by Mario Alfonsi | Published on Mar 4, 2021 | Updated on Mar 4, 2021
The next few months are going to be busy for the World Poker Tour (WPT) as all of its final tables which have been delayed since the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 will take place in spring.
The final tables were originally scheduled to take place back in March 31, 2020 in Las Vegas, but they were postponed due to the pandemic.
With the cancellation of live events, the WPT moved the action online and organized a series of live festivals in partnership with partypoker.
Now, as the live poker scene slowly reopens, poker players and fans can look forward to major WPT live events returning this year. In fact, the WPT has already begun hosting live poker tournaments in the US as early as January, starting off with The Lucky Hearts Poker Open in Hollywood, Florida.
Final Table Schedule
Final table action begins this month, with the finalists of the WPT Gardens Poker Championship playing down to a winner on March 10. The delayed final table for the 2020 WPT Borgata Poker Open will take place on May 16, and will be followed by the WPT L.A. Poker Classic on May 17.
The final table for the upcoming WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown will also run on May 18.
The WPT Gardens Poker Championship dealt its last live hand on January 13, 2020, while the WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open left off on January 30, 2020. WPT L.A. Poker Classic paused the action after the last hand was dealt on March 4, 2020. Meanwhile, the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown is still set to kick off on April 23, 2021.
PokerGO Studio Becomes New Host Venue
One major change this year is that all of these final tables will no longer take place at the HyperX Esports Arena at Luxor in Las Vegas. The PokerGO Studio outside ARIA will become the new venue for the final action.
There will also be no livestreams available, though the Poker Central team will still be there to film the event.
Fans can instead expect the action to be broadcast on TV, and for those who want real-time updates, the WPT will send in its live reporting team to the venue to cover everything.
Safety Protocols
All of the players will undergo COVID-19 tests prior to the March 10 final table. Participants who test positive of the virus will automatically be awarded with the ICM payout for their chipstack. This requirement applies for the March 10 final table only, so changes could be made when the final tables scheduled for May get underway.
