Montreal’s Eliot Hudon was the fourth player from Canada to bag a WPT® title in the recent World Championship from Wynn Las Vegas after a $4.1 million Main Event win.

The epic WPT® World Championship is now complete and there is no other way to describe the inaugural series except as a roaring success. The $15 million Main Event guarantee, which looked optimistic early-on, turned out to be a gross under-estimate of the interest in the big game.

In the end, almost 3,000 entries paid their $10,400 buy-in fee for the game which meant the final prize pool was just shy of doubling the initial promise. In the end, the game collected $29,008,000 in total prizes with 371 players getting at least some share of that massive pool.

The big winner at the end of the day was Canadian Eliot Hudon who pocketed more than $4 million USD in the biggest score of his career by a mile. Before this past Championship, his biggest live score came from the 2021 World Series of Poker (WSOP) when he managed a top 100 finish in the Main Event for $113,800.

The win marked the second of his career, with the first coming just weeks ago. In Nov of this year, he bagged the top spot in the Playground Power Week Main Event at Playground Poker in Kahnawake on the outskirts of Hudon’s hometown of Montreal. That win was just shy of $60k USD though, so his $4.1 million score this week blew that out of the water.

Four Canadians Score Titles

In addition to Hudon, three other Canadians bagged a trophy in this series including Lina Niu who picked up her second big result in December with a win in the Ladies event.

Niu wasn’t the only player from north of the 49^th parallel to pick up some Wynn-shaped hardware though. Constantinos Psallidas won a small one in the $600 NLH $50K GTD, which saw 310 runners and a guarantee-tripling prize pool of $161,200, while Sergio Grosso bagged the second biggest Canadian prize with $130,806 for winning the $1100 Seniors NLH $200K GTD. In another stellar showing, that game also more than tripled its guarantee with 708 entries for a prize pool of $690,300.

While most of the winners in the series came from the US, Canada’s four titles looks to be in second-place for national wins, which is a pretty strong achievement for a country of just 37 million people. That said, Canada’s proximity to the US, and the burning desire of Canadians to escape the winter weather to the fun and sun of Sin City likely contributed to a bloated field from north of the border.

Strong Results Across the Board

The series as a whole was can only be called a massive success. The Main Event clearly shone at the top of the tree with almost $30 million in total prizes, but most events not only beat their guarantees, but crushed them handily.

One of the earliest games, a $600 No-Limit Hold’em with $500k guaranteed set the standard. The game was one entry shy of 3,000 for $1,559,480 in total prizes, more than triple the original guarantee. Sean Banahan from Twin Falls, ID doubled his career earnings with a win in that one worth more than $135k.

Even mixed games saw massive interest in the series. On Dec 5, a $600 HORSE event ran with 261 entries. Going into the game, the guarantee was $50k, but the classic five-game mix ended up nearly tripling that with $134,415, a very respectable result for a HORSE ride.

Another big game that scored better than triple its guarantee was the multi-day $600 NLH $200K GTD. That game ran from Dec 5 to 7 with 1,243 entries and a total prize pool of $646,360. Gerard Morrell from Castle Rock, CO pocketed his second-biggest score with just over $100k for the win.

The best increase on guarantee came in the $3000 NLH $500K GTD. That game saw an astonishing 907 entries to boost the prize pool to nearly five times the guarantee with $2,494,250. Peter Cross from Los Angeles, CA took $429,406 for his first career win and biggest lifetime score.

It had never been done before, and going into the WPT® World Championship there were some questions about how the series would turn out. In hindsight, it’s clear that any worries were misplaced as a massive turnout made the 2022 World Championship a shining success.

Just recently, the Asian Poker Tour announced its 2023 Asian Poker Tour. Poker enthusiasts will be thrilled to know that the tour is set on February 3-12 in Hanoi, Vietnam. The venue replaces the original plan of having Manila as the first destination of the APT in 2023.

In partnership with the Vietnam Series of Poker (VSOP), APT Hanoi will again be busy this coming new year with more fun and excitement set for all poker fans from Asia and other parts of the world. 2023 is going to be a hectic year for APT. Other tours are arranged after the APT Hanoi event, and we are expecting more players out there to join and have a first-hand experience of APT live poker events.

From Manila to Hanoi

The first Asian Poker Tour 2023 was supposed to be held in Manila with its partner, Newport World Resorts. The venue was then changed to Vietnam, where the APT Da Nang was recently concluded. Nevertheless, many are still eyeing having APT Manila during the second half of 2023. APT Hanoi is the third time the Asian Poker Tour has Vietnam for their poker competitions. The previous events were dominated by their local players, making them part of the legends in the Asian Poker Tour history.

What Is Expected of APT Hanoi?

Poker fans are up for some adventure this coming 2023. Asian Poker Tour has released the schedule for APT Hanoi. Expect that some famous tournaments will return with brand-new events that are still to be announced. APT President Neil Johnson is thrilled to announce that poker players around the world to mark these dates on their calendars and have the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful city of Hanoi. Here are the highlights of APT Hanoi 2023:

• Super Invitational – February 4 to 5
• Main Event – February 5 to 11
• High Roller – February 11 to 12

Asian Poker Tour 2023 Schedule

In addition to Asian Poker Tour Hanoi, poker players are invited to join other tours that are set for the year:

• March 24 to April 2 – APT Phu Quoc, Vietnam
• April 28 to May 7 – APT Taipei, Taiwan
• June 2 to 11 – APT Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

With these tournaments, there is more to expect with the games and events planned by the Asian Poker Tour.

What Happened in 2022?

2022 was an excellent year for the Asian Poker Tour. Two prestigious events were held in different key cities in South East Asia. APT Philippines was held on November 15 to 27, 2022, while the APT Da Nang Vietnam VSOP was on December 8 to 18, 2022. The recently concluded APT Da Nang Vietnam was in partnership with the VSOP, and the Vietnamese dominated the events. Famous poker players like Trinh Dinh Bien Cuong, Ha Manh Tuong, Tran Huy Hoang, and Bao Huy Thai were some of the key personalities on the said tour.

APT Manila 2022 was held in the Resorts World Manila Newport Grand Wing Casino. Familiar faces and personalities like Joseroy Jeremias, Yoshimura Taiki, Budai Dzimitry, and Katsuhito Kawai also attended the event.

The Canadian winner is more of a PLO cash game player than a tournament hold’em player, but that didn’t stop the Edmonton businesswoman from bagging a huge title.

Fans watching the Women’s Event at the WPT® World Championship might be forgiven for thinking Lina Niu came out of nowhere to take down the Ladies title this weekend. Prior to December of this year, Niu had three cashes on her Hendon Mob page totalling around $3,000, all from 2018 or earlier. Now, after two huge results nearly 2,500 km apart, Niu’s earnings have skyrocketed to more than $120k (USD).

Niu won’t be a familiar face to most watchers of poker, but she is no stranger to the game. While she runs a business off the felt for her main source of income, she is a regular at the PLO cash game tables in her adopted home city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Originally from Surrey, BC, this was Niu’s second big result in December after her final-table performance in a recent series in her Alberta home. The Women’s Event was one of the highlights from a huge series for the inaugural WPT® World Championship. The series ran from Dec 1 to 19 with the $15 million guaranteed $10,400 Main Event running from Dec 12 – 18. The WPT® Ladies Championship ran on Dec 16 with a buy-in of $1,100 and $200k guaranteed. Niu took down the top prize from a bloated field that saw the prize pool almost triple the guarantee.

Not Beginner’s Luck for NIU

With her limited live tournament results, casual observers could write off Niu’s huge win as beginner’s luck, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. As mentioned above, she is a seasoned PLO cash game player, but it’s possible she has another ace up her sleeve.

Niu’s partner in life is recent WSOP Bracelet winner Jaspal “Paul” Brar, a man who was considerably feared in the local poker scene long before he picked up some jewelry for his wrist. Brar is a regular feature at big NLHE final tables in Alberta and elsewhere with well over $1 million in live earnings, and no doubt gave Niu some pointers to help with her two-card tournament strategy.

In fact, Niu and Brar recently faced off against each other in the final nine of the Pure Poker Tour Tournament of Champions Main Event at Pure Casino Yellowhead early in December. Niu actually led the way with the biggest chip stack for much of Day 2 but lost some chips late in the day to hit the final table in the middle of the pack.

She managed 5^th place in that game, while Brar went on to bag second, but it was clear early on Day 2 that she was there on skill, not on luck. This latest win just cements that truth.

Niu was characteristically humble after the win. “Today’s been a roller coaster for sure. I started off with chip lead, lost a lot early on and played super tight,” an excited Niu said. “I got really lucky in some all-in spots. Just got super lucky on the last hand too.”

Luck is a requirement in the short-term in poker – the way the cards run in any given hand is all down, literally, to the “luck of the draw.” The winner of any poker tournament rarely gets there on skill alone, with more than one spot where they “got super lucky”, but at the same time, the winner rarely gets there on luck alone either.

With two deep runs in major events this month, Niu has shown that while she may technically be an amateur at poker, she’ll be a force to be reckoned with in big events down the road.

Huge Results for First Event WPT® World Championship

Niu led the way in a massive field in the Ladies Championship. With a $200k guarantee, organizers were clearly expecting around 200 entries for the game. When the registration desk closed, 578 entries swelled the prize pool to $560,660, which was more than 180% above the guarantee.

That wasn’t the only event that crushed the expectations though. Going into the series, there were a lot of questions about whether the $15 million guarantee on the WPT® World Championship Main Event would be met, but in the end, there wasn’t even a sweat. A total of 2,960 entries descended on the Wynn Las Vegas for the big game, for a record-breaking prize pool that almost doubled the initial promise. The $29,008,000 made it the largest WPT® prize pool ever collected on the tour, and outside of World Series of Poker events, it was the largest prize pool ever in Las Vegas.

The Championship game is down to the final table of six players now, led by British crusher Benny Glaser. Glaser has a virtual stranglehold on the final six at press time with 133 million chips while his closest competitor is sitting with less than 30 million.

The other big game was the $1,100 WPT® Prime Championship  where more than 5,400 entries were recorded. That made a total prize pool more than double its $2 million guarantee and Stephen Song added $712,650 to his more than $4 million in lifetime live wins.

While the final prizes are yet to be awarded, the WPT® World Championship smashed all the pre-series expectations and will likely make the careers of some players. Ladies Champion Lina Niu may well be one of those players – given her recent results, I’d expect to see a lot more of her in 2023.

The Kings of Tallinn, the largest poker festival in the North, will start on the 24^th of February and for the first time, will run for ten days straight at the beautiful Hilton Tallinn, Olympic Park Casino, until the 5^th of March. In less than three months it will all kick off and all eyes will be on the famous Main Event with a buy-in of €1,100.

The biggest ever prize pool for the Main Event was back in 2020, where Johan Karlsson from Sweden took down the event, and most of the prize pool of a whopping €640,300, for a nice payday of €126,900. The entire festival witnessed 5,733 entrants across 40 events to have a total combined prize pool of €2,182,855.  If you want to scoop your way in through one of the many satellites, they are already up and running!

We asked Teresa Nousiainen, one of the most experienced tournament directors in the poker circuit, and of course also from the Kings Of Tallinn event, what makes Kings of Tallinn so special that they keep breaking record after record:

Teresa: – ‘’The atmosphere! We have a genuine goal of providing players with professionally run events, fun experiences, and a very versatile tournament schedule – we have something for everyone! We take pride in running good solid NLH & Omaha tournaments, but also several mixed games, including for example Open Face Chinese, Sviten Special and 8-Game. I always try to include something new into the schedule. I gather player’s hopes and wishes, follow ongoing poker world trends, and make sure we have tournament structures to all tastes.’’

Teresa Nousiainen ‘’Did You Know’’:

1. She worked as an EPT Tournament Director for many years, as well as for the Italian Poker Tour & Eureka Poker Tour, to mention a few.
2. Born and raised in Sweden, while her parents come from Finland.
3. Has been working in the poker industry initially since 1994, and since 2004 internationally.
4. Speaks not only Swedish, Finnish and English. But also, above average Russian and French! Uncroyable!
5. Got rewarded for her excellence with a personal European Poker Award, Finnish Poker Award, and also an Estonian Poker Award in regards of Kings Of Tallinn.

Satellites

A new event deserves a new set up. This is exactly what they were thinking when the organizers of Kings Of Tallinn were talking about the qualification route towards this event. From now on there are freebuy, various step satellites, straight-into-final Flips, and TWO weekly finals available for all players on Olybet poker. The first weekly final for the €1,100 Main Event is set on every Thursday at 21:30, and on Saturdays there will be the final for the €550 Side Event. The big difference with previous satellites is that qualified players will automatically be signed up for the next step, this to avoid any tournaments being cancelled. It needs to be said that Olybet is only available for players residing in Estonia, Finland, and Latvia.

There are satellites also available at world’s biggest online pokerroom GGPoker. Make sure to check out their schedule as well!

Kings of Tallinn Going to Be Epic Once Again

The organization of Kings Of Tallinn keeps being focused on their players and not only do they organize last longer challenges, they also have a Team Challenge available again. This Challenge has been proved to be a true success amongst the players, with previous Main Event winner Adam Kharman from Australia, securing his team of winning the first prize. From all open tournaments throughout the event, will be taken 2% of all buy-ins, which could eventually accumulate in a grand first team prize of 15,000, like previous edition.

During the previous edition there was a total of 32 events. In 2023, this amount will be raised up a notch to 40. With 328 unique entries during the Main Event of 2022, we are confident that the positive trend will keep on going. There will be a grand Side Event as well as the High Roller event.

Side Events

Although the schedule is not known yet, we did get the confirmation that there will be plenty of amazing events lined up for all of you:

• €1,100 Main Event
• €550 Championship
• €3,000 High Roller
• €550 Senior’s Championship

If that’s not enough, there will be plenty of other formats available:

• Team Challenge
• Open Face Chinese
• Mystery Bounty
• Pot Limit Omaha 4,5 & 6 Card
• Sviten Special
• Deuce to Seven
• 8-Game
• Soko

Do you have any further information for all the players out there?

Teresa: ‘’The Kings Of Tallinn schedule is a result of player wishes and feedback and it’s our top priority to make sure every single player enjoys their stay with us!

Hilton Tallinn Park is fantastic as a venue and the Olympic Park Casino on the ground floor of Hilton provides action-packed cash games around the clock. Not to mention the very cool and fun city of Tallinn! Stroll around in the Europe’s best preserved medieval old town or hit the exciting nightlife – Tallinn is sure to provide a good time for everyone!’’

Although the official tournament schedule is not published yet, it is recommended to keep an eye on it. Make sure to put their website into your favorites!

Here you can read more about how the previous Kings of Tallinn edition took off!

There’s still plenty of time to hit the tables at Unibet and take advantage of their €35,000 Poker Winter Bootcamp, which continues until 1 January and still has two juicy leaderboards.

Unibet has a deserved reputation of putting recreational players high in their priorities when it comes to key aspects of their poker offering. This forward-thinking approach is becoming increasingly evident across the world of real money online poker which, in the long-run, with the overall health of the industry and the collectively personal environment it cultivates for players paramount, is arguably a positive strategy.

It should come as no surprise, then, that the everyman theme runs through this promo. With €7,000 in cash and prizes for the taking over each of the next two weeks, the Poker Winter Bootcamp is one of those effortless promotions in which to get involved as it’s a simple matter of enjoying your favourite Texas Hold’em and Omaha cash games and racking up Leaderboard points along the way.

How It Works

It’s easy. When you play at NLHE or PLO cash games with a buy-in level of at least €25 your task is to manage certain ‘achievements’ that reward points towards your Leaderboard tally.

There are High and Mid stake level Leaderboards each week, with the top prize in the former being a cool €1,100 in cash, and prizes going down to 20th and 30th place respectively. The daily/weekly achievements can be completed once per day either in NLHE or PLO.

Note that this promo is not available to players in Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands and Belgium.

Poker Winter Bootcamp Achievements

Here are the Achievements to aim for when playing at NLHE and PL cash games of €25 and over. Note that the points awarded differ from Hold’em to Omaha, and the same number of points are awarded regardless of which eligible stake at which you achieve a task.

Achievement	Points at Hold’em	Points at Omaha
Reach the flop with at least 3 other players	4	2
Reach the flop in two consecutive hands	8	4
Play a hand for the button and win/split the pot	6	6
Lose with AA on Showdown	40	16
Reach a flop which shows three cards of the same rank	100	50
Be dealt 88 in your starting hand	16	8
Be dealt a straight flush	2000	600

Achievement	Frequency	Points
Play at least two cash game tables simultaneously	Daily	200
Win three pots in any Pot Limit Omaha Cash Game	Daily	200
Losing week at eligible stakes, one point per €1 lost per specific week.	Weekly (once per race)	450
Reach at least five cash game flops for 3 consecutive days	Weekly (once per race)	600
Reach at least five cash game flops for 7 consecutive days	Weekly (once per race)	1200

Have fun at the tables! Meanwhile, check out the latest online poker bonuses and offers and broaden your poker horizons…

Get ready for the live tournament event in the Philippines this coming January 2023. PokerStars, the world’s largest poker company, is back with Okada Manila Millions. With PokerStars LIVE Manila’s games, players from around the globe will have a first-hand experience of the much-awaited events in this tour. This is good news for all poker enthusiasts, and we are expecting new and veteran players from different countries. The tour will start on January 3 and will conclude on January 9. This 7-day event is the first for the new year, and up to Php 3,000,000 cash prize is up for grabs.

PokerStars and Partnership With Okada Manila

Okada Manila is a casino resort and hotel complex located in the Entertainment City of the Philippines. It has over 900 rooms with a lush and relaxing environment ideal for strolling to view the magnificent Manila Bay sunset. The state-of-the-art facilities make Okada Manila a favorite destination for tourists and casino enthusiasts.

This coming 2023, PokerStars, in partnership with Okada Manila, will again host the live poker tournament event. Get the chance to be part of different MTT and Sit and Go tournaments and be one of the legends in the world of poker.

PokerStars Live Manila MILLIONS 2022

Last year, PokerStars also hosted the same tournament in Okada Manila. Despite the surge in COVID-19 cases and the tightening of regulations by the Philippine government, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) still granted the casino resort to push through with the poker tour. This is a privilege for the country to host a prestigious poker event.

Fifteen events have been concluded, highlighting a series with Php 3,000,000 reward. Team Philippines dominated most events with familiar personalities like Pee Araneta, Jose Colada, Kendrick Tan, and June Nuestro.

The Popularity of Poker in the Philippines

The popularity of poker among gamblers is mainly due to the amusement it offers and especially its profitability. It was in 2006 when live poker started in the Philippines with a poker room in one of the casinos of PAGCOR. The Metro Card Club follows this; since then, numerous poker rooms have opened in the country. Because many Filipinos are engaged in playing poker, PokerStars sponsored the first Filipino Poker Tour, attended by avid poker fans from all over the country. After the positive response of Filipinos to the tour, PokerStars launched other tournaments of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT), Asian Poker Tour (APT), and the World Poker Tour (WPT) National Philippines. These tours made Manila a favorite venue for local and international poker tournaments.

PokerStars Live Manila – How It Started

PokerStars LIVE Manila started in 2014 at the City of Dreams Manila. In 2018, it moved to Okada Manila and is currently the casino resort that caters to numerous local and international live poker events. PokerStars LIVE Manila offers fourteen cash game tables with corresponding limits to accommodate all types of poker players.

*Any mention of a bonus or discussion of such terms is not in relation to the province of Ontario.

There’s more to online poker than sitting on your sofa in your underwear for hours on end, glued to your laptop screen… Whether you’re a hobbyist who’s never thought about the game other than when actually playing, or you’re keen to get well acquainted with the ins and outs of GTO, everyone harbours some level of ambition.

Imagine you do indeed scale the heights that see you feted as one of the world’s elite players, winning millions and having countless followers seeking out your advice and wisdom…

One such player who fits this very description despite not yet reaching his thirties is Fedor Holz who, amongst other achievements, can have his monetary success measured in millions. This might be a rather blunt and unimaginative way of doing things but, alas (money being the first association we tend to make with poker), is a very good indicator nevertheless.

All-Time Great

Having said that, Fedor has no problem demonstrating why he stands at the top of the proverbial pile if his results over the years are anything to go by – and which are all the more impressive considering how young he was (born: July 1993!) when he first burst so spectacularly on to the scene.

Known in the world of online poker tournaments as CrownUpGuy, the GGPoker Pro has racked up quite a list of accomplishments, including two WSOP bracelets and a collection of EPT, WPT High Roller, Triton High Roller and World Championship of Online Poker titles, among others.

Fedor deserves the tremendous respect he has garnered via his Youtube and Twitch presence, and is as successful sharing his poker wisdom (he currently coaches at Pokercode) as he has been at the tables, where he still dabbles at high stakes and travels to top events. His proudest achievement: winning his first bracelet in the 111K One Drop.

Fedor Holz Interview

Fedor kindly took time out to give us an exclusive Pokerlistings interview. Here’s what he had to say:

PL: You’ve said in the past that it took a few years of grinding before you achieved a discernible level of success. How would you describe your developmental progress? 

FH: I started playing for fun with friends and it took me about three years to start consistently winning. In my third year I started taking poker more seriously and moved to Vienna to focus on it fully.

PL: With learning and training in mind, how does the satisfaction of coaching and playing a key role in poker fans’ improvement compare with personal success? 

FH: I’ve always liked coaching. I like when my student is curious and passionate about the game. Sharing my experience with someone who loves poker has always been something I really enjoy.

PL: Live or Online? 

FH: Nowadays – I prefer live.

PL: The eyes are the windows to the soul – should players wear sunglasses to avoid giving tells? 

FH: If you feel uncomfortable, then I’d say yes. I personally like to play without.

PL: Again re tells and the image we project – table talk or silence? 

FH: I tend to chat from time to time, either when I’m having fun or when I try to find out something about my opponents.

PL: Mindfulness, self-awareness and mental well-being. What is your approach? 

FH: I’ve been working with my coach, Elliot, for about seven years now in order to improve my mental game, and it has paid off big/time. 

PL: Having switched from pro chess to poker I see countless connections between the two – do you play chess, and what are your thoughts?

FH: I do play chess, and I love playing the game. I see lots of connections with chess and poker – especially the focus required, and how important it is to have good pattern recognition.

PL: Do you strive to add yet more to your stellar achievements, or has your ambition changed direction? 

FH: I don’t have particular goals, but winning another Triton Super Highroller, bracelet or EPT event is always amazing.

PL: Finally – what do you see yourself doing in 10 years’ time? 

FH: I have no real plans! I’ll probably have a family, and I assume that I’ll be playing less poker than I do now.

… We wish Fedor the best of luck for the future, and hope that he continues to both play and teach poker for years to come!

Any budding poker legends might want to check out the latest best online poker bonuses and offers and continue (or start!) their quest. Have fun, and good luck!

The Mississauga, ON, Canada resident tripled his lifetime earnings with a heads-up deal in the record-breaking EPT Prague Main Event. The series saw more than €25 million with more than €6.8 million in ME prizes alone.

EPT Prague is now complete, and the record Main Event ended up with a prize pool of more than €6 million. The largest share of that record-setting prize pool went to Canadian grinder Jordan Saccucci who bagged the biggest win of his live career by far. According to Hendon Mob, Saccucci’s total lifetime earnings to date were $367,870, so the €913,250 first-place prize was easily his biggest live poker score ever.

Saccucci had to battle French legend Antoine Saout heads-up for the prize, and the two players agreed to a deal that saw them even out the final prizes a bit. Saout, who has more than $8 million in live earnings, grabbed €800,000 for second place while the Canadian won €913,250 for first.

In addition to the French crusher Saout, Saccucci faced fellow Canadian Parker Talbot on the final day. Talbot is known for his live and online poker exploits, with more than a million dollars in live earnings and more than $3 million online but he had to settle for €278,450 for 5^th place.

Final Table Results for 2022 EPT Prague Main Event

Position	Name	Country	Prize
1	Jordan Saccucci	Canada	€913,250*
2	Antoine Saout	France	€800,000*
3	Istvan Pilhofer	Hungary	€470,500
4	Jun Obara	Japan	€361,950
5	Parker Talbot	Canada	€278,450
6	Luigi D’Alterio	Italy	€214,150
7	Petar Kalev	Bulgaria	€164,750
8	Javier Gomez	Spain	€126,700
9	Paul-Adrian Covaciu	Romania	€97,450

More Than €25 Million in Prizes at EPT Prague

When the dust settled at EPT Prague for 2022, it was clearly a success. Aside from the nearly €1 million Christmas present for the Main Event winner, the series as a whole capped €25 million in total prizes over more than 50 events.

A solid chunk of those prizes were awarded in the record-breaking Main Event that saw 1,267 entries for a massive prize pool of €6,144,950. That was the biggest prize pool of the series, but the most entries came in the Eureka Poker Tour games.

Sponsored by PokerStars, the Eureka Poker Tour is a regional tour in Central and Eastern Europe that regularly runs alongside EPT Prague as well as elsewhere. The €1,100 Eureka Main Event started on Dec 8^th, and drew an astonishing 4,017 entries for a prize pool of €3,856,320, more than half the size of the full €5,300 EPT Main Event’s prize pool.

The Eureka Main Event was the biggest field and second-biggest prize pool of the whole series, but another Eureka event, the €2,200 Eureka High Roller, also had a strong showing for third place in prizes. That game also bagged third place in the field size race with 1,534 entries for a total prize pool of nearly €3 million.

Outside the EPT Main Event, it was Eureka for the win across the series. The second biggest field of the whole series also went to a Eureka event, Event 12 – €440 Eureka Cup. While the prize pool of that one was smaller due to its smaller buy-in, 2,304 entries gave the game second place in the field-size standings and it still placed 5^th in total prizes.

EPT Prague Series Highlights

• EPT Prague
  • Dec 7 – 18, 2022
  • Total Entries: 14,174
  • Total Prizes: €25,589,154
  • Events: 52
• Event 20 – €5,300 EPT Main Event
  • Date: December 12-18, 2022
  • Entries: 1,267 (inc. 349 re-entries)
  • Prize pool: €6,144,950
  • Winner: Jordan Saccucci, Canada, €913,250 after HU deal
• Event 5 – €1,100 Eureka Main Event
  • Dates: December 8-12, 2022
  • Entries: 4,017 (inc. 2,034 re-entries)
  • Prize pool: €3,856,320
  • Winner: Pieter Theelen, Netherlands, €496,760
• Event 17 – €2,200 Eureka High Roller
  • Dates: December 11-12, 2022
  • Entries: 1,534 (inc. 593 re-entries)
  • Prize pool: €2,945,280
  • Winner: Sander Ostlyngen, Norway, €463,850
• Event 12 – €440 Eureka Cup
  • Dates: December 10-12, 2022
  • Entries: 2,304 (inc. 970 re-entries)
  • Prize pool: €884,736
  • Winner: Naim Amri, France, €127,000
• Event 43 – €1,650 NLH Mystery Bounty
  • Date: December 16-18, 2022
  • Entries: 612 (inc. 237 re-entries)
  • Prize pool: €881,280 (inc. €306,000 in bounty pool)
  • Winner: Kemal Aslan, Turkey, €80,000
• Event 3 – €10,200 NLH Mystery Bounty
  • Dates: December 7-8, 2022
  • Entries: 68 (inc. 18 re-entries)
  • Prize pool: €659,600 (inc. €340,000 in bounty prize pool)
  • Winner: Rodrigo Seiji, Brazil, €95,880 + €27,500
  • Big Bounty: Steve O’Dwyer, Ireland, €117,500 total inc. €100k big bounty

After a record showing in January of 2022, the World Series of Poker Circuit is returning to Deerfoot Inn & Casino in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in Jan 2023, and GGPoker is building a Road to Calgary.

Alberta, Canada hosted its first ever World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOP-C) event in January of 2022, and it was a big one. Now, the WSOP-C is returning to Cowtown for another winter special Jan 11^th to Jan 23^rd, 2023, and GGPoker is looking to help players get to Calgary for the big series.

The WSOP-C has quite a long history in Canada, with events in British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec in the past, but the tour had skipped over Alberta until 2022. In January of that year, the tour descended on Calgary, the largest city in the province, for the first-ever running of the tour in Alberta, and it was a massive success.

The first running of this tour in Calgary in 2022 saw huge turnout, more than the facility was expecting. The opening days of the series were marked by long lines and wait-lists as the venue adjusted to the larger than expected numbers, but when the dust settled, it turned into a record-setting series.

The $1,700 Texas Hold’em Main Event in 2022 ended up being the biggest ever in Alberta. 1,179 entries swelled the prize pool to a record $1.786 million (all monetary values are in $Cdn) and the winner, Cody McKay from Daysland, Alberta, pocketed just shy of $300k for the win. Three other players banked $100k or more for their finish in that event. Overall, the series drew more than 7,500 entries for more than $3.6 million in prizes across the 12 Ring events. There were several factors that combined to make the Jan 2022 series a massive success, not least that it was the only place in Canada to play live tournament poker at the time as Alberta was one of the first jurisdictions in Canada to lift COVID restrictions. That, combined with it being the first WSOP-C in western Canada in many years, and it was a perfect storm for massive attendance.

Ring in the New Year with Big Prizes at WSOP-C Calgary

Now, the WSOP-C is set to make a return visit to the Alberta city. While the weather in Calgary in January is decidedly chilly, the poker action inside Deerfoot Inn & Casino will be sizzling hot with and expanded schedule of 15 ring events over 13 days from the Alberta city.

As the official online partner of the WSOP globally, GGPoker is looking to help some players make their way to Calgary for the series this year. The operator is running satellite games to the WSOP-C Calgary Main Event, and players can win their buy-in plus more.

There are two paths players can take to get to Calgary with slightly different end-points. Both roads take the player to the Main Event in Calgary starting on Jan 19 with the first of three starting days for the Main, however one path ends with just a ticket to the big game, while the other path ends in a package including the Main Event as well as some travel expenses and other sundries.

Direct satellites to the full package are $100 while the direct qualifiers to tickets alone are $50. However, players can jump in a bit lower if they like – the games have $10 and $5 feeders respectively to help players get into the game cheap.

WSOP-C Calgary Tickets and Packages

Road to WSOP-C Calgary Tickets

• Direct Qualifier: $50 Road to WSOP-C Calgary Main Event, 17:00
• Prize: $1,700 Main Event Ticket
• Qualifiers: $5 Step to $50 Road to WSOP-C Calgary, 16:00

Road to WSOP-C Calgary Packages

• Direct Qualifier: $100 Road to WSOP-C Calgary ME Packages, 18:00
• Prize: $2,500 Main Event Package
  • $1,700 Main Event Ticket
  • 3 Nights Hotel
  • GGPoker and WSOP swag
• Qualifiers: $10 Step to $100 Road to WSOP-C Calgary ME Packages, 17:00

Winter Wonderland

Calgary in January isn’t exactly a tropical paradise but there are still lots of reasons to head to southern Alberta to start 2023. The poker action inside the Deerfoot Inn & Casino will be hot enough to warm up even the coldest January day, but for players looking for some off-the-felt action, Calgary is a mecca of winter sports with skating and tobogganing among the snow-day activities right inside the city.

Calgary is also host to some of the best cross-country skiing in the world, and is right next door to the Rocky Mountains, home of legendary downhill ski resorts like Lake Louise and Sunshine Village. Both of those ski resorts are in Banff National Park, one of the most scenic mountain spots in the world, and between Banff, Kananaskis Country, and Jasper National Park a bit farther away, there is no shortage of gorgeous winter vistas and exciting winter activities to take part in for players looking to get a break from the poker action.

Plan Your Shot

This is a rather unusual opportunity to win live seats and packages in an Alberta event from online qualifiers. While Albertans play online poker on global sites like GGPoker, the live poker scene in the province is regulated by Alberta Liquor, Gaming, and Cannabis (AGLC). The license agreements for live casinos in Alberta include restrictions on partnering with online entities, but those regulations don’t prevent an online operator from offering tickets and prizes related to a local live series with no affiliation to the series venue itself.

It has been exceedingly rare to see official online qualifiers to Alberta live events because of the local regulations. These satellites look to be a clever way to find a path to online satellites that stays on the good side of local ragulators.

The full schedule for the WSOP-C Calgary 2023 is here to help you plan your shot at a Ring this January, but below are a few key events to watch for.

• Wed, Jan 11 – Opening events including Ladies Ring event at 4 pm
• Thu Jan 12 – Opening flight for the popular 4-Flight event with Day 1s running through Jan 14
• Sat, Jan 14 – Mystery Bounty
• Main Event
  • Day 1 Flights – Jan 19 to Jan 21
  • Day 2 – Jan 22
  • Day 3 – Jan 23
• High Roller
  • Day 1 – Jan 22
  • Day 2 – Jan 23

The European Poker Tour Main Event in Prague has reached its Final Table. With a buy-in of €5,300 and 1267 unique entries, the prize pool is boosted shy over the €6M mark, which is an extraordinary number! With this article we are going to dive deeper in histories of some of the big names which are still in competition to be crowned as winner of the EPT Prague Main Event. Who will walk away with the first major prize of €1,054,500? Action will resume at noon on December 17.

Sadly, we had to say farewell to Conor Bereseford (23^rd), Simon Mattson (21^st) and Timothy Adams (18^th), but we have plenty of big names left. We have highlighted our picks for the win:

Parker Talbot

Parker Talbot, better known as ‘Tonkaaaa’, is coming from Canada and is a very well-known poker player in general. Being a PokerStars ambassador and a Twitch-Streamer, he is without a doubt one of the best players still in game. He might just have cashed for just over $700k in live cashes, his territory is mainly to be found online. He has two major cashes behind his name, one of them being part of EPT Barcelona where he cashed for €160,080 during the €25K High Roller, finishing 7^th. The other major cash is surprisingly also during an EPT event, and let it just be coincidence that it also took place in Prague. During the 2018 EPT Main Event he finished 6^th for €179,360.

As mentioned, online its where his skills really come to use. With close to $50M in total winnings, he has many big scores on his all-time money list. Two of them were during the Stadium Series on PokerStars for respectively $261K and $151K, both took place in 2020. He also has got two 2^nd places in the Sunday Million and the Sunday Warm–Up, both just over $100K. And last but not least, he managed to win the Titan Event of the KO WEEK, where he took home the first prize and $169K for his effort.

Parker Talbot is an ambassador for PokerStars since 2016 and is part of a legendary team together with the likes of Lex Veldhuis. At the moment Parket Talbot is a bit short stacked left in the game, but we have all the trust he will find his way at the final table, mainly because of his experience compared to most of the other players left in the game.

Antoine Saout

Antoine Saout maybe does not ring a bell directly to most of you, but he is an extremely skilled player from France with some major cashes in his career. With €8,4 million in total live earnings, he is topping the field by a mile in terms of cashes. His second biggest cash became reality during the World Series of Poker in 2017, where he reached the famous November Nine. He would eventually finish 5^th for a crazy amount of $2,000,000.

If this would already get you hooked, listen to this. He managed to get another November Nine finish during the World Series of Poker Main Event, back in 2009. In that year American superstar Joseph Cada got crowned as the World Champion, but Antoine Saout finished 3^rd for $3,479,670! He is one of the few players in the world who managed to get himself twice to the final table of this event, during the modern era of poker, after the MoneyMaker-effect.

Simon Lofberg (10^th)

Simon Lofberg might had been the one of the underdogs in this remaining felt, he is a well-known poker player from Sweden. In 2019 he already managed to get himself to a final table during the European Poker Tour High Roller, where he finished runner-up for €352,230, coming just short against Japanese Tsugunari Toma. Not that long ago, in the beginning of this year, during another stop of EPT Prague, he finished 11^th during that same event, taking home €46,000 for finishing 11^th.

Simon also has one major event put on his name. During the WSOP Online series of 2020 he pulled a stunt by winning the PLO event for $225K, beating famous names as Leon Tsoukernik and Andreas Torbergsen. Unfortunately, Simon bubbled the final table and was yet another time close to a major result in an extraordinary big field. The young gun from Sweden will however not vanish from the poker felts, so we are positive we will see him sooner than later shipping a similar tournament like this. As he became the bubble of the Final Table, we still would like to shine some light on him.

Stay tuned for more information about the European Poker Tour in Prague. We will inform you about all the bits of the Main Event!

The unprecedented WPT World Championship $10k Buy-In, $15 Million guaranteed tournament has reached the end of day 2 and the excitement continues to build around this record-breaking tournament to wrap up 2022.  Poker is experiencing a renaissance given the heights that this tournament is reaching and the experiences that poker players from all walks of life are enjoying,

Day 1A – 615 Hopeful Entries

Day 1A went on Monday, December 12^th drawing 615 players to the Wynn in Las Vegas and there was a good mix of poker pros, high stakes grinders and recreational players who all battled on the felt for a bag at the end of the night.  At the end of the night 234 were left standing with Justin Bonomo the only one cracking the 1 million chip count.

Other pros that bagged on day 1 include Alex Foxen with 371k, Daniel Negreanu with 252k, Chance Kornuth with 237k and Andrew Neeme with 160k.

Day 1B – Guarantee Met, already?

Day 1B went on Tuesday, December 13^th drawing an incredible 1052 players.  That brought the total to 1667 hopefuls and created a prize pool that was already $16.3 million, surpassing the lofty $15 million guarantee with one more flight to go.

Aryan Oliveira led the way on this night becoming the second one over a million in chips, reaching 1.551 million.  Andrew Crookston finished second – but well back at 879k.  438 players remain at the end of play with many pros alive with chips in the bag going to day 2.

Day 1C – Last two in are Phil and Phil

Day 1C promised to be busy and it did not disappoint attracting 1293 players to the Wynn Poker room.  Among the very last to register were Phil Ivey and Phil Hellmuth, although Phil Ivey did not find a bag at the end of the night, Phil Hellmuth did survive with 225k.  Despite the size of the field, the day 1C chip leader only bagged 1.062 million as Krasimir Yankov was only the third player in the field to top the one million mark, and the only one of the 513 left who bagged seven figures.

After late registration closed it was announced that 370 players would split the $29 million prize pool with the top 6 earning over $1 million each.  The eventual champion will take home $4.146 million and all that survive the bubble would net at least $17,400.

Day 2 – The Push to the Bubble

1185 players returned to the Wynn on Thursday, December 15^th all in the hopes of surviving the day and positioning themselves for a run at the money.  With 370 players making a profit, the night ended with just under 400 left standing, meaning less than 30 players will have to be eliminated for the bubble to burst.  That should happen within the first few levels in day 3.

Adrian Sorel State finished atop the chip count bagging 2.4 million chips, or 160BB.  6 other players bagged 2 million: Andriy Lyubovetskiy (2.2M), Lucas Foster (2.14M), Isaac Kempton (2.1M), Nicholas Lee (2.09M), Adam Hendrix (2.06), Soheb Porbadnarwala (2.04M).

Many notables are still in the field including Freddy Deeb (1.425M), Benny Glaser (1.18M), Dan Smith (960k), WPT host Lynn Gilmartin (930k), Marle Spragg (680k), Kathy Liebert (575k), defending WSOP Main Event Champion Espen Jorstad (575k), Brad Owen (485k), Daniel Negreanu (440k), Cary Katz (385k) & Kristen Foxen (275k)

Day 3 goes on Friday, December 16^th with the field making the money at some point in the early afternoon.  Who is going to survive and who will thrive?

A turkey, Christmas cake, cheap bottle of wine, a cuddly toy bear, a month’s worth of tinned food for the dog you don’t have … if you find yourself in a raffle this festive season, these are the kind of prizes you might be ‘lucky’ enough to win.

Fortunately for our community at PokerListings, your passion for the world of real money online poker means that, when we have a raffle, it’s not a random hamper of cookies we’re giving way – instead you could bag a much tastier prize, namely a $1,050 ticket to the PokerStars New Year Series Main Event, which will kick off on 15 January, 2023 and boasts a $1.25 million guaranteed prize pool!

And all you need to do to be in contention to win this fantastic prize is click on the blue Newsletter tab on the right-hand side of our page, and fill in the form that appears. Once you’ve joined our Newsletter, you participate in the raffle where the winner is presented on our Twitter Channel on 25 December.

Incidentally, not only is this a prize well worth winning, but the New Year Series at PokerStars is a must for online poker tournament fans. Running from 25 December until 17 January, the series will feature 334(!) tournaments, with a wide variety of variants and a bankroll-friendly range of buy-ins that starts at a mere $2.20, plus at least $40 million overall in guaranteed prize pools.

Our raffle is by no means the only thing we’re giving away over the festive season! Don’t forget to make the most of our €10,000 Pokerlistings Christmas Calendar which continues until 25 December and is packed with goodies thanks to our collaboration with PokerStars, The Festival and Juicy Stakes

*Any mention of a bonus or discussion of such terms is not in relation to the province of Ontario.

With the live poker world back to normal following the unprecedented COVID cancelations of the past couple of years, the 2023 WSOP is back in its usual timeslot starting May 30, 2023.

There is no bigger poker festival on the planet than the summer poker extravaganza in Las Vegas. The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is back for another year in its usual early-summer timeslot. Beginning on May 30, there will be bracelets galore on offer throughout June and half of July.

While the dates are familiar to players of the WSOP, the venue this year is something a bit different. For the 2022 edition of WSOP, the series moved from its long-time home at the Rio to Paris Las Vegas, soon to be renamed to the Horseshoe. 2023 will pick up once again in its new home for the second running of the series in the new strip venue.

The marquee event, as always, will be the $10k Main Event, considered by many to be the defacto World Championship of poker. The winner of the Main Event every year becomes a household name in the poker industry and immediately rises to the status of ambassador of the game.

Last year, Unibet ambassador Espen Jorstad was the player who outlasted the field of 8,663 players for a massive score of $10 million. For 2023, the Big Show starts on July 3 and there will be four Day 1 chances to bag a stack for Day 2 and beyond.

Among the feature games announced this week are several beefy guarantees. The Mystery Millions is one of the opening events of the series, and it has a guaranteed first-place prize of a cool million plus another million guaranteed for the biggest bounty in the game. Overall, the preview of the schedule has $6 million in guarantees already announced, and the full schedule is still yet to be released.

Current Details for 2023 WSOP

While we are still waiting on the full schedule for the upcoming World Series of Poker 2023, some of the highlights were released this week. The iconic series is set to run for the 54^th time from May 30, 2023 through July 18, 2023 for 50 days of the best poker in the world.

In 2022 there were 88 live bracelets awarded during the regular series in Las Vegas, and it’s safe to guess that the 2023 schedule will likely be just as big. Among the highlights released so far are $6+ million in guaranteed prizes, including a $1 million first-place prize in one of the opening events.

Feature Games at 2023 WSOP

Event	Date	Buy-In	Guarantee
Mystery Millions	May 31	$1,000	$1 million to Winner
Gladiators of Poker	June 7	$300	$3 million gtd
Monster Stack	June 16	$1,500
Seniors Championship	June 21	$1,000
Millionaire Maker	June 23	$1,500	$1 million gtd
Ladies Championship	June 29	$1,000
Colossus	June 30	$400
Mini Main Event	July 2	$1,000
WSOP Main Event	July 3	$10,000
Lucky 7s	July 7	$777	$777,777 gtd
Ultra Stack	July 11	$600
The Closer	July 14	$1,500

$3 Million for $300

One of the early highlights of the series, and perhaps the main highlight for players with smaller bankrolls, is the Gladiators of Poker tournament. Starting on June 7, the game is the smallest bracelet shot across the whole series at just $300 to sit down at the felt with a starting stack and $3 million guaranteed.

While this game is no doubt aimed at the entry-level players attending the series, with a buy-in low enough for almost any poker player to afford, the huge guarantee is likely to attract some of the best in the game at the same time. That promises to make the game an entertaining mix of a wide cross-section of the poker world.

Double Millions in Mystery Millions

The series proper kicks off on May 31 with the Mystery Millions. While there is usually a Casino Employees event to kick off the series, it looks like the Mystery Millions will be the open-series kickoff for 2023 and it will be a huge one.

The mystery bounty game from 2022 was very well-received and this year it has been moved to the start of the schedule. The new mystery bounty format is taking the poker world by storm, and few are bigger than WSOP’s edition. In 2022, Matt Glantz walked away with the $1 million bounty, and this year there will be another seven-figure bounty in 2023 with an additional $1 million guaranteed for the winner.

The Main Event

The highlight of any series is the Main Event. The $10k buy-in freezeout game is considered the pinnacle of the poker world. It’s not the biggest buy-in game around, but in its 54^th year of existence it has become the default championship game for the poker world. The long structure and deep stacks make it an epic poker mountain that takes more than a week to climb to the summit.

The 2023 edition of poker’s biggest game gets going with the first Day 1 flight on July 3. There will be four starting flights through July 6, with Day 2 kicking off on July 7. While there is no guarantee posted for the Main Event, the prize pool will no doubt be huge – the 2022 winner, Espen Jorstad, pocketed eight figures for his epic win.

Main Event Day 1 Flights

Event	Date
2023 WSOP Main Event Day 1a	Monday, July 3 2023
2023 WSOP Main Event Day 1b	Tuesday, July 4 2023
2023 WSOP Main Event Day 1c	Wednesday, July 5 2023
2023 WSOP Main Event Day 1d	Thursday, July 6 2023

There is plenty to look forward to this summer at the newly-renamed Horseshoe. The World Series of Poker is always among the highlights of any poker year, and the 2023 edition, with $6 million in guaranteed prizes already, promises to be no different.

In partnership with the Vietnam Series of Poker (VSOP), APT Da Nang Vietnam continues with the 2022 Main Event. This is the most popular event, attracting 182 registered players. So far, the overall number of players has risen to 347 and is expected to grow while Day 2 registration is ongoing.

Winners of Main Event Day 1C

Vietnam dominated the Main Event Day 1C as their players took the top 3 spots. Manh Hung Dinh has a total of 257,400 stacks after concluding the eight 60-minute levels. Le Quoc Son garnered 240,500 stacks for Day 2. Duc Trung Vu, with a total of 164,700 stacks.

Following them are Vietnam’s Trinh Dinh Bien Cuong (111,100 stacks), Ha Manh Tuong (104,600 stacks), Tran Huy Hoang (104,000 stacks), and Bao Huy Thai (103,300 stacks). Completing the roster are Zou Zhi Guang of China, with 102,500 stacks; USA’s Nicholas Bond, with 98,400; and Terry Nguyen of Vietnam, with a total of 92,200 stacks.

Other key players in this event are Belgium’s Kristof Segers (50,400 stacks), Benjamin Sai of Singapore (27,300 stacks), and Ashish Munot of India with 17,700 stacks. Moreover, Nguyen Trung Phong of Vietnam and Remi Florent of Malta qualified twice, removing their lowest stacks from play.

89 Day 1C survivors will join the 33 survivors of Day 1B and Day 1A’s 34 survivors for the Day 2 competition.

Tran Nam Trung Dominated No Limit Hold’Em Single Day

Around $35,075 awaits the winner of No Limit Hold’em Single Day, which has attracted 123 participants. Many of the players are skilled in this event, and the competition for the pot is tight. There are familiar faces and names at the event, such as Farhad Aghayev, who is the current champion of APT Korea Incheon Main Event; Aditya Shushant, the World Series bracelet winner; Dan Nover, High Roller 6 Max Hyper runner-up; Feng Zhao if Singapore; and Mikiya Kudo, 2018 APT Manila Finale champion.

Vietnam’s Tran Nam Trung won a cash prize of $8,610. He defeated Bui Tuan Hoang, also from Vietnam. This victory led to his first APT title. Aditya Shushant and Dan Nover also got their share of the cash prize.

Event #16: Deep Stack Turbo Embraced by Duc Phuc Nguyen of Vietnam

Eighty players joined Event #16: Deep Stack Turbo, generating a total prize pool of $16,295. Duc Phuc Nguyen defeated Donnchadh Drumm of Ireland and won $4,425, including his maiden APT title. On the other hand, Drumm took home $2,950 and the 2nd place title for the said event.

Other key personalities with their fair share of cash prizes were Shane Hodges and Akshay Kapoor of India.

Tran Duy Binh and Sergey Indonok Takes Down Deep Stack Turbo Events #12 and #13

On Monday, APT featured two more events: Event #12 and Event #13; both are Deep Stack Turbo competitions. Event #12 was won by Tran Duy Binh of Vietnam, who dominated the 100-man strong game. Binh won $28,520 from the prize pool and defeated Corine Shi of Singapore, who won $7,380.

Sergey Indenok of Ukraine secured 1st place in Event #13 with the top prize of $5,085. He defeated Keita Minami and dominated the game that 95 participants played.