Zero buy-in
World College Poker has announced that it has teamed up with PokerStars.net for the 2021 World College Poker Championship Main Event. PokerStars.net – the free-to-play version of PokerStars – will serve has sponsor and host.
To compete, players must be students enrolled in university, college, or vocational school and provide a student ID. The minimum age to participate is 18, though eligibility is not limited just to those in the traditional age range; the maximum age goes up to 29.
Glittering prizes!
As the World College Poker Championship is on PokerStars.net, there is no cost to play. The complete slate of prizes has yet to be announced, but what has been revealed so far includes a PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) package valued at €8,000, custom gaming chairs for the six members of the final table, and a PokerStars trophy for the winner.
Additionally, sponsors are chipping in prizes. Solve For Why Academy, Matt Berkey’s poker training site, is giving the runner-up round-trip airfare to Las Vegas, a three-day stay, and an academy seat. The top three finishers will receive vacation packages from PLO Quick Pro, a Pot-Limit Omaha training site. Jonathan Little and Alex Fitzgerald will give free poker lessons and Patrik Antonius will take on the tournament’s winner in a heads-up match on PokerStars.net.
Six regions, multiple days
The tournament is open to virtually everyone who can play on PokerStars.net except for those located in Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Jersey, Portugal, Italy, and Spain because of local restrictions.
Every eligible player who has registered (yes, be sure to register on World College Poker’s website) will be placed into one of six regions. Neither PokerStars nor World College Poker has explained what those regions are, but I’m sure you can guess what approximate region you might be in based on where you live.
The first round of each region’s tournament – six in all – will play down to 50 players on July 24. A week later, on July 31, the 300 qualifiers will unite to form one, single player pool in Round Two, which will be whittled down to just 45 competitors.
Those 45 players will carry their chip stacks over to Round Three on August 7. It is then that the six-handed final table will be determined. Every player who plays on August 7 will receive a PokerStars swag bag.
The final table details are up in the air at the moment. The date has not been set and it has not been determined whether the last day will be live or online. It sounds like PokerStars and World College Poker may be playing it safe and waiting to see how the COVID-19 pandemic goes, as it says things may change “depending on the most up to date information and situation analysis.”
