The final event of the WPTDeepStacks season begins Saturday at Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln, CA and promises players and poker fans alike an exciting conclusion with a seven-figure prize pool, one of the tightest Player of the Year races in recent memory, and a livestream with World Poker Tour talent taking to the airwaves.
The $2,500 buy-in event features a $1 million guarantee and players can take advantage of a pair of starting flights. Day 1A is Saturday, December 4 while Day 1B runs Sunday, December 5. Cards are in the air both days beginning at Noon local time. Surviving players will return to action on Monday, December 6 to play down to a final table of nine.
The final table will be livestreamed on the WPT YouTube and Twitch channels on Tuesday, December 7.
The WPTDS Championship also gives players one last opportunity to pick up WPTDeepStacks Player of the Year points. Albert Knafo, who won WPTDeepStacks Venetian in July, currently leads the way with 1,400 points. Roman Shainiuk sits one spot and just 50 points behind Knafo and as a Sacramento local, is expected to be in the field. Jason Young, winner of WPTDeepStacks Hollywood in January 2019, sits in third place with 1,250 points. Seven other players are within 200 points of Knafo.
The WPTDS POY wins a $10,000 WPT Passport which can be used in any global live WPT event and a one-of-a-kind trophy.
Along with the POY contenders, a number of former WPTDS winners will also be in attendance, hoping to take home another title. One such player is former WPTDeepStacks Thunder Valley champ Kyle Kitagawa. In 2019, Kitagawa arrived at Thunder Valley and beat out 356 entries to win $106,250 and his first WPTDS title.
Fresh off of his win at WPTDeepStacks Choctaw, Jared Ward will also be at Thunder Valley. As part of his $102,200 score, Ward also earned entry to the WPTDS Championship.
“I’m looking forward to it,” said Ward about the WPTDeepStacks Championship. “Hopefully I run as well there as I did (at Choctaw).”
World Poker Tour commentator Tony Dunst is also heading to Lincoln to play.
“The staff at Thunder Valley always puts on a fantastic tournament,” Dunst said. “With a Championship on the line, it’s hard not to get excited about playing.”
Three ClubWPT qualifiers will also be in the field. Brian ‘BrianR82’ Raben, Nick ‘wraith75‘ Wilson, and Chuck ‘Zombie Storm’ Wenning all won their seats playing on ClubWPT. The $3,000 package includes the $2,500 buy-in plus a $500 travel allowance plus a VIP experience at the event.
Fans can follow the WPT live updates coverage of the WPTDS Championship on WPT.com beginning on Saturday, December 4 through until the final hand.