WSOP ASIA PACIFIC GETTING UNDERWAY IN MELBOURNE

Hundreds of players from all around the world will take to the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia from October 2nd – 18^th to fight it out for millions of dollars and ten prestigious WSOP gold bracelets.

The 2014 WSOP APAC schedule kicks off on Thursday at 6:10pm local time in Melbourne, Australia with Event 1: $1,100 NLHE Accumulator.  There are three Day 1 flights on offer in this event, with the first taking place on Thursday, and the next two kicking off Friday. Day 1b begins at 12:10pm on Friday, while Day 1c takes place at 6:10pm.

The unique ‘accumulator’ format of the event sees players having the ability to play all three flights, regardless of their result in any given flight. Players can then combine their stacks on Day 2 if they make it through multiple Day 1 flights.

Players begin the opening event of the 2014 WSOP APAC with 3,000 in chips, levels last 60 minutes each and the first blinds are 25/25. There will be eight levels played on each Day 1 flight, with late registration open for the first four levels. Each Day 1 will finish up with blinds at 200/400/50.

There was a massive field of 1,085 total entrants in the Accumulator event at the 2013 WSOP APAC and it was Bryan Piccioli who claimed the first gold bracelet on Aussie soil. By all accounts this year’s Accumulator will be just as large and should kick off the 2014 WSOP APAC schedule with a bang.

While the first WSOP APAC event of 2014 is still playing out, Event 2: $2,200 NLHE begins from 2:10pm on Saturday. This is a 3-day event and should draw a big crowd of local punters and international pros.

Once the action of Event 2 is well and truly underway, there will be Event 3: $1,650 Pot Limit Omaha (three-day event), Event 4: $1,650 NLHE Terminator (three-day event) and Event 5: $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha (three-day event), all of which run with a single Day 1 flight.

The sixth event on the 2014 WSOP APAC schedule is the interesting one - Event 6: $1,650 Dealer's Choice 8-Game. No event like this has ever been played in Australia and while there are only eight games to choose from, as opposed to double that number at the equivalent event in Vegas, this is still going to be a lot of fun.

The next two bracelets awarded will be in Event 7: $2,200 NLHE Six-Max and Event 8: $5,000 8-Game, while the only other tournament outside of the big one will then be Event 10: $25,000 High Roller.

The $10,000 buy-in 2014 WSOP APAC Main event begins on Sunday, October 12^th and features two Day 1 flights. The tournament runs as a five-day event, drawing to a conclusion on Saturday, October 18^th. The previously mentioned $25,000 High Roller begins on Day 3 of the Main Event.

Last year it was poker superstar Daniel Negreanu who claimed the 2013 WSOP APAC Main Event title. Negreanu defeated a total field of 405 players to capture his fifth WSOP bracelet and took home a massive $1,038,825 to go along with it. Hopefully the 2014 WSOP APAC will be just as exciting.

One thing that will certainly excite poker fans this year is that the 2014 WSOP APAC Main Event and the High Roller will be shown live, with a 30-minute delay, on ESPN Australia and ESPN in the USA.

This is the first time in the history of poker in Australia that a tournament will be broadcast on the same day it took place. The High Roller final table will be shown beginning at 3:00pm local time on Friday, October 17^th and the Main Event final table will be shown from the same time the very next day.

In addition to the television broadcast of the High Roller and the WSOP APAC Main Event, all other eight bracelet events will have their final tables live streamed on WSOP.com. There won’t be any commentary, but viewers will be able to hear the dealer and the tournament director. You can find a link to the live stream, and the streaming schedule, on the link below.

WSOP APAC live streaming found here