WPT President Adam Pliska Addresses Schedule Conflict for Season XII WPT Championship
Poker players voiced their concern on Monday regarding the newly-released dates for the Season XII partypoker World Poker Tour World Championship in Atlantic City, N.J. The event, which will be hosted outside of Las Vegas for the first time ever, will run from April 22-26, 2014, just days before the start of the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino European Poker Tour Grand Final.
PokerStars released the schedule for the EPT Grand Final in May. The series will kick off April 23, 2014, with the Main Event beginning on April 26. The festival will also feature a €25,000 High Roller and a €100,000 Super High Roller. The dates for these two events have yet to be announced.
Many players fear they'll need to choose one tour over the other next April. Among those who spoke up this week was Scott Seiver, who pleaded on Twitter for the WPT to reconsider the WPT Championship dates.
"Please don't conflict with EPT Monte Carlo," wrote Seiver, who won the WPT Championship in 2011. "Hope there is time to reschedule. Too important."
In response, Borgata Poker Tournament Director Tab Duchateau said that the venue did everything it could to "stay away" from the EPT's championship event. WPT President Adam Pliska also released a statement on Tuesday addressing the issue.
"This potential conflict was always something we were acutely aware of, and we have been in close discussions with EPT organizers to find the best solution for players who want to play both events," said Pliska. "Fortunately, there is only the slightest overlap and players can play both events — the only exception being those that make the final table of the WPT Main Event."
As Pliska points out, players will have an opportunity to travel to Monte Carlo following the conclusion of the WPT Championship. The WPT final table will take place on April 26, and Day 1a of the EPT Grand Final Main Event occurs on the same day. Day 1b of the Grand Final Main Event takes place on April 27, and registration for the tournament will be open until the start of Day 2 on April 28.
Added Pliska, "We will continue to work with other tours for the benefit of the poker community. The tight nature of this scheduling was unavoidable, but we feel we have done our best to accommodate players."
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