PokerStars is hosting a “WCOOP Challenge” series of tournaments from Friday to Sunday, with $7 million guaranteed in prize pools over the nine events.
PokerStars $7 Million WCOOP Challenge Starts on Friday
PokerStars is hosting a “WCOOP Challenge” series of tournaments from Friday to Sunday, with $7 million guaranteed in prize pools over the nine events.
Following on from the success of their MicroMillions Series which concluded with 69FABIAN69´s victory in the Main Event, PokerStars is hosting a mini-series of tournaments this weekend with valuable prizes and tickets for the World Championships of Online Poker (WCOOP) up for grabs.
Compared to the miniscule cost of entering the MicroMillions´ tournaments, the WCOOP Challenge events have some hefty buy-ins; so PokerStars is also hosting “deadline satellites” immediately before each of the feature events in order that players can get involved at a fraction of the full buy-in. The site has also announced an extra special bonus for players making a deposit into their accounts over the forthcoming weekend.
WCOOP Challenge Schedule
The schedule for the WCOOP Challenge Series replaces some of the weekend´s regular tournaments, but increases their regular guarantees as well. For example, event #1 of the Series is a $109.00 buy-in NLHE freezeout which replaces the regular “Big $109”, and event #8 of the Series is the Sunday Millions with a $1.5 million guarantee.
In addition to the enhanced guarantees, PokerStars is giving the winner of each WCOOP Challenge tournament a free ticket into the $10 million guaranteed WCOOP Main Event (worth $5,200) due to be played towards the end of September. The full schedule is as follows:
| Event | Tournament Details | Date | Time (ET) | Buy-in | Guarantee |
| 1 | NLHE Freezeout | Fri 1 August | 13:00 | $109 | $500,000 |
| 2 | NLHE Re-Buy Turbo | Fri 1 August | 17:00 | $215 | $500,000 |
| 3 | NLHE Progressive Knockout | Sat 2 August | 11:00 | $700 | $600,000 |
| 4 | NLHE 8-Max | Sat 2 August | 14:30 | $1,050 | $600,000 |
| 5 | NLHE 6-Max | Sat 2 August | 17:00 | $215 | $250,000 |
| 6 | NLHE Sunday Warm-Up | Sun 3 August | 11:00 | $215 | $750,000 |
| 7 | PL Omaha 6-Max 1R1A | Sun 3 August | 13:00 | $700 | $300,000 |
| 8 | NLHE Sunday Millions | Sun 3 August | 14:30 | $215 | $1,500,000 |
| 9 | NLHE Main Event | Sun 3 August | 15:30 | $2,100 | $2,000,000 |
WCOOP Challenge Deadline Satellites
More than 1,200 seats to the feature events are guaranteed in PokerStars last-minute “deadline satellites” and with buy-ins starting from just $7.50, the satellites provide an excellent opportunity for players with modest bankrolls to get into the money in some of these prestigious events. The highlight of the series – the $2,100 buy-in Main Event – has three satellites scheduled to take place within 45 minutes of the feature tournament getting underway, and the buy-ins for these range from $82.00 (25 seats guaranteed), through $215.00 (40 seats guaranteed) up to $700.00 (30 seats guaranteed).
Full details of the PokerStars WCOOP Challenge Series and the Deadline Satellites can be found on their dedicated web page.
WCOOP Challenge Deposit ShootOut Bonus
PokerStars are also giving players who make a deposit into their accounts before 23:59 (ET) on Thursday 31st July the opportunity to win free cash in a Deposit Shootout Bonus. Three $50,000 all-in shootout tournaments will be held on Monday 4th August with entry offered to players who fund their accounts using a special PokerStars bonus code and then earn the required number of VPP Points:
- Players making a deposit of $10.00 or more using the code ALLIN1 will be awarded one ticket to one of Monday´s ShootOut tournaments if they earn 5VPPs by 23:59 (ET) on Sunday 3rd August
- Players topping up their accounts with a deposit of $20.00 or more should use the PokerStars bonus code ALLIN2 and earn 15 VPPs to qualify for two ShootOut entry tickets
- Players funding their account with a deposit of $30.00 or more can qualify for three ShootOut entry tickets if they use the code ALLIN3 and earn 30 VPPs by the time the promotion expires
One the clearing requirements have been reached, players can enter the tournament of their choice. The ShootOuts get underway at 14:05, 15:05 and 16:05 on Monday 4 August – each with a $50,000 prize pool and each guaranteeing $5,000 to the winner. The tournaments and further information can be found under “Tourney” > “All” tab in the PokerStars client.