PokerStars has unveiled the schedule for the 2022 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP), arguably the most prestigious online poker series on the calendar. Running September 4-28, WCOOP consists of 322 tournaments and $85 million in guaranteed prize pools.
This is the 21st edition of the series, but this year, there is a little bit of a difference. For the first time, PokerStars is introducing a dozen “World Championship” events, with the winner of each being dubbed the World Champion of that particular discipline. Game types include Badugi, HORSE, Pot-Limit Omaha, 8-Game Mix, as well as No-Limit Hold’em variants like Progressive Knockout, 6-Max, and Heads-Up.
As always, events have three different price points: Low, Medium, and High. As such, there are six tournaments that will be considered Main Events, three each in No-Limit Hold’em and Pot-Limit Omaha, as follows:
WCOOP 92-L: $109 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event, $2.5 million guaranteed
WCOOP 92-M: $1,050 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event, $4 million guaranteed
WCOOP 92-H: $10,300 World Championship of No-Limit Hold’em, $6 million guaranteed
WCOOP 94-L: $109 Pot-Limit Omaha Main Event, $250,000 guaranteed
WCOOP 94-M: $1,050 Pot-Limit Omaha Main Event, $600,000 guaranteed
WCOOP 94-H: $10,300 World Championship of Pot-Limit Omaha, $1 million guaranteed
As you can see, two of the Main Events are considered World Championships. Note the buy-in for the “high” No-Limit Hold’em Main Event, as well, as it has doubled to $10,300 this year.
And just like the PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP), WCOOP is launching the first Women’s Event in its history. The three buy-in tiers have $38,000 in combined guarantees and will take place on September 25. There is also a World Championship Women’s Event on September 18 with a $530 buy-in and a $65,000 guaranteed prize pool.
Every winner of a WCOOP event will receive a trophy; winners of the Main Events and leaderboards will receive bigger versions of the hardware. World Champions will also receive special trophies for their accomplishments.
As is always the case with PokerStars, there are several ways to gain entry into WCOOP events for less than the buy-in. Fast Track satellites are running every day until September 25 with buy-ins as low as 50 cents. And no surprise, special Spin & Go’s are available with WCOOP prizes.
WCOOP winners from last year can participate in the Champions Freeroll for a shot at a $10,300 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event seat. All told, $50,000 in WCOOP will be awarded in the freeroll, held on September 5.