World Series of Poker Circuit
The World Series of Poker Circuit is a series of poker tournaments held annually at a variety of casinos since 2005 as a build-up to the World Series of Poker (WSOP).
All Championship events are competed in no limit Texas hold 'em; preliminary events may be different poker variants.
In 2015, the WSOP International Circuit was launched, with rounds in Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Africa. The WSOP Circuit National Championship was replaced by the WSOP Global Casino Championship, featuring the winners from both WSOP Circuit and WSOP International Circuit.[1] The International Circuit has expanded to 13 tournaments for the 2017/18 season.[2]
WSOP Circuit National Championship
Starting with the 2010–11 WSOP Circuit, the WSOP Circuit National Championship was held as a closed event for participants of various circuit events.
Starting in 2011–12, qualification for the Circuit National Championship was significantly changed. A total of 100 players now receive automatic seats in the National Championship. The winners of each Circuit main event and the highest point earner at each circuit stop receive seats, with the remaining automatic seats filled by the top points earners throughout the Circuit season who are not already qualified. Additionally, the top 100 players in the "WSOP World Rankings", a points race determined on results in open events of the previous two WSOPs, are eligible to enter. The Circuit qualifiers play the National Championship on a freeroll, while the WSOP World Rankings qualifiers must pay a $10,000 buy-in.[3][4]
The winner of the Circuit National Championship wins a World Series of Poker bracelet.
In 2015–16, the WSOP National Championship was renamed to the WSOP Global Casino Championship.
| Season | Series Name | Winner | Prize | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–11 | WSOP Circuit National Championship |  Sam Barnhart |
$300,000 | James Anderson |
| 2011–12 | WSOP Circuit National Championship | Ryan Eriquezzo |
$416,051 | Nikolas Stone |
| 2012–13 | WSOP Circuit National Championship | Jonathan Hilton |
$355,599 | Max Steinberg |
| 2013–14 | WSOP Circuit National Championship |  Dominik Nitsche |
$352,800 |  Athanasios Polychronopoulos |
| 2014–15 | WSOP Circuit National Championship | Loni Harwood |
$341,599 | Alexandru Masek |
| 2015–16 | WSOP Global Casino Championship |  Said El-Yousfi |
$343,256 | Yasin Ahmady |
| 2016–17 | WSOP Global Casino Championship |  Sean Yu |
$296,941 |  Alexander Lakhov |
| 2017–18 | WSOP Global Casino Championship | Warren Sheaves |
$282,113 | Jeremy Meacham |
| 2018–19 | WSOP Global Casino Championship | Ryan Eriquezzo (2) |
$279,431 | Eric Salazar |
| 2019–20 | WSOP Global Casino Championship (Online) | AJ Kelsall |
$275,632 | Michael Trivett |
WSOP Circuit ring
Like the World Series of Poker and its prestigious bracelet, all circuit stops have preliminary events that award rings as well.
In March 2018, WSOP.com in New Jersey hosted the first online poker tournament to award a Circuit ring.[5]
WSOP Circuit ring winners
Below is a list of all poker players who have won at least five World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit rings.[6]
| Rings | Player | Bracelets |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | Maurice Hawkins |
0 |
| 12 |  Valentin Vornicu |
0 |
| 11 | Joshua Reichard |
0 |
| 9 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Ari Engel |
1 |
| 9 | Robert Hankins |
0 |
| 9 | Daniel Lowery |
0 |
| 9 | Alexandru Masek |
0 |
| 9 |  Martin Ryan |
0 |
| 8 | Kyle Cartwright |
1 |
| 8 | Chris Reslock |
1 |
| 7 | Vincent Moscati |
0 |
| 7 | Joshua Turner |
0 |
| 7 | Cory Waaland |
0 |
| 7 | Sean Yu |
1 |
| 6 | John Holley |
0 |
| 6 | Roland Israelashvili |
0 |
| 6 | Michael Lech |
1 |
| 6 | Andrew Robinson |
0 |
| 6 | Mark Smith |
0 |
| 6 | Maxwell Young |
0 |
| 5 | Austin Apicella |
0 |
| 5 | Andrew Buel |
0 |
| 5 | Mark Fink |
0 |
| 5 | Brandon Fish |
0 |
| 5 | Loni Harwood |
2 |
| 5 | Blair Hinkle |
1 |
| 5 | Kurt Jewell |
0 |
| 5 |  Martin Kabrhel |
2 |
| 5 | David Larson |
0 |
| 5 | Mike Leah |
1 |
| 5 | Christopher Leong |
0 |
| 5 | Kevin McColgan |
0 |
| 5 | Cody Pack |
0 |
| 5 | Scott Stewart |
0 |
| 5 | Caufman Talley |
0 |
| 5 | Jeffrey Trudeau |
0 |
| 5 | Blake Whittington |
0 |
WSOP Circuit Main Event winners
The World Series of Poker Circuit now has 22 stops along the national tour.[7] Each stop ends with a $1,675 buy-in Main Event. Originally they were $10,000. However, it changed rapidly with each succeeding WSOP Circuit season.
2005 season
| Date | Location | Winner | Prize | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 18, 2005 | Harrah's Atlantic City | Nghi Tran | $780,615 | Erick Lindgren |
| March 2, 2005 | Harrah's Rincon | Chris Ferguson | $655,220 | Prahlad Friedman |
| March 23, 2005 | Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino Las Vegas | Doug Lee | $695,970 | Jennifer Harman |
| May 8, 2005 | Harrah's Lake Tahoe | Jeff Lisandro | $542,360 | Phil Ivey |
| May 28, 2005 | Harrah's New Orleans | Walter Chambers | $787,340 | Corey Bierria |
2005–06 season
| Date | Location | Winner | Prize | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 25, 2005 | Grand Casino Tunica | Gregg Merkow | $561,175 | Robert Law |
| September 16, 2005 | Harrah's Las Vegas | Chris Ferguson | $362,088 | Chade Layne |
| November 2, 2005 | Caesars Indiana | Vinny Vinh | $437,760 | Men Nguyen |
| November 22, 2005 | Paris Las Vegas | Thang Pham | $453,456 | J. C. Tran |
| December 9, 2005 | Showboat Casino, Atlantic City | Chris Reslock | $335,235 | John Juanda |
| January 26, 2006 | Grand Casino Tunica | Daniel Negreanu | $755,525 | Bryant King |
| February 17, 2006 | Harrah's Atlantic City | Abraham Korotki | $433,008 | Brian Jensen |
| March 7, 2006 | Harrah's Rincon | Darrell Dicken | $372,780 | Weikai Chang |
| March 31, 2006 | Caesars Atlantic City | Jeffrey King | $345,708 | Rep Porter |
| May 11, 2006 | Caesars Palace | John Spadavecchia | $648,320 | Sean McCabe |
| May 28, 2006 | Harrah's New Orleans | Peter Feldman | $532,950 | Gavin Smith |
| June 19, 2006 | Harrah's Lake Tahoe | Clint Baskin | $372,240 | Brian Fidler |
2006–07 season
| Date | Location | Winner | Prize | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 17, 2006 | Harrah's Lake Tahoe | Michael Arents | $196,005 | Jerrt Renfroe |
| October 4, 2006 | Grand Casino Tunica | Mark Smith | $306,003 | Manelic Minaya |
| November 3, 2006 | Caesars Indiana | Chad Batista | $262,002 | Hoyt Lance |
| December 19, 2006 | Harrah's Atlantic City | Rick Rossetti | $368,096 | Alex Gomez |
| January 17, 2007 | Grand Tunica | Dennis Perry | $563,402 | Gioi Luong |
| February 7, 2007 | Horseshoe Council Bluffs | Kosta Sengos | $219,576 | Paul Kraus |
| February 22, 2007 | Harrah's Rincon | Peter Feldman | $372,780 | Davidson Matthew |
| March 14, 2007 | Caesars Atlantic City | Mehrdad Yousefzadeh | $488,828 | John McMahon |
| April 6, 2007 | Caesars Indiana | Men Nguyen | $238,756 | Young Phan |
| May 2, 2007 | Caesars Las Vegas | Cory Carroll | $505,176 | Justin Pechie |
| May 23, 2007 | Harrah's New Orleans | Louie Esposito | $516,801 | Clint Schafer |
2007–08 season
| Date | Location | Winner | Prize | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 13, 2007 | Grand Casino Tunica | Jordan Morgan | $216,852 | Terry Hawkins |
| November 2, 2007 | Caesars Indiana | Carlos Uz | $175,034 | Marc Fratter |
| November 18, 2007 | Harrah's Lake Tahoe | Chris Ferguson | $203,649 | Dustin Fox |
| December 5, 2007 | Harrah's New Orleans | Andy Philachack | $247,860 | Josh Arieh |
| December 18, 2007 | Harrah's Atlantic City | John Racener | $379,392 | Eric Buchman |
| January 22, 2008 | Grand Casino Tunica | Bart Tichelman | $428,210 | Donald Nicholson |
| February 7, 2008 | Harrah's Rincon San Diego North | Mike Pickett | $229,002 | David Peters |
| February 27, 2008 | Horseshoe Council Bluffs | Ben Hock | $169,327 | Michael Martin |
| March 15, 2008 | Caesars Atlantic City | Eric Haber | $431,136 | Dan Hicks |
| April 14, 2008 | Caesars Indiana | Wilbur Futhey | $180,289 | Steve Merrifield |
| May 1, 2008 | Caesars Las Vegas | Allen Cunningham | $499,162 | Ben Fineman |
| May 21, 2008 | Harrah's New Orleans | Nick Ceci | $382,928 | Timothy Miles |
2008–09 season
| Date | Location | Winner | Prize | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 14, 2008 | Horseshoe Southern Indiana | Samuel Oberlin | $143,064 | Jerry Martin |
| November 2, 2008 | Harrahs Horseshoe Casino Hammond | Steve Billirakis | $208,885 | Thomas Koral |
| November 16, 2008 | Harveys Resort & Casino, Lake Tahoe | Michael Binger | $181,379 | Ty Stewart |
| December 16, 2008 | Harrah's Atlantic City | Brent Roberts | $280,940 | Phillip Reed |
| February 2, 2009 | Harrah's Casino Tunica | Kai Landry | $183,974 | David Dao |
| February 25, 2009 | Horseshoe Council Bluffs | Jesse Hale | $113,020 | Dennis Meierotto |
| March 14, 2009 | Caesars Atlantic City | Samuel Chartier | $322,944 | John Nixon |
| April 1, 2009 | Harrah's Rincon San Diego | Dwyte Pilgrim | $125,775 | Esther Taylor |
| April 30, 2009 | Caesars Palace | Justin Bonomo | $227,692 | Michael Mizrachi |
| May 20, 2009 | Harrah's New Orleans | Jean Gaspard | $211,722 | Billy Kopp |
2009–10 season
| Date | Location | Winner | Prize | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 25, 2009 | Harrah's Horseshoe Casino Hammond | Daniel Livingston | $291,749 | Thanasi Floros |
| November 2, 2009 | Horseshoe Southern Indiana | Gabriel Cook | $92,430 | Christopher Tryba |
| November 17, 2009 | Harveys Resort & Casino, Lake Tahoe | Matt Keikoan | $106,435 | Justin Hallstrom |
| December 15, 2009 | Harrah's Atlantic City | Chris Klodnicki | $215,915 | Kyle Bowker |
| February 10, 2010 | Harrah's Casino Tunica | Paul Wasicka | $139,422 | Larry Gurney |
| March 2, 2010 | Horseshoe Council Bluffs | Jovan Sudar | $95,455 | Gerald Walter |
| March 14, 2010 | Caesars Atlantic City | Roland Isra | $264,715 | Chris Mitchell |
| March 31, 2010 | Harrah's Rincon San Diego | Bryan Devoshire | $114,975 | Dan Schreiber |
| April 15, 2010 | Harrah's St.Louis | Jeffrey Roper | $170,814 | Jason Mo |
| April 30, 2010 | Caesars Palace | Andrew Lichtenberger | $190,137 | Dan Casetta |
| May 19, 2010 | Harrah's New Orleans | Fred Berger | $197,584 | Mike Beasley |
2010–11 season
| Date | Location | Winner | Prize | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 31, 2010 | Horseshoe Council Bluffs | Blair Hinkle | $88,555 | Shiva Dudani |
| October 12, 2010 | Horseshoe Council Bluffs | Charles Moore | $98,878 | Kevin Calenzo |
| October 31, 2010 | Emerald Casino | Warren Zackey | $231,956 | Melanie Banfield |
| November 9, 2010 | IP Casino Resort & Spa | Travis Lutes | $95,253 | Farid Nasserazad |
| November 10, 2010 | Harveys Lake Tahoe | Stanley Quinn | $86,789 | John Mcneilly |
| December 22, 2010 | WSOP Regional Championship - Harrah's Atlantic City | Chris Bell | $358,295 | Chris Klodnicki |
| January 24, 2011 | Choctaw Casino Resort | Huy Nguyen | $232,706 | Traci Brown |
| February 15, 2011 | Harrah's Tunica | Sam Barnhart | $148,612 | Jesse White |
| March 1, 2011 | Palm Beach Kennel Club | John Riordan | $210,180 | Mike Morton |
| March 13, 2011 | Caesars Atlantic City | Brian Ali | $139,284 | John Andress |
References
- WSOP Finalizes Details for 2016 Global Casino Championship - Pocket Fives, 5 April 2016
- WSOP Circuit International Schedule 2017-2018 - Brett Collson, Poker News, 16 July 2017
- Feldman, Andrew (July 29, 2011). "'11-'12 WSOP Circuit to feature 16 stops". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
- Feldman, Andrew (July 23, 2012). "WSOP Circuit expands for 2012–13". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
- "WSOP Circuit Will Finally Put A Ring On NJ Online Poker Players". Online Poker Report. 2018-03-12. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
- "WSOP Players". WSOP. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
- Palansky, Seth (July 14, 2014). "WSOP ANNOUNCES 2014-15 WSOP CIRCUIT TOUR SCHEDULE". wsop.com. Retrieved April 29, 2015.