The Bellagio Hosts the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic to Close Out 2018

By Tim Duckworth

Season XVII continues on the World Poker Tour with the final stop of 2018 being the $10,400 WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic taking center stage at the Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Since the inaugural season, the Bellagio has played host to this event in December, and although there were a few alterations to the event name, only two years didn’t see the World Poker Classic was attached to it.

Previous winners of this event is a roll call for the greats of the game. Opening the World Poker Tour in Season I saw Gus Hansen collect the first of his three WPT titles, while other winners include Daniel Negreanu, Joe Hachem, Chino Rheem, Antonio Esfandiari, Dan Smith, and Mohsin Charania. In Season XVI, a total of 812 entries would create a $7,876,400 prize pool which saw Ryan Tosoc (pictured below) avenge his second-place finish in Season XV with a victory over Alex Foxen for $1,958,065 and his first WPT title.

New Season and New Prizes for the Hublot WPT Player of the Year

Although his big win shot him up the leaderboard in the Hublot WPT Player of the Year face, Ryan Tosoc would eventually finish in ninth-place overall as Art Papazyan would be crowned the Season XVI Hublot WPT Player of the Year. With Season XVII now reaching the half-way point on the WPT Main Tour, there are new prizes on offer for whoever can follow in the steps of Papazyan and other WPT legends before him.

Included in the World Poker Tour’s enhancements for Season XVII are added Hublot WPT Player of the Year prizes. Not only will the Hublot WPT Player of the Year for Season XVII win a custom Hublot timepiece and complimentary accommodation at select WPT Main Tour stops for Season XVIII, but he or she will earn $15,000 in WPT tournament buy-in credits. Prizes have been added for second- and third-place finishers in the race, as well. The runner-up receives $7,500 in WPT tournament buy-in credits and third place receives $2,500 in WPT tournament buy-in credits.

WPT tournament buy-in credits can be used in any global WPT event, including WPT Main Tour, WPTDeepStacks, WPT500, and WPT Special Events.

Currently, it is two-time WPT Champions Club member Tony Ruberto (pictured above) sitting on top of the Season XVII Hublot WPT Player of the Year leaderboard with 1,800 points following his two final tables and WPT Maryland title. Behind Ruberto is Erkut Yilmaz on 1,300 points following his WPT Borgata Poker Open win, and two additional cashes. There is a four-way tie following that as Patrick Serda, Simon Lam, Pavel Plesuv, and Brady Holiman all sit on 1,200 points with a lone WPT title to their name this season.

To view the current Season XVII Hublot Player of the Year Leaderboard, click here.

If previous results are any indication, the Season XVII WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic will see the maximum 1,400 points available for whoever is victorious, meaning that they will most likely surge into second place overall heading into the 2019 leg of the WPT Main Tour.

WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic Structure and Schedule

The WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic features a $10,400 buy-in. There are five days of total play and registration closes on Day 2 at the start of Level 12; approximately 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday, December 12. There are unlimited re-entries allowed.

As is the case with all Season XVII WPT Main Tour stops, it comes with the new World Poker Tour structure that includes the big blind ante format and 40,000 in starting chips. The first two levels will be 100-100 and 100-200 with no ante before the big blind ante kicks in for Level 3 and onward. Level 3 will be 100-200 with a 200 ante, and the big blind ante will be the same price as the big blind from there on out.

The WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic schedule will see play start at 12 p.m. (PST). Day 1 will play eight 60-minute levels with a 15-minute break after every two levels and there will be no dinner break. Day 2 and 3 will play six 90-minute levels with a 15-minute break after each level, and a 60-minute dinner break after the fourth level of the day; approximately 6:45 p.m. (PST) on each day. Day 4 will continue with 90-minute levels and play down to the final table of six is reached, and then the final table will play 60-minute levels.

To view complete information on the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic structure and schedule, click here.

With that, the stage is now set for the start of the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic to begin at 12 p.m. (PST). Stay tuned right here to WPT.com for the exclusive live coverage of the tournament from start to finish to see who becomes the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic Champion, and wins his or her way to the season-ending Baccarat Crystal WPT Tournament of Champions.

Looking to win your way to a World Poker Tour event for your shot at becoming a WPT champion? Play for your chance on ClubWPT.com, where eligible VIP Members can play for over $100,000 in cash and prizes each month, including seats to WPT events, no purchase necessary.