The World Cup of Poker

PokerStars' World Cup of Poker The World Cup of Poker is an annual poker tournament established in 2004 and sponsored by the ever present PokerStars.com. The preliminary rounds are conducted online and the finals are held in Barcelona, Spain.

The tournament starts out with a pool of 46 national teams, each consisting of five poker players, from 39 different countries. These teams compete in a series of heads up no limit Texas hold 'em poker tournaments. The teams are separated into eight regional groups, with each group competing for a spot at the finals, where they play for large amounts of cash. It is a round robin tournament in which each team in a group plays each other team in that group to determine who advances.

Team Costa Rica dominated the first two years of play, interrupted for one year by Poland, before being taken over by the United States in the 2007 World Cup of Poker. The World Cup of Poker pits players from all around the world against each other in the name of national pride, bragging rights, and $250,000 cash.

This year, for example, there is a good deal of money and swag to be had.

First prize will be $100,000 -- working out to $20,000 per team member.
Second prize: $60,000 ($12,000 per team member)
Third prize: $40,000 ($8,000 per team member)
Fourth prize: $20,000 ($4,000 per team member)

All of the above payments are to the entire team, and will be distributed equally among the five team members.

In addition to the main prizes, all World Cup of Poker tables in Barcelona will pay the top 3 finishers:

First: $5,000 (50% to the player, 50% split among the team)
Second: $3,000 (50% to the player, 50% split among the team)
Third: $2,000 (50% to the player, 50% split among the team)

Play begins online at PokerStars.com, where players compete first to represent their national or regional team in a series of free roll tourneys. Once the team's member slots have been decided, the teams then battle it out in a series of Divisional and National play-offs to claim their spots at the live finals. The eight finalists receive all-expenses-paid trips to play live in Barcelona, Spain. There the teams compete in a televised tournament to determine the PokerStars World Cup of Poker Champion.

How else might one get into the World Cup? As a member of PokerStars.com, you could be invited to play if you are one of the top two Tournament Leader Board players for your country. You will receive an e-mail from the good people at pokerstars.com if you qualify as one of the top two TLB players, and you must simply respond to this e-mail if you wish to play for your team.

You may also qualify to play for your country by winning a qualifying tournament. PokerStars.com also reserves the discretion to select a player they deem worthy. After all, they are the sponsors.

While the World Cup of Poker may not have seen the popularity that tournaments like the World Series of Poker, any tournament that offers high levels of competition and large prizes will attract the attention of poker fans and players alike. The World Cup of Poker's pot seems to be growing by the year -- eventually, it may grow to a size that will attract the kind of television attention enjoyed by the WSOP.

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