The World Poker Tour (WPT) was officially launched in May 2002 with the Five Diamond World Poker Classic at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, and the curtain has been raised on the world poker stage for the past 21 years. Over the years, the WPT has grown in size and its footprint now covers the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. With nearly a thousand events and numerous champions, the WPT has a large fan base and influence globally and is regarded as one of the world’s top three poker events alongside the WSOP and EPT.
The WPT constantly innovates and offers a variety of impressive events, including the World Poker Finals, Borgata Poker Open, LA Poker Classic, WPT World Championship, and Seminole series, which have been held in the United States for a long time. The Five Diamond event was the WPT’s first series, and after Gus Hansen became the first WPT champion in history, players like [Dan Harrington], Joe Hachem, Chino Rheem, Antonio Esfandiari, Dan Smith, Alex Foxen, and more have all successfully won the main event title.
In 2007, the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic awarded the largest prize pool in history, $2,482,605. In 2019, the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic successfully broke the record for the highest number of participants and prize pool, with 1,035 players creating a total prize pool of $10,039,500.
The WPT LA Poker Classic is also popular, attracting a large number of players every year. The WPT World Championship is one of the most prestigious events in the WPT series. Among the many main event champions, when [David Chiu], a Chinese player, won the main event championship in the sixth season in 2008, the scene of him winning the championship while carrying the five-starred red flag has become a classic moment that has been passed down through the ages!
The WPT began to expand globally from the second season (2003) and has left fond memories in Paris, France, and Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas. In the sixth season, the WPT moved to Barcelona, Spain. As the eighth season approached, the WPT gradually expanded internationally, starting in May 2009, with events in Venice, Italy, Slovakia, Cyprus, Marrakech, Morocco, and Bucharest, Romania. In the ninth season, the WPT continued to expand in the UK and France, with eight events held outside North America that season.
After the tenth season, the WPT’s size continued to grow, and its events became more mature. With the exception of Jacksonville, the United States, six new locations were added, including Slovenia, Malta, Prague in the Czech Republic, Ireland, Angers in France, and Bratislava in Slovakia. In the eleventh season, the WPT continued to expand its footprint to Copenhagen, Denmark, Montreal, Canada, Mazagan, Morocco, and Baden, Germany, with cheers everywhere it went!
Meanwhile, WPT National China officially entered China in 2012 and successfully held events for six years. During this period, several well-known WPT champions were born, including [Rong Xu], [Zhenhua Lu], [Hao Chen], [Yanhan Chen], [Jiayang Liang], and [Zhiqiang Qian], all of whom have left their brilliant moments on the champion’s podium!
In the twelfth season, the WPT officially entered South Korea, becoming the second country to host WPT events in Asia. In 2017, the Korean event added a team competition, and the mainland Chinese team composed of Dong Guo, Yang Zhang, Xixiang Luo, and Guoliang Wei won the championship, while the Hong Kong, China team won the runner-up, and the Chinese team shone in that competition!
In the fourteenth season, the WPT settled in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and the Philippines, while also holding new events in Choctaw, Maryland, in the United States. In the fifteenth season, in addition to the Caribbean, the WPT continued to expand into Southeast Asian countries. Players in Thailand and Cambodia no longer need to envy others! In the sixteenth season, the WPT’s poker craze swept Berlin, Germany, while Brazil, Portugal, Japan, and India all welcomed their first WPT events. In the seventeenth season, the Russian Sochi event shone brightly, delivering a perfect performance for poker fans. In the eighteenth season, the WPT entered Mexico, and everyone had an equal chance to win! In the nineteenth season, the WPT once again stepped into Australia, and the land down under bloomed with colorful poker flowers!
Starting in 2022, the WPT nolonger operates as an independent entity but has become a part of Element Partners, a private equity firm that focuses on sustainable investments. The WPT remains one of the most prestigious poker events in the world and continues to offer a wide range of events for players of all skill levels. From the Five Diamond World Poker Classic to the WPT World Championship, the WPT has left a significant mark on the history of poker and will continue to do so for years to come.