Key Takeaways
- WPT Global’s Spring Festival awards nearly $8.2 million in prize money.
- The series surpassed its guaranteed prize pools of $7.5 million by over half a million.
- The WPT Championship Event generated a prize pool of $1,158,980..
Leading online poker operator WPT Global has concluded the recent Spring Festival with nearly $8.2 million in prize money being awarded. The series took place from May 5 to 26, 2024 and came with nearly $7.5 million in guaranteed prize pools, which it eclipsed by more than half a million.
As part of the online series, the operator hosted an online edition of the WPT Championship Event with a buy-in of $3,500 and $1 million guarantee. The marquee tournament generated a prize pool of $1,158,980 and first place finisher “Sandwich99” earned $230,521.12 for the efforts, which included the $10,400 seat for the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas in December.
Another entry for WPT’s annual flagship live poker tournament in Sin City was awarded in Event #118: $1,060 WPT Prime, which paid out $770,000 in prize money. Chinese player 吴念真 earned the top prize of $147,666.75 including the aforementioned $10,400 seat.
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The success of the festival was supported by an extensive satellite system, which awarded nearly seven figures worth of Spring Festival tickets. It was the first of four planned major online series in which the range of buy-ins was set to fit every bankroll.
- Total Events Hosted: 315
- Total Guaranteed Prize Pools: $7,463,250
- Total Event Entries: 129,629
- Total Event Prize Pools: $8,169,115
- Total Spring Festival Tickets Won in Satellites & Feeders: $900,000
- Seats Won for $3,500 WPT Championship ($1M GTD): 91 seats worth $318,000
All of the key events managed to reach their respective guarantee, although there were some close calls in which the target amount was surpassed by a very small margin. This includes the $1,060 WPT Prime, the $220 Spring Festival Championship and the $22 Spring Festival Mini Championship.
WPT Global Spring Festival Key Event Info
| Event | Day 1 Dates | Day 2 | Guarantee | Prize Pool Generated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #4 $22 Spring Festival Mini Championship | Daily from May 5 | May 25 | $150,000 | $152,700 |
| #5 $220 Spring Festival Championship | Daily from May 5 | May 26 | $500,000 | $514,000 |
| #10 $530 WPT500 | Daily from May 5 | May 12 | $400,000 | $431,000 |
| #118 $1,060 WPT Prime | Daily from May 12 | May 19 | $750,000 | $770,000 |
| #213 $3,500 WPT Championship | Daily from May 19 | May 26 | $1,000,000 | $1,158,980 |
As part of the online series, the operator also ran a promotion in which the collected rake of all festival tournaments was redistributed to the players through Festival Leaderboards and restricted Freerolls. According to WPT Global, more than $740,000 was returned to the players. Leaderboard prizes were awarded directly to the player accounts whereas the dedicated Freerolls ran on June 2, one week after the end of the online series.
Shortly after the end of this tournament series, the operator introduced a new promotion for sit-and-go players on June 9, 2024. The new daily Global Spins Leaderboards are aimed to reward the most active SNG contenders across all available stakes.
Five different leaderboards are paying out $2,143 every day, the weekly tally amounts to $15,001 in total. Players earn one leaderboard point for each Global Spin played except for the highest tier, in which the $50 Spins earn 0.6 points and the $100 Spins award 1 point each. It is possible to earn daily prizes from multiple leaderboards with at least ten spots and up to 25 spots paid.
Global Spins Leaderboards Overview
- $1 Global Spins Leaderboard: Awards $83 in daily prizes, top 25 spots paid.
- $5 Global Spins Leaderboard: Awards $170 in daily prizes, top 15 spots paid.
- $10 Global Spins Leaderboard: Awards $290 in daily prizes, top 15 spots paid.
- $25 Global Spins Leaderboard: Awards $500 in daily prizes, top 10 spots paid.
- $50/$100 Global Spins Leaderboard: Awards $1,100 in daily prizes, top 10 spots paid.
It is labeled as the biggest Global Spins promotion to date by WPT Global and the prizes are paid out in Global Spins tickets, which are non-refundable and hold no cash value. This promotion follows hot on the heels of the Daily PLO Leaderboards, which were launched in May 2024.