Amateur Poker Association & Tour Reveals 2024 WCOAP Schedule

Matthew Pitt
Senior Editor
4 min read
APAT WCOAP

The dates for the biggest and most prestigious amateur poker series, the World Championship of Amateur Poker (WCOAP), are confirmed with the Amateur Poker Association & Tour (APAT) heading to Dusk Till Dawn from August 18-26. Known in the APAT community as "the Worlds," the WCOAP is the must-play series for amateur poker players from the United Kingdom and further afield.

The WCOAP is the most prestigious amateur poker festival on the planet, and many poker players compare it to the World Series of Poker (WSOP) due to the various variants and formats designed to test players to their limits.

APAT traditionally awards bronze, silver, and gold medals to the top three finishers in its "normal" events but breaks out some rather snazzy-looking bracelets for the WCOAP.

Amateur players from far and wide will descend on Dusk Till Dawn, the home of British poker, and battle with their fellow poker aficionados across H.O.R.S.E., Triple Stud, 8-Game, No-Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha mix, Crazy Pineapple, PLO8, and more.

Chris Ralston Crowned 2023 APAT WCOAP Main Event Champion

The £210 Main Event, known as the World Amateur Poker Championship, is the WCOAP tournament everyone wants to win. It has the largest prize pool and the most prestige.

Four flights, including a turbo-structured Day 1d, are available. Each Day 1 is a freezeout and plays down to the last 15% of the field, with those top 15% progressing to Day 2 with a min-cash in tow. However, should you progress to Day 2 but opt to take a shot at another Day 2, your original stack is forfeited, as is the min-cash.

The £70 WCOAP Mini Main Championship, another event sure to attract a substantial crowd, follows a similar schedule. Its four starting flights are also freezeouts. Play continues until only 12.5% of the field remains, with those surviving players heading into Day 2. Should you take a shot at another Day 1, only their largest stack goes forward to Day 2 if they qualify multiple times; a min-cash is paid for each Day 2 qualification.

2024 WCOAP Schedule

DateTimeEventBuy-in
Sun 18 Aug2:00 p.m.World Amateur Poker Championship Day 1a£210
Wed 21 Aug4:00 p.m.WCOAP International Team Championship (STT)£140
 5:00 p.m.WCOAP H.O.R.S.E. Championship£140
 6:00 p.m.WCOAP NLHE Turbo Championship£70
 8:00 p.m.WCOAP International Team Championship (STT/HU) 
 9:00 p.m.WCOAP Mini Main Championship Day 1a£70
Thu 22 Aug1:00 p.m.WCOAP International Team Championship (STT) 
 2:00 p.m.WCOAP 6-Max NLHE Championship£140
 5:00 p.m.WCOAP Triple Stud Championship£140
 6:00 p.m.WCOAP International Team Championship (MTT) 
 7:00 p.m.WCOAP Crazy Pineapple Championship£70
 9:00 p.m.WCOAP Mini Main Championship Day 1b£70
Fri 23 Aug1:00 p.m.WCOAP 8-Game Championship Day 1£140
 2:00 p.m.World Amateur Poker Championship Day 1b£210
 3:00 p.m.WCOAP High Roller Championship£350
 6:00 p.m.WCOAP Bounty Championship£140
Sat 24 Aug2:00 p.m.World Amateur Poker Championship Day 1c£210
 2:00 p.m.WCOAP 8-Game Championship Final Day 
 2:00 p.m.WCOAP NLHE/PLO Championship£70
 5:00 p.m.WCOAP 8-Max NLHE Championship£70
 7:00 p.m.World Amateur Poker Championship Day 1d Turbo£210
 9:00 p.m.WCOAP Mini Main Championship Day 1c£70
Sun 25 Aug12:00 p.m.World Amateur Poker Championship Final Day 
 12:00 p.m.WCOAP NLHE Shootout Championship£70
 1:00 p.m.WCOAP PLO8 Championship£140
 3:00 p.m.WCOAP Win The Button Championship£140
 5:00 p.m.WCOAP Mixed Triple Draw Lowball Championship£70
 8:00 p.m.WCOAP Mini Main Championship Day 1d£70
Mon 26 Aug1:00 p.m.WCOAP Mini Main Championship Final Day 
 1:00 p.m.WCOAP NLHE Mix Max Championship£70
 2:00 p.m.WCOAP Mixed Game Limit Championship£140
 4:00 p.m.WCOAP PLO4/5/6 Championship£140
 5:00 p.m.WCOAP NLHE Tag Championship£70

2023 WCOAP Results

The 2023 WCOAP Main Event commanded a smaller £180 buy-in, which 696 APAT players paid. Those entrants created a £104,400 prize pool shared by the top 103 finishers. Plenty of APAT regulars saw a return on their investment, including Simon Brooke, Paul Haycock, Thomas Bacon, JP Round, and Tristan Chaplin.

Each of the nine finalists saw at least £2,000 land in their accounts, with the top two finishers walking away with five-figure prizes. Christopher Ralston came out on top, defeating James Martin heads-up for the title and £15,000, resigning Martin to a £10,000 consolation prize.

EventBuy-inEntrantsPrize PoolChampionPrize
World Amateur Poker Championship£180696£104,400Christopher Ralston£15,000
WCOAP NLHE High Roller Championship£340104£31,200Javid Aktar£9,360
WCOAP NLHE 6-Max Championship£120112£11,200Sean Iliffe£3,250
WCOAP PLO8 Championship£12098£9,800Grzegorz Staniszweski£2,945
WCOAP 8-Game Championship£12081£8,100Michael Perry£2,750
WCOAP NLHE Win The Button Championship£12083£8,300Grace Smith£2,695
WCOAP PLO 4/5/6 Card Championship£12072£7,200Daniel Williams£2,450
WCOAP NLHE Bounty Championship£120173£8,650Andy Ciesielski£2,335
WCOAP H.O.R.S.E.Championship£12068£6,800Chrostopher Cooper£2,315
WCOAP PLO/PLO8 Championship£6099£4,950Danny Strange£1,600
WCOAP NLHE/PLO Championship£60107£5,350Anonymous£1,600
WCOAP Crazy Pineapple Championship£60104£5,200Nicholas Crossfield£1,555
WCOAP PLO Championship£6087£4,350Scott Genever£1,410
WCOAP NLHE Turbo Championship£6086£4,300Daniel Turner£1,395
WCOAP NLHE Mix Max Championship£6074£3,700Tariq Mahmood£1,260
WCOAP NLHE Ante Only Championship£6065£3,250Anonymous£1,165
WCOAP 4-Card NLHE Championship£6063£3,150Neil Gilchrist£1,100
WCOAP Razz Championship£6061£3,050Stefan Order£1,100
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Matthew Pitt
Senior Editor

Matthew Pitt hails from Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, and has worked in the poker industry since 2008, and worked for PokerNews since 2010. In September 2010, he became the editor of PokerNews. Matthew stepped away from live reporting duties in 2015, and now concentrates on his role of Senior Editor for the PokerNews.

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