Poker News – The World Poker Tour announced on Thursday that it will be returning to Mainland China to host a National Series tournament for a second straight year. Starting on Nov. 5, 2013, at the MGM Grand Sanya Resort, the WPT® National China Tournament will carry a guaranteed prize pool of ¥8,800,000 (approximately US$1,432,000) and has already received commitments from top pros like David Chiu, Liz Lieu, Xuan Liu, Maria Ho, and Johnny Chan.
The WPT® National China Tournament, which carries a $1,500 buy-in, will play down to a final table on Nov. 9. The final six players will then travel to Jeju, South Korea, on Dec. 14 to play down to a winner. The final table will take place in advance of Day 1 of the brand new $3,000 buy-in WPT South Korea event, running from Dec. 15 through Dec. 19.
The 2012 WPT National China Tournament Sanya attracted 542 players, including notables Phil Hellmuth, Johnny Chan, David Chiu, McLean Karr, and Wang Feng. In the end, it was Zheng Hua Lei who took down $192,406 and the trophy after defeating You Jia Wang heads up for the title. Poker pro Sam Razavi finished third.
“Last year’s historic event was fully subscribed and evidenced the growing appetite for world-class poker tournaments in China,” said WPT President Adam Pliska. We’re expecting November’s tournament to be even more successful, and look forward to returning to help promote Texas Hold ‘Em poker and the new emerging talent in China.”
