While it may seem that the “November Nine” were determined just yesterday, the poker world is only one week away from the start of the 2014 World Series of Poker Asia/Pacific (WSOP-APAC), which begins on October 2. The Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia, will once again play host to the ten-bracelet tournament schedule and, with the changes made by WSOP officials, will be the only stop outside of the United States for the WSOP this year.
After the completion of the WSOP-Europe in 2013, “the powers that be” decided to alternate their two international trips – the WSOP-E and the WSOP-APAC (which were both contested in 2013) – instead of holding both in the same year. Those officials decided that they would move the WSOP-APAC (the inaugural contest took place in April 2013) to the October time slot that had been the traditional home to the WSOP-E in 2014 and bring back the WSOP-E in 2015. The two tournament stops would then alternate playing in October in the years that follow.
In addition to the change in dates for the tournaments, there was also an expansion of the bracelet offerings. In 2013, the WSOP-APAC awarded five bracelets that went to Jim Collopy, Aaron Lim, Bryan Piccioli, Phil Ivey and eventual Championship Event winner Daniel Negreanu. For 2014, the offerings at the WSOP-APAC have been doubled, giving players ten more chances to take down one of the 2014 WSOP bracelets.
The 2014 WSOP-APAC will kick off on October 2 with a tournament that proved to be attractive to the players. The $1000 (Australian) No Limit Hold’em “Accumulator” tournament will feature three Day Ones and players can take part in any or all three. What makes the tournament an “Accumulator” tournament is that, instead of only moving forward with the largest stack of your three starting days, any chips that are “bagged and tagged” by a player at the end of the three Day Ones will be added into one stack for the start of Day 2.
While Texas Hold’em will be a huge part of the schedule, WSOP officials and the Crown Casino are varying the schedule a bit. A $1500 Pot Limit Omaha tournament will be held on October 5; a $5000 Pot Limit Omaha tournament kicks off action on October 7; a $1500 “Dealer’s Choice” Eight Game event takes place on October 8 and a $5000 Eight Game Mixed battle will rage on October 10. The $10,000 Championship Event will begin on October 12, with the champion crowned on October 18, and a $25,000 “High Roller” tournament will be conducted beginning on October 15.
With the lack of two international WSOP events in 2014 and the expanded schedule, officials are definitely looking to generate more player turnout. Travel to the Australian continent isn’t inexpensive and, for what was only a five-event schedule in 2013, some players may not have taken the journey. For those that were there, the tournament numbers did leave a bit to be desired.
The “Accumulator” event cracked the 1000 entry mark in 2013 (ending up with 1085 entries), but the other four events on the schedule presented disappointing player numbers. A $1500 PLO tournament pulled in 172 players and a $5000 Six Handed NLHE event drew a field of 167, but the bigger problem was with the $2000 Mixed Event (only 81 participants). Even the Championship Event, normally something that players flock to, only brought in 405 players.
Two storylines bear watching during the run of the WSOP-APAC. The WSOP Player of the Year race looks to be a two-way battle between Brandon Shack-Harris (752 points) and George Danzer (745.2), who both had outstanding runs this summer in Las Vegas. Any of the other men in the Top Ten – John Hennigan, Daniel Negreanu, Dan Colman, Justin Bonomo, Richard Ashby, Brock Parker, Calvin Anderson or Kory Kilpatrick – would probably have to win another bracelet (or two) at the WSOP-APAC to pull into contention.
The second storyline is in just how many of the 2014 WSOP Championship Event “November Nine” will take the trip Down Under for the festivities. The international players – Jorryt van Hoof, Felix Stephenen, Andoni Larrabe, Martin Jacobson and Bruno Politano – may not want to take on the financial/travel stress of playing in the tournament and prefer to stay at home to prepare for their November showdown. Although travel is easier from the United States, Mark Newhouse, Dan Sindelar, William Pappaconstantinou and Will Tonking may not make the trip either.
Whether the “November Nine” show up or not, there is going to be some great action on the Crown Casino tables beginning next week and many can’t wait until this latest chapter in WSOP history gets written.
