J.C. Tran. Yevgeniy Timoshenko. Fedor Holz. Steven van Zadelhoff. Through the 20 year history of the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker, some of the biggest names in poker have had a signature win in the WCOOP Main Event. Along with the seven-figure score for winning comes the opportunity to build a legacy alongside some other online poker legends.
The 2021 WCOOP Main Event High features a $5,200 buy-in and a $10 million guarantee. While that price point might seem out of reach for the everyday grinder, PokerStars has an extensive satellite program designed to help players of all bankrolls work their way into the big one.
Winning the WCOOP Main Event would certainly elevate any poker player to legend status, but doing so by turning $1 into the title and $1,000,000+ would be a win for the ages. PokerStars offers exactly that opportunity through their WCOOP Fast Track, which is awarding $1,000,000 of WCOOP tickets.
Step 1 is a $1 buy-in 12-player sit-n-go that awards one ticket to the Step 2 tournament. Step 2 is a 21-player $12 buy-in that will send two players to the Step 3 event. This is where things change a little bit. Step 3 is a $109 buy-in multi-table tournament that guarantees at least four tickets to the fourth and final stage. Step 4 has a $1,050 buy-in and once again is an MTT format with three $5,200 Main Event seats guaranteed.
Players don’t have to start at the $1 buy-in level. They can enter any one of the step tournaments by buying in with cash.
For players who prefer the thrill of the hunt, PokerStars also has a dedicated set of Spin-n-Gos that reward players with all kinds of WCOOP tickets available to be won, including Main Event seats. Players can enter Spin-n-Gos with buy-ins of $1.50, $4, or $22 to win WCOOP tickets. Players can win just a single Main Event entry and any subsequent Main Event seats won will be automatically converted to tournament dollars.
For players who prefer a more traditional satellite route, the Phase system might just scratch that itch. There are multiple $55 buy-in Phase 1 tournaments each day. Players who bag chips after 15 levels of play move onto the Phase 2 tournament. Phase 2 runs each Sunday and awards a minimum of five $5,200 Main Event seats.
While the High NLHE Main Event is the one that grabs all of the headlines, there is also the Medium and Low Main Events with buy-ins of $1,050 and $109 respectively. Mega satellites are available for the Medium Main Event for $109 while the Low Main Event megas cost $2.20. Each of those MTTs typically guarantees at least five seats to their associated Main Event.
All six of the 2021 WCOOP Main Events begin Sunday, September 12.
