Welcome to Day 1 of the WPT L.A. Poker Classic

By Tim Duckworth

Season XVIII of the World Poker Tour returns to Commerce, California, and The Commerce Casino & Hotel for Day 1 of the WPT L.A. Poker Classic.

The L.A. Poker Classic has a storied history on the WPT appearing in every season since its inception. The L.A. Poker Classic is not only one of the few $10,000 buy-in tournaments on the tour, it is also the only freezeout remaining. The list of champions reads like an honor roll for the Poker Hall of Fame as the likes of Gus Hansen, Antonio Esfandiari, Michael Mizrachi, Phil Ivey, Chris Moorman, Anthony Zinno, Dietrich Fast, and Daniel Strelitz are previous L.A. Poker Classic champions.

In Season XVII, 546 players created a $5,169,270 prize pool that paid the top 69 players as the likes of WPT Champions Club members Matthew Wantman, Mike Del Vecchio, J.C. Tran, Taylor Paur, Mohsin Charania, Andy Frankenberger, Tony Tran, and James Carroll all finished in the money. With the final table being played out at the HyperX Esports Arena at the Luxor Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, it would be David “ODB” Baker (pictured) collecting his first WPT title and the $1,015,000 first-place prize after defeating WPT Champions Club member Matas Cimbolas heads-up.

Hublot WPT Player of the Year Standings for Season XVIII
Only six events remain for Season XVIII of the World Poker Tour, and it is WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open champion Brian Altman holding the lead in the Hublot WPT Player of the Year race with 2,100 points. Altman is also sitting third in chips at the WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open final table that plays out at the HyperX Esports Arena on April 2, and he is guaranteed 800 points while 1,400 points remain for the eventual winner. Trailing Altman is WPT Fallsview Poker Classic champion Eric Afriat with 1,700 points while Alex Foxen and Donald Maloney sit tied on 1,450 points as Toby Joyce rounds out the top five with 1,400 points.

With Season XVIII now well underway on the WPT Main Tour, great prizes are on offer for whoever can follow in the footsteps of defending WPT Player of the Year Erkut Yilmaz and other WPT legends before him.

Included in the World Poker Tour’s enhancements for Season XVIII are added Hublot WPT Player of the Year prizes. Not only will the Hublot WPT Player of the Year for Season XVIII 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.

WPT L.A. Poker Classic Structure and Schedule
The WPT L.A. Poker Classic features a $10,000 buy-in and the tournament will be a freezeout format with players allowed only one entry. Registration is open until the start of Level 11 on Day 2; approximately 3:30 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, March 1.

As is the case with all Season XVIII WPT Main Tour stops, it comes with the 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 L.A. Poker Classic schedule will see play start at 12 p.m. (ET) with Day 1 playing eight 60-minute levels with a 15-minute break after every two levels and no scheduled dinner break. Day 2 and 3 will see levels extended to 90-minutes in duration, and there will be five levels each day, while for Day 4 and 5, levels will be extended to 120-minutes with a 15-minute break after each level. Day 5 will conclude when six players remain, and those players will return to resume final table play on Thursday, April 2, at 4 p.m. (ET) from the HyperX Esports Arena at the Luxor Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

To view complete information on the WPT L.A. Poker Classic structure and schedule, click here.

With that, the stage is now set for the start of Day 1 of the WPT L.A. Poker Classic beginning at 12 p.m. (ET) from the Commerce Casino & Hotel. 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 L.A. Poker Classic champion, and wins his or her way to the season-ending Baccarat Crystal WPT Tournament of Champions.

Photography by Joe Giron / PokerPhotoArchive

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