March was a record-breaking month for the World Poker Tour. 11 global events across five countries and eight different flags next to the winner’s name equals a new high. The month witnessed five WPT Champions Club members crowned, three final tables at HyperX Esports Arena, the first full European WPT festival of events at WPT Barcelona, six WPTDeepStacks events, and records set across the WPT.
A month of this nature on the WPT is unprecedented. To break it all down, the WPT presents a look at March by the numbers.
$18,847,958 – A new high bar was set for the World Poker Tour with eight figures of prize money awarded across the globe. The largest percentage of this total was awarded at the WPT L.A. Poker Classic, where 546 entries combined to register more than $5.1 million into the second-largest prize pool of Season XVII. At WPT Barcelona, 1,227 entries created the largest foreign prize pool of the season at more than $4 million. To conclude the WPT Barcelona festival, the WPTDeepStacks Barcelona event collected $1.825 million for the largest WPTDS prize pool of all-time.
9,244 – Across the 11 events that started in March, more than 9,000 entries registered in poker destinations across the world. WPT500 Barcelona set the record for most entries in a WPT500 event in Europe when 2,763 joined the field at Casino Barcelona. All three fields in Barcelona crossed the four-figure mark.
A new event on the World Poker Tour schedule in Las Vegas did exceptionally well by all standards. WPT at Venetian sported a $1 million guarantee and doubled that total in the final prize pool when 734 entries populated the field. Ben Palmer (pictured) took down the title and the more than $430,000 first-place prize along with a seat in the Baccarat Crystal WPT Tournament of Champions.
7 – Seven different flags stepped into the WPT winner’s circle. In Barcelona alone, three nations were represented at the top of the payout chart. The festival opened with Lukasz Fraczek of Poland winning the WPT500. A few days later, Vitalijs Zavorotnijs became the first Latvian-born player to win a WPT title. Simon Brandstorm of Sweden closed out the festival by winning the WPTDeepStacks Barcelona event.
The final nine players in the WPT Barcelona Main Event hailed from nine different countries. A rare feat on the World Poker Tour.
Along the way, David Baker, Erkut Yilmaz, Ben Palmer, Justin Liberto, and Vitor Coelho (United States); You Zeng (China); Vincent Chauve (France); and Felix Schulze (Denmark), all claimed titles for their respective nations.
5 – The World Poker Tour crisscrossed the globe in March. The United States featured five of the overall 11 events and Spain filled in three more events thanks to the WPT Barcelona festival. WPT Vietnam set a new record for the largest prize pool in the history of the country. WPTDeepStacks Johannesburg put forth another strong showing with 452 entries to break the record for the event. WPTDeepStacks Amsterdam closed out the month with 507 entries to double the previous season’s total.
What can top March? The rest of the WPT season starts in just a few weeks at the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, the first of three remaining events on the WPT Main Tour schedule. Next up, WPT Choctaw takes place from May 17-20 in Durant, OK. The final tables for those two events take place on May 30 and May 31, respectively, at HyperX Esports Arena.
Additionally, the WPTDeepStacks European Championship starts on May 9 in Casino Barrière.
This weekend, the WPT travels back to Northern California for the WPTDeepStacks Thunder Valley event with a $500,000 guarantee attached. Make sure to stay tuned to WPT.com to see where the next event near you is taking place.
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.