WSOP APAC Round-Up: Danzer & Shack-Harris Seek POY Title, Lack of N9ers & More
The 2014 World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific is less than two weeks away, and the poker world is gearing up for 10 gold bracelet events from Australia’s Crown Melbourne.
The WSOP APAC will kick off on Oct. 2 with the AU$1,100 No-Limit Hold'em Accumulator, but the cornerstone tournament of the series will be the AU$10,000 Main Event, which will have two starting days and begin on Oct. 12. In addition, there will be a AU$25,000 High Roller on Wednesday Oct. 15. The PokerNews Live Reporting team will be on hand to bring you live updates from all of the tournaments.
The series is expected to attract the biggest names in poker including last year’s champ Daniel Negreanu, who won the Main Event for or AU$1,038,825 and his fifth gold bracelet on his way to becoming the 2013 WSOP Player of the Year. However, some players who won’t be in attendance are many of this year’s November Nine.
PokerNews has independently confirmed that Jorryt van Hoof, Felix Stephensen, Martin Jacobson, Billy Pappas, and Daniel Sindelar do not plan to attend the WSOP APAC. However, one finalist who will make the trip is Brazil’s Bruno Politano, who will be looking for some practice to help him spin up his November Nine short stack.
Politano recently signed on as an 888poker Ambassador, joining the likes of Sofia Lövgren, and Xuan Liu. Famous cricket-player-turned-poker-player Shane Warne is the fifth member of 888poker's Pro Team, and he is also expected to play the WSOP APAC with the benefit of home-field advantage.
The WSOP APAC will also see the culmination of the 2014 WSOP Player of the Year race. The winner of the prestigious award will win a $10,000 seat into the 2015 WSOP Main Event and have their accomplished immortalized on a banner inside the Rio. Brandon Shack-Harris, who had a stellar summer, currently leads with 752 points, but two-time bracelet winner George Danzer is hot on his heels with 745.20 points. Both will be making the trip to Australia to contend for the titles.
Others still in the POY hunt include John Hennigan (557.88 points), Negreanu (519.08), Daniel Colman (452.40), and Justin Bonomo (449.63), so don’t be surprised if some of those players appear in the hopes of capturing some last-minute points.
Here’s a look at the entire 2014 WSOP APAC schedule:
| Date | Time | Event | Buy-In (AU$) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 2 | 6:10 p.m. | No-Limit Hold'em Accumulator Day 1a | $1,100 |
| Oct. 3 | 12:10 p.m. | No-Limit Hold'em Accumulator Day 1b | $1,100 |
| 6:10 p.m. | No-Limit Hold'em Accumulator Day 1c | $1,100 | |
| Oct. 4 | 12:30 p.m. | No-Limit Hold'em Accumulator Day 2 | |
| 2:10 p.m. | No-Limit Hold'em Day 1 | $2,200 | |
| Oct. 5 | 12:10 p.m. | No-Limit Hold'em Accumulator Day 3 | |
| 12:30 p.m. | No-Limit Hold'em Day 2 | ||
| 4:10 p.m. | Pot-Limit Omaha Day 1 | $1,650 | |
| Oct. 6 | 12:10 p.m. | No-Limit Hold'em Day 3 | |
| 12:30 p.m. | Pot-Limit Omaha Day 2 | ||
| 2:10 p.m. | Terminator No-Limit Hold'em Day 1 | $1,650 | |
| Oct. 7 | 12:10 p.m. | Pot-Limit Omaha Day 3 | |
| 12:30 p.m. | Terminator No-Limit Hold'em Day 2 | ||
| 2:10 p.m. | Pot-Limit Omaha Day 1 | $5,000 | |
| Oct. 8 | 12:10 p.m. | Terminator No-Limit Hold'em Day 3 | |
| 12:30 p.m. | Pot-Limit Omaha Day 2 | ||
| 2:10 p.m. | Dealer's Choice — 8-Game Day 1 | $1,650 | |
| Oct. 9 | 12:10 p.m. | Pot-Limit Omaha Day 3 | |
| 12:30 p.m. | Dealer's Choice — 8-Game Day 2 | ||
| 2:10 p.m. | Six-Handed No-Limit Hold'em Day 1 | $2,200 | |
| Oct. 10 | 12:10 p.m. | Dealer's Choice — 8-Game Day 3 | |
| 12:30 p.m. | Six-Handed No-Limit Hold'em Day 2 | ||
| 2:10 p.m. | Mixed Event Day 1 | $5,000 | |
| Oct. 11 | 12:10 p.m. | Six-Handed No-Limit Hold'em Day 3 | |
| 12:30 p.m. | Mixed Event Day 2 | ||
| Oct. 12 | 12:10 p.m. | Mixed Event Day 3 | |
| 12:30 p.m. | WSOP Asia-Pacific Main Event Day 1a | $10,000 | |
| Oct. 13 | 12:30 p.m. | WSOP Asia-Pacific Main Event Day 1b | $10,000 |
| Oct. 14 | 12:30 p.m. | WSOP Asia-Pacific Main Event Day 2 | |
| Oct. 15 | 12:30 p.m. | WSOP Asia-Pacific Main Event Day 3 | |
| 6:10 p.m. | High Roller Day 1 | $25,000 | |
| Oct. 16 | 12:30 p.m. | WSOP Asia-Pacific Main Event Day 4 | |
| 2:30 p.m. | High Roller Day 2 | ||
| Oct. 17 | 2:00 p.m. | High Roller Day 3 | |
| Oct. 18 | 2:00 p.m. | WSOP Asia-Pacific Main Event Day 5 |
"Bigger and better is the best way to describe the 2014 WSOP Asia-Pacific," said WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart. "New events at modest price points like the Dealer's Choice and Terminator No-Limit Hold’em, plus an expansion of overall events and a move to springtime in Melbourne is designed to encourage the North American and European contingent to make this a can’t-miss event."
For more information regarding the WSOP APAC, please head to WSOP.com.
*Lead photo courtesy of wsop.com.
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