Class is in Session: PokerStars to Host World College Poker Championship

May 26th, 2021 | by Jason Reynolds

PokerStars is set to host the 2021 World College Poker Championship and crown the best student player in the world.

PokerStars will host the first ever free-to-play World College Poker Championship main event. (Image: PokerStars)

World College Poker (WCP) was created to give the “players of tomorrow” a platform to hone their skills and make a mark.

The organization will now hold its first ever global online championship with the help of PokerStars. An initial round of MTTs get underway on July 24 before players progress to a live final table later this year.

Students Get Free Shot at Glory

The WCP Championship will be a free-play event. This ensures that players from around the world can enter, even if they live in a country without national online gaming regulations.

As such, the action will take place on PokerStars.net and not its real-money sites. However, the top finishers will win prizes worth something.

PokerStars hasn’t outlined the full list of prizes just yet, but we know the winner will bag an €8,000/$9,785 European Poker Tour (EPT) package, a custom gaming chair, and a trophy.

Players in six regions can compete for glory. All they need is a valid student ID and to be currently enrolled at college, university, or on a vocational course.

The one thing to note is that, despite being a free-play event, there are some restrictions in certain regions. Due to local regulations, players in Spain, Italy, Portugal, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and New Jersey won’t be able to ante up.

Four Steps to World College Poker Championship Immortality

To ensure the event remains manageable, PokerStars has implemented a round system that leads to a live final.

Round One Takes Place on July 24 – Players will register on PokerStars.net and take part in a regionalized first round match. Each regional MTT will play down to 50 players.

Round Two Takes Place on July 31 – 300 qualifiers from the regional rounds will be brought together in a single tournament. Round Two will play down to 45 players.

Round Three Takes Place on August 7 – The remaining 45 players will reconvene and play down to a final table of six. Everyone that makes it into Round Three will receive some PokerStars merchandise.

Round Four (The Final Table) – The final six players will compete in a live showdown. The date and venue are yet to be determined due to COVID-19 restrictions. However, it will take place later this year and the winner will become the 2021 World College Poker Main Event Champion.

Poker is game without limits. Anyone of legal age can play. However, the WCP is an opportunity for students on a budget to experience a major poker tournament without the cost.

What’s more, it’s a chance to win entry to an EPT event and become one of the game’s rising stars.