WPT Japan Set To Welcome Top Poker Players Including Ivey in November

Summary:

• WPT Japan takes place in Tokyo and features a ¥5,000 buy-in and a ¥100,000,000 guarantee
• Phil Ivey will compete in the tournament alongside other celebrities
• The tournament will adopt a hybrid OnLive format, with online qualifiers running on WPT Global

The World Poker Tour (WPT) is set to return to Tokyo for WPT Japan this November in partnership with the Japan eSports Union, and brand ambassador Phil Ivey was among the first to confirm their attendance at the event.

The Poker Hall of Famer (PHoF) will take part in the ¥5,000 ($34) buy-in event which has a guarantee of ¥100,000,000 ($671,244). This offers a great opportunity for poker players and fans to personally compete against one of the greatest poker players of all time.

Phil Ivey to Compete at WPT Japan

Ivey joined the WPT as an ambassador in November 2022 and has since been appearing in various WPT-sponsored events across the globe. The American poker pro is a former WPT champ himself, having won the WPT L.A. Poker Classic in 2008.

Wearing the WPT patch, Ivey will be in Tokyo for the upcoming WPT Japan event and he’s excited for the tournament which he said would showcase solid completion given the record prize pool.

Players can also look forward to seeing other celebrities at the game, with the WPT confirming it would be inviting some famous names to the tournament.

WPT Japan to Adopt OnLive Format

The hybrid format is being increasingly adopted for tournaments nowadays as it gives players expanded options to enter an event. They may qualify online via an online poker platform and then resume the action in a live setting. In WPT Japan’s case, the tournament offers multiple online starting flights which will run on WPT Global.

Those who get through the online Day 1s will advance to the live portion of the event which takes place at the Shinjuku Sumitomo Building Triangle Square in Tokyo. The live action kicks off on November 23 and runs for three days.

Each Day 1 concludes when the final 15% of the field is reached and all survivors will have their stacks carried over into Day 2, which is the first live day of the tournament. Players may also max late register directly into Day 2.

Direct buy-ins for both the live and online portions cost ¥5,000 ($34), but players may qualify for a more affordable price through online qualifiers on WPT Global which are available for as low as ¥1,000 ($6.71). The site will begin hosting these qualifiers on November 18, running daily at 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. Japanese Standard Time.