WPT back in Sydney from September 18 to October 1
The World Poker Tour is bringing its Australian festival to The Star Sydney from September 18 through October 1, marking the brand’s first Sydney stop since the WPTDeepStacks series in March 2022. The previous four WPT Australia festivals unfolded at The Star Gold Coast; this time, the action moves to the Harbour City with a packed slate of championship poker.
All monetary amounts are Australian dollars unless specified.
Opening salvo: $1,500 Australian Poker Cup (Sep 18–21)
The series fires out of the blocks with the $1,500 Australian Poker Cup, running September 18–21. A comparable $1,500 opener launched last year’s Gold Coast festival and drew 408 entries, where Mishel Anunu topped the field and banked $109,754.
Expect a deep lineup of side events and qualifiers throughout the festival, with buy-ins spanning from $150 to a high-roller $20,000.
WPT Australia schedule at The Star Sydney
Below is the full published schedule of tournaments and satellites.
| Date | Time | Event | Buy-in (AUD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 18 Sep | 10:30 a.m. | Championship Event Step 1 Milestone Satellite | $150 |
| Thu 18 Sep | 2:30 p.m. | Australian Poker Cup Day 1a | $1,500 |
| Thu 18 Sep | 6:30 p.m. | True Blue Turbo One Day Event | $500 |
| Thu 18 Sep | 7:30 p.m. | Championship Event Direct Qualifier | $600 |
| Thu 18 Sep | 8:30 p.m. | Australian Poker Cup Milestone Satellite | $340 |
| Fri 19 Sep | 10:30 a.m. | Championship Event Step 1 Milestone Satellite | $150 |
| Fri 19 Sep | 11:30 a.m. | Bondi Wipeout One Day Event | $500 |
| Fri 19 Sep | 2:30 p.m. | Australian Poker Cup Day 1b | $1,500 |
| Fri 19 Sep | 6:30 p.m. | Shark Bait PLO One Day Event | $680 |
| Fri 19 Sep | 8:30 p.m. | Championship Event Direct Qualifier | $600 |
| Fri 19 Sep | 9:30 p.m. | Mystery Bounty Hyper Turbo Milestone Satellite | $310 |
| Sat 20 Sep | 10:30 a.m. | Championship Event Step 1 Milestone Satellite | $150 |
| Sat 20 Sep | 11:30 a.m. | Outlaw Omaha PLO One Day Event | $400 |
| Sat 20 Sep | 12:30 p.m. | Australian Poker Cup Day 2 | — |
| Sat 20 Sep | 2:30 p.m. | Mystery Bounty Day 1a | $1,350 |
| Sat 20 Sep | 6:30 p.m. | Ultra Turbo One Day Event | $675 |
| Sat 20 Sep | 8:15 p.m. | Mystery Bounty Hyper Turbo Milestone Satellite | $310 |
| Sat 20 Sep | 9:15 p.m. | Championship Event Direct Qualifier | $600 |
| Sun 21 Sep | 10:30 a.m. | 20/20/20 One Day Event | $575 |
| Sun 21 Sep | 11:30 a.m. | Australian Poker Cup Final Day | — |
| Sun 21 Sep | 12:30 p.m. | Mystery Bounty Day 1b | $1,350 |
| Sun 21 Sep | 6:30 p.m. | $5K Mad Max 8-Handed Day 1 | $5,000 |
| Sun 21 Sep | 6:45 p.m. | Championship Event Direct Qualifier | $600 |
| Sun 21 Sep | 8:30 p.m. | $5K Mad Max Milestone Qualifier | $675 |
| Mon 22 Sep | 10:30 a.m. | Championship Event Step 1 Milestone Qualifier | $150 |
| Mon 22 Sep | 11:30 a.m. | The Morning Grind | $400 |
| Mon 22 Sep | 12:15 p.m. | Mystery Bounty Final Day | — |
| Mon 22 Sep | 2:30 p.m. | $5K Mad Max 8-Handed Final Day | $5,000 |
| Mon 22 Sep | 4:30 p.m. | Down Under Dominator Day 1 | $1,500 |
| Mon 22 Sep | 6:15 p.m. | Ladies Australian Championship Milestone Satellite | $150 |
| Mon 22 Sep | 7:30 p.m. | Championship Event Direct Qualifier | $600 |
| Mon 22 Sep | 8:30 p.m. | Sydney Monster Stack Hyper Turbo Milestone Satellite | $290 |
| Tue 23 Sep | 10:30 a.m. | Championship Event Step 1 Milestone Qualifier | $150 |
| Tue 23 Sep | 11:30 a.m. | Ned Kelly Double Bullet One Day Event | $465 |
| Tue 23 Sep | 12:30 p.m. | Down Under Dominator Final Day | — |
| Tue 23 Sep | 2:30 p.m. | Ladies Australian Championship Event Day 1 | $600 |
| Tue 23 Sep | 4:30 p.m. | Sydney Monster Stack Day 1 | $1,250 |
| Tue 23 Sep | 8:30 p.m. | $20K Super High Roller Milestone Satellite | $2,600 |
| Tue 23 Sep | 9:30 p.m. | Championship Event Direct Qualifier | $600 |
| Wed 24 Sep | 10:30 a.m. | Championship Event Direct Qualifier | $600 |
| Wed 24 Sep | 11:30 a.m. | Ladies Australian Championship Event Final Day | — |
| Wed 24 Sep | 11:45 a.m. | Sydney Monster Stack Final Day | — |
| Wed 24 Sep | 12:30 p.m. | Bonza Bounty One Day Event | $675 |
| Wed 24 Sep | 2:30 p.m. | $20K Super High Roller Day 1 | $20,000 |
| Wed 24 Sep | 4:30 p.m. | Outback Survivor Day 1 | $1,150 |
| Wed 24 Sep | 8:30 p.m. | Championship Event Direct Qualifier | $600 |
| Thu 25 Sep | 10:15 a.m. | Championship Event Step 1 Milestone Satellite | $150 |
| Thu 25 Sep | 10:30 a.m. | Plunder From Down Under PLO Bounty One Day Event | $680 |
| Thu 25 Sep | 11:15 a.m. | $20K Super High Roller Day 2 | — |
| Thu 25 Sep | 11:30 a.m. | Outback Survivor Bounty Final Day | — |
| Thu 25 Sep | 12:30 p.m. | Championship Event Day 1a | $5,500 |
| Thu 25 Sep | 6:30 p.m. | Championship Event Direct Qualifier | $600 |
| Thu 25 Sep | 8:30 p.m. | Championship Event Direct Qualifier | $600 |
| Fri 26 Sep | 10:15 a.m. | Championship Event Direct Qualifier | $600 |
| Fri 26 Sep | 10:30 a.m. | One Shot Freezeout One Day Event | $500 |
| Fri 26 Sep | 12:30 p.m. | Championship Event Day 1b | $5,500 |
| Fri 26 Sep | 6:30 p.m. | Aussie Outlaws Bounty One Day Event | $675 |
| Fri 26 Sep | 7:30 p.m. | Championship Event Direct Qualifier | $600 |
| Fri 26 Sep | 9:00 p.m. | Championship Event Direct Qualifier | $600 |
| Sat 27 Sep | 10:15 a.m. | Championship Event Direct Qualifier | $600 |
| Sat 27 Sep | 10:45 a.m. | Championship Players Bush Tucke Barbie | — |
| Sat 27 Sep | 12:30 p.m. | Championship Event Day 1c | $5,500 |
| Sat 27 Sep | 4:30 p.m. | Extreme PLO One Day Event | $1,100 |
| Sat 27 Sep | 7:30 p.m. | $2K Elite 8-Max Turbo One Day Event | $2,000 |
| Sat 27 Sep | 8:30 p.m. | Mini Championship Hyper Turbo Milestone Satellite | $290 |
| Sat 27 Sep | 12:30 p.m. | Championship Event Day 2 | — |
| Sat 27 Sep | 4:30 p.m. | Mini Championship Day 1 | $2,000 |
| Sat 27 Sep | 8:30 p.m. | $10K WPT World Championship Warm-Up Milestone Satellite | $1,300 |
| Mon 29 Sep | 10:30 a.m. | Croc Hunter Bounty One Day Event | $680 |
| Mon 29 Sep | 11:30 a.m. | Championship Event Day 3 | — |
| Mon 29 Sep | 12:30 p.m. | Mini Championship Event Final Day | — |
| Mon 29 Sep | 2:30 p.m. | $10K WPT World Championship Warm-Up Day 1 | $10,000 |
| Mon 29 Sep | 7:30 p.m. | Premier Hyper Turbo One Day Event | $1,250 |
| Tue 30 Sep | 10:30 a.m. | Surfers Paradise Twin Fin One Day Event | $400 |
| Tue 30 Sep | 11:30 a.m. | Championship Event Day 4 | — |
| Tue 30 Sep | 12:30 p.m. | $10K WPT World Championship Warm-Up Final Day | — |
| Tue 30 Sep | 2:30 p.m. | WPT World Champs Road to Vegas Day 1 | $1,150 |
| Tue 30 Sep | 4:30 p.m. | Australian PLO Championship Day 1 | $5,000 |
| Wed 1 Oct | 10:30 a.m. | Boomerang Battle One Day Event | $465 |
| Wed 1 Oct | 11:30 a.m. | Championship Event Final Day | — |
| Wed 1 Oct | 12:30 p.m. | WPT World Champs Road to Vegas Final Day | — |
| Wed 1 Oct | 12:45 p.m. | $5K Australian PLO Championship Final Day | — |
| Wed 1 Oct | 2:30 p.m. | Sydney Finale One Day Event | $675 |
$20,000 Super High Roller set for Sep 24–25
High-stakes regulars will zero in on the two-day $20,000 Super High Roller, scheduled for September 24–25. Last year’s equivalent saw Corey Kempson and Hamish Crawshaw chop heads-up, with both players receiving $354,541 after navigating a 77-strong field.
$10K WPT World Championship Warm-Up closes the series
Toward the finish, the $10,000 WPT World Championship Warm-Up runs Day 1 on September 29 and plays to a winner on October 1. In September 2024 at The Star Gold Coast, Kareem Kilany topped an 87-entry field in this event for $228,641.
Spotlight on the $5,500 Championship Event
The crown jewel is the $5,500 Championship Event. The first of three starting flights gets underway on September 25, with five days of action culminating in a champion on October 1.
Re-entry rules are player-friendly but clear: unlimited re-entries are permitted until the start of Level 11 on each Day 1, and players may enter as many Day 1 flights as they wish. There is no “best stack forward” in this format—if you bag chips at the end of any Day 1, you cannot play another starting flight.
For context, the Gold Coast edition of the WPT Australia Main Event cost $8,000 to enter and still drew 396 players, generating a $2,930,400 prize pool. Australian star James Obst took that title and $585,359. With a more accessible $5,500 buy-in in Sydney and a robust satellite calendar, attendance should be strong for this year’s Championship Event at The Star Sydney.
