Welcome to WPT Choctaw!

Season XVII of the World Poker Tour is near an end and there is yet another exciting event taking place before the Baccarat Crystal WPT Tournament of Champions starts on June 1. Today marks the start of the second edition of WPT Choctaw this season. This $3,700 buy-in event comes with a special add-on. The final table takes place at HyperX Esports Arena on May 31 in Las Vegas. The fifth trip for the World Poker Tour to Durant, Oklahoma includes a $1 million guarantee and a large field expected to be inside the Choctaw Grand Theater.

Brady Holiman (pictured below) topped a field of 755 entries in August to win the first WPT Choctaw event in Season XVII to win $469,185 along with a $15,000 seat to the Baccarat Crystal WPT Tournament of Champions. Holiman beat a final table with no shortage of talent that included three-time WPT Champions Club member Anthony Zinno and two-time WPT winner Tony Ruberto. Ruberto took fourth and started a run toward the Hublot WPT Player of the Year prize that included a win at WPT Maryland in October.

Dating back to Season XIV, WPT Choctaw has consistently produced exciting events and prize pools that are among the highest each season. Check out some of the classic moments from WPT Choctaw written by WPT’s Sean Chaffin.

Along with the big money up for grabs, the Hublot WPT Player of the Year award still has a lot of work left to be decided. Two-time Season XVII WPT Champions Club member Erkut Yilmaz leads with 2,300 points but faces stiff competition from Dylan Linde (2,100 points), Ping Liu (1,950 points), and Ruberto (1,850 points) a final table finish from any of those players will allow them to overtake Yilmaz. If the prize pool reaches at least $2 million, the points for reaching the final table are worth at least 600 with 1,200 points awarded to first. Catch up on the full standings here.

The winner of the Hublot WPT Player of the Year race wins $15,000 in WPT tournament buy-in credits along with select hotel accommodations in Season XVIII. 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 Choctaw welcomes players with two Day 1 flights, the first of which starts today at 12 p.m. local time. Both flights play for 10 levels with all remaining players bagging chips up for Sunday’s Day 2. Registration is open until the start of Day 2 with unlimited reentries available to all who wish to partake. The $3,700 buy-in event features a $1 million guarantee and expectations for the final prize pool are much higher than that. Levels for the entire WPT Choctaw event are 60-minutes. Read the full WPT Choctaw structure here.

The stage is officially set for another WPT televised event. All players have their eyes set on Las Vegas but they must make it out of Oklahoma first. If history is any indication, we’re in for a great couple of days at Choctaw Casino & Resort. Stay tuned to WPT.com for complete coverage of WPT Choctaw.

Photography by Jamie Thomson / PokerPhotoArchive

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