship [6-Max], Max Re-Entries: 1
- 16:00 - Event 58: $320 Razz
Tuesday, September 20th
- 10:00 - Event 59: $320 NL Hold'em [Win the Button], Max Re-Entries: 3
- 13:00 - Event 60: $2,100 NL Hold'em [Super Tuesday SE]
- 16:00 - Event 61: $1,050 Razz Championship, Max Re-Entries: 1
Wednesday, September 21st
- 10:00 - Event 62: $530 NL Hold'em [Rebuys]
- 13:00 - Event 63: $2,100 PL Omaha Championship [6-Max], Max Re-Entries: 1
- 16:00 - Event 64: $320 HORSE
Thursday, September 22nd
- 10:00 - Event 65: $700 NL Hold'em [Ultra-Deep], Max Re-Entries: 3
- 13:00 - Event 66: $2,100 NL Hold'em [Progressive Knockout (50%), Thursday Thrill SE]
- 16:00 - Event 67: $1,050 7-Card Stud Championship, Max Re-Entries: 1
Friday, September 23rd
- 07:00 - Event 68: $320 PL Omaha [6-Max, Rebuys]
- 10:00 - Event 69: $700 NL Hold'em [6-Max, 5-Stack]
- 13:00 - Event 70: $21,000 PL Omaha [6-Max, High-Roller], Max Re-Entries: 1
- 16:00 - Event 71: $2,100 HORSE Championship, Max Re-Entries: 1
Saturday, September 24th
- 07:00 - Event 72: $109 NL Hold'em [Final Day 1]
- 10:00 - Event 73: $700 PL Omaha [Heads-Up]
- 13:00 - Event 74: $10,300 Eight-Game Championship, Max Re-Entries: 1
- 16:00 - Event 75: $700 NL Hold'em [6-Max, Progressive Knockout (50%)]
Sunday, September 25th - Main Event Sunday
- 08:00 - Event 76: $320 PL Omaha [Mix-Max, Part 1, 9-Max]
- 11:00 - Event 77: $215 NL Hold'em [8-Max, Sunday Warm-Up SE], Max Re-Entries: 3
- 14:00 - Event 78: $5,000 NL Hold'em Main Event - $1.5M Gtd to Champion!, Max Re-Entries: 1
- 17:00 - Event 79: $320 NL Hold'em, Max Re-Entries: 3
Monday, September 26th
- 10:00 - Event 80: $700 NL Hold'em [1R1A]
- 13:00 - Event 81: $320 PL 5-Card Omaha [6-Max], Max Re-Entries: 3
- 16:00 - Event 82: $1,050 NL Hold'em [WCOOP Wrap-Up], Max Re-Entries: 1
