The last time I sent out a “Save the Date,” it was for my son’s Bar Mitzvah. I always thought those were just for weddings, but when our kids’ friends started having their B’nai Mitzvahs a few years ago and we received “Save the Dates” in the mail, I realized it was a thing. Imagine my surprise, then, when I received an unexpected “Save the Date” e-mail yesterday, but this time, it wasn’t for a wedding or a welcome-to-Jewish-adulthood ceremony, but rather the poker celebration that is the 2023 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP).
PokerStars does not have the entire schedule ready yet, but it does know that the 2023 WCOOP will run September 10 to October 4.
This will be the 22nd edition of what is probably the most prestigious online tournament series and certainly the longest running. To think: it started BEFORE the poker boom. Since 2002, the WCOOP has drawn more than 7.8 million entries and distributed over $1.2 billion in prize pools.
Last year’s WCOOP was composed of 367 tournaments, attracted 1,184,919 entries, and generated $108,569,090 in total prize pools. Brazilians led the way, winning 70 of the events, followed by the UK with 42, Austria with 28, and Sweden with 21.
The 2023 WCOOP will be the first in which players can win tickets to tournaments with PokerStars’ new Power Path. Introduced last week, Power Path is essentially another steps system to give players the chance to work their way from low price points to higher-value tournament entries.
There are Bronze, Silver, and Gold Power Passes, each of which requires four steps to clear. Those who get through the Bronze Power Pass win an entry into a $109 buy-in online event. Silver awards $2,500 worth of buy-ins to regional live events or online tournaments, and Gold gives $10,300 entries into PokerStars’ biggest online tourneys or a European Poker Tour event.
Players can also buy-in directly to Steps 2 or 3.
PokerStars will begin awarding WCOOP Passes via the Power Pass in the next few weeks. The Power Path Gold Pass will award entries into the $10,300 WCOOP Main Event.
