Europe’s largest organization for amateur players, the Amateur Poker Association & Tour (APAT), is teaming up with partypoker for the 2021 World Championship of Amateur Poker (WCOAP). The online poker site will play host to the festival which will run from January 23 to February 8, 2021.
WCOAP is traditionally held as a live event, being the highlight of each APAT season. However in 2020, the festival had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
WCOAP Continues Online
Since COVID-19 continues to pose problems worldwide, APAT decided to take the action to the virtual felts, in partnership with partypoker. Amateur and recreational players who have been waiting for the festival to play out can finally plan their schedules now, with 16 bracelet events to choose from and $750,000 in combined guarantees to be awarded across more than two weeks of exciting online action. Entry fees for these events range between $55 and $530.
Also this year, organizers have made the WCOAP more accessible to amateur players by adding mini versions to the primary events, with buy-ins starting from as low as $5.50. These events will run side by side through to the conclusion of the festival.
All of the events will be played in freezeout format and late registration is also limited, so as to provide a level playing field for all participants.
Schedule & Highlights
The WCOAP will open with the International Team Championship, an invite-only event which takes place on January 23.
The actual festival begins on January 24, with the first event being the 6-Max Knockout Championship. It is one of the key events on the schedule featuring a buy-in of $55 and $75,000 in guarantees. Players kick off the action with 50,000 in chips, played in 15-minute levels.
Majority of the championship events feature a buy-in of $55, with only three of them requiring a higher entry fee – the $265 buy-in High Roller Championship, the $530 buy-in Super High Roller Championship, and the $109 buy-in, $150K GTD Main Event which is the main highlight of the series.
Most of the events run for two days, with a range of formats to choose from, such as 6-Max, Mix Max, 7 Card Stud, Knockout, PLO, PLO8, Turbo, Turbo Knockout, and Heads Up.
The miniseries features an affordable $5.50 for most of its events, with up to $20K in guarantees up for grabs.
Promos and other Rewards
Apart from the prize money, the top finishers will also walk away with special non-cash awards. As usual, players who finish in the Top 3 will each take home a special medal, while all the winners of the Championship events will receive a specially commissioned Championship bracelet. More than just the money, these trophies will serve as commemoration of the players’ hard work and efforts which they’ll treasure for the rest of their lives.
Additionally, the festival will give away a coveted MILLIONS Main Event ticket via the WCOAP Player of the Series Leaderboard. Players participating in the Championship events will earn points according to their finishing positions, and whoever ends up with the most number of points will be crowned the WCOAP Player of the Series, and will take home a free MILLIONS Main Event seat valued at $5,000!
But first, players need to register to APAT as this promotion is open only to APAT members. No worries, because the registration is absolutely free!
The APAT
Since 2006, APAT has been providing quality poker tours for amateur and recreational players, enabling them to hone their skills and build relationships in a fun but competitive environment. The organization was responsible for the first ever national poker tour in the UK, and has since held multiple events in Europe as well as North America.
The organization takes pride in becoming a stepping stone for some amateur players who eventually made it big in the game. Some of those who took part in APAT events went on to win major international titles, including the World Poker Tour, the European Poker Tour, and the World Series of Poker.