World Series of Poker Circuit
The World Series of Poker Circuit is a series of poker tournaments held annually at a variety of casinos since 2005 as a build-up to the World Series of Poker (WSOP).{{cite web | last=Holloway | first=Chad | title=History of the WSOP Circuit – Global Casino Championship | website=PokerNews | date=2020-09-10 | url=https://www.pokernews.com/news/2020/09/history-of-the-wsop-circuit-global-casino-championship-37166.htm | access-date=2024-11-15}}
All Championship events are competed in no limit Texas hold 'em; preliminary events may be different poker variants.
In 2015, the WSOP International Circuit was launched, with rounds in Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Africa.{{cite web | last=Holloway | first=Chad | title=WSOP Announces Launch of Global Circuit Events in Italy, Mexico and Morocco | website=PokerNews | date=2015-02-26 | url=https://www.pokernews.com/news/2015/02/wsop-announces-launch-of-global-circuit-events-in-italy-mexi-20773.htm | access-date=2024-11-15}} The International Circuit has expanded to 13 tournaments for the 2017/18 season.{{cite web | last=Collson | first=Brett | title=WSOP International Circuit Schedule Announced for 2017-18 | website=PokerNews | date=2017-07-16 | url=https://www.pokernews.com/news/2017/07/wsop-poker-2017-2018-schedule-international-circuit-28531.htm | access-date=2024-11-15}}
WSOP Circuit bracelets
=WSOP Circuit National Championship=
Starting in 2010–11, the WSOP Circuit National Championship was held as a closed event for participants of various circuit events. The winner of the WSOP Circuit National Championship won a World Series of Poker bracelet.{{cite web | last=Feldman | first=Andrew | title=Sam Barnhart crowned National Champion | website=ESPN.com | date=2011-05-31 | url=https://www.espn.com/espn/poker/news/story?id=6610262 | access-date=2024-11-15}}
Starting in 2011–12, qualification for the WSOP Circuit National Championship was significantly changed. A total of 100 players now receive automatic seats in the WSOP Circuit National Championship. The winners of each Circuit main event and the highest point earner at each circuit stop receive seats, with the remaining automatic seats filled by the top points earners throughout the Circuit season who are not already qualified. Additionally, the top 100 players in the "WSOP World Rankings", a points race determined on results in open events of the previous two WSOPs, are eligible to enter. The Circuit qualifiers play the National Championship on a freeroll, while the WSOP World Rankings qualifiers must pay a $10,000 buy-in.{{cite news|url=https://www.espn.com/poker/story/_/id/6800493/2011-12-world-series-poker-circuit-schedule-feature-16-tour-stops |title='11-'12 WSOP Circuit to feature 16 stops |first=Andrew |last=Feldman |work=ESPN.com |date=July 29, 2011 |access-date=July 28, 2012}}{{cite news|url=https://www.espn.com/poker/story/_/id/8192752/2012-13-world-series-poker-circuit-schedule-feature-20-tour-stops |title=WSOP Circuit expands for 2012–13 |first=Andrew |last=Feldman |work=ESPN.com |date=July 23, 2012 |access-date=July 28, 2012}}
| class="wikitable"
! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Season ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Series Name ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Winner ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Prize ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Runner-up |
| 2005
|colspan=4 rowspan=6 align=center|event not held |
| 2005–06 |
| 2006–07 |
| 2007–08 |
| 2008–09 |
| 2009–10 |
| 2010–11
|WSOP Circuit National Championship |{{flagicon|USA}} Sam Barnhart |$300,000 |{{flagicon|USA}} James Anderson |
| 2011–12
|WSOP Circuit National Championship |{{flagicon|USA}} Ryan Eriquezzo |$416,051 |{{flagicon|USA}} Nikolas Stone |
| 2012–13
|WSOP Circuit National Championship |{{flagicon|USA}} Jonathan Hilton |$355,599 |{{flagicon|USA}} Max Steinberg |
| 2013–14
|WSOP Circuit National Championship |{{flagicon|DEU}} Dominik Nitsche |$352,800 |{{flagicon|GRE}} Athanasios Polychronopoulos |
| 2014–15
|WSOP Circuit National Championship |{{flagicon|USA}} Loni Harwood |$341,599 |{{flagicon|USA}} Alexandru Masek |
=WSOP Global Casino Championship=
In 2015–16, the WSOP National Championship was renamed to the WSOP Global Casino Championship, featuring the winners from both WSOP Circuit and WSOP International Circuit.[https://www.pocketfives.com/articles/wsop-finalizes-details-for-2016-global-casino-championship-592112/ WSOP Finalizes Details for 2016 Global Casino Championship] - Pocket Fives, 5 April 2016 The winner of the WSOP Global Casino Championship won a World Series of Poker bracelet.
| class="wikitable"
! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Season ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Series Name ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Winner ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Prize ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Runner-up |
| 2015–16
|WSOP Global Casino Championship |{{flagicon|FRA}} Said El-Yousfi |$343,256 |{{flagicon|USA}} Yasin Ahmady |
| 2016–17
|WSOP Global Casino Championship |{{flagicon|KOR}} Sean Yu |$296,941 |{{flagicon|RUS}} Alexander Lakhov |
| 2017–18
|WSOP Global Casino Championship |{{flagicon|USA}} Warren Sheaves |$282,113 |{{flagicon|USA}} Jeremy Meacham |
| 2018–19
|WSOP Global Casino Championship |{{flagicon|USA}} Ryan Eriquezzo (2) |$279,431 |{{flagicon|USA}} Eric Salazar |
| 2019–20
|WSOP Global Casino Championship (Online) |{{flagicon|USA}} Andrew "AJ" Kelsall |$275,632 |{{flagicon|USA}} Michael Trivett |
| 2020–21
|colspan=4 align=center|season not held |
=WSOP Tournament of Champions=
| class="wikitable"
! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Season ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Series Name ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Winner ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Prize ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Runner-up |
| 2021–22
|{{flagicon|USA}} Benjamin Kaupp |$250,000 |{{flagicon|USA}} Raul Garza |
| 2022–23
|{{flagicon|USA}} Ronnie Day |$200,000 |{{flagicon|USA}} Brent Gregory |
WSOP Circuit rings
Like the World Series of Poker and its prestigious bracelet, all circuit stops have preliminary events that award rings as well.
In March 2018, WSOP.com in New Jersey hosted the first online poker tournament to award a Circuit ring.{{Cite news|url=https://www.onlinepokerreport.com/29333/wsop-nj-circuit-online/|title=WSOP Circuit Will Finally Put A Ring On NJ Online Poker Players|date=2018-03-12|work=Online Poker Report|access-date=2018-03-13|language=en-US}}
=WSOP Circuit ring winners=
Below is a list of the top-ten poker players with the most World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit rings.{{cite web |title=WSOP Players |url=http://www.wsop.com/players/ |access-date=April 21, 2025 |publisher=WSOP}}
Information correct as of 21 April 2025.
| class="wikitable sortable"
! Rings ! Player |
| align="center" |19
|{{flagicon|CAN}} Ari Engel | align="center" |4 |
| align="center" |18
|{{flagicon|USA}} Maurice Hawkins | align="center" |0 |
| align="center" |18
|{{flagicon|USA}} Daniel Lowery | align="center" |0 |
| align="center" |17
|{{flagicon|USA}} Michael Lavin | align="center" |1 |
| align="center" |16
|{{flagicon|USA}} Joshua Reichard | align="center" |0 |
| align="center" |14
|{{flagicon|USA}} Michael Setera | align="center" |0 |
| align="center" |13
|{{flagicon|USA}} Soheb Porbandarwala | align="center" |1 |
| align="center" |13
|{{flagicon|ROM}} Valentin Vornicu | align="center" |0 |
| align="center" |11
|{{flagicon|USA}} Richard Ali | align="center" |1 |
| align="center" |11
|{{flagicon|USA}} Roland Israelashvili | align="center" |0 |
= Most WSOP Circuit Rings in Shortest Period of Time =
In July 2022, Sergio Ramirez became the first player to win 4 WSOP Circuit rings in 12 days: $500 PLO WSOPC Online (July 15), $600 PLO WSOPC Choctaw (July 19), $400 NLHE WSOPC Choctaw (July 25), and $400 NLHE WSOPC Choctaw (July 26){{Cite web |date=2022-08-16 |title=NJ's Sergio Thorne Ramirez Scores 4 WSOP Circuit Rings in Single Month |url=https://www.uspoker.com/blog/new-jerseys-sergio-thorne-ramirez-scores-four-circuit-rings-in-single-month/39056/ |access-date=2022-10-04 |website=www.uspoker.com |language=en-US}}
WSOP Circuit Main Event Winners
{{update-section|date=June 2019}}
The World Series of Poker Circuit now has 22 stops along the national tour.{{cite news|url=http://www.wsop.com/news/2014/Jul/4882/WSOP-ANNOUNCES-2014-15-WSOP-CIRCUIT-TOUR-SCHEDULE.html |title=WSOP ANNOUNCES 2014-15 WSOP CIRCUIT TOUR SCHEDULE | first=Seth |last=Palansky |publisher=wsop.com | date=July 14, 2014 | access-date=April 29, 2015}} Each stop ends with a $1,675 buy-in Main Event. Originally they were $10,000. However, it changed rapidly with each succeeding WSOP Circuit season.
=2005 season=
| class="wikitable"
! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Date ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Location ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Winner ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Prize ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Runner-up |
| January 18, 2005
| Harrah's Atlantic City |Nghi Tran |$780,615 |
| March 2, 2005
|$655,220 |
| March 23, 2005
| Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino Las Vegas |Doug Lee |$695,970 |
| May 8, 2005
|$542,360 |
| May 28, 2005
|$787,340 |Corey Bierria |
=2005–06 season=
| class="wikitable"
! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Date ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Location ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Winner ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Prize ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Runner-up |
| August 25, 2005
| Gregg Merkow |$561,175 |Robert Law |
| September 16, 2005
|$362,088 |Chade Layne |
| November 2, 2005
|$437,760 |
| November 22, 2005
|Thang Pham |$453,456 |
| December 9, 2005
| Showboat Casino, Atlantic City |$335,235 |John Juanda |
| January 26, 2006
| Grand Casino Tunica |$755,525 |Bryant King |
| February 17, 2006
| Harrah's Atlantic City |Abraham Korotki |$433,008 |Brian Jensen |
| March 7, 2006
| Harrah's Rincon |$372,780 |Weikai Chang |
| March 31, 2006
|Jeffrey King |$345,708 |
| May 11, 2006
|John Spadavecchia |$648,320 |Sean McCabe |
| May 28, 2006
|$532,950 |
| June 19, 2006
|Clint Baskin |$372,240 |
=2006–07 season=
| class="wikitable"
! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Date ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Location ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Winner ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Prize ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Runner-up |
| September 17, 2006
| Harrah's Lake Tahoe |Michael Arents |$196,005 |Jerrt Renfroe |
| October 4, 2006
| Grand Casino Tunica |Mark Smith |$306,003 |Manelic Minaya |
| November 3, 2006
| Caesars Indiana |Chad Batista |$262,002 |Hoyt Lance |
| December 19, 2006
| Harrah's Atlantic City |Rick Rossetti |$368,096 |Alex Gomez |
| January 17, 2007
| Grand Tunica |Dennis Perry |$563,402 |Gioi Luong |
| February 7, 2007
| Horseshoe Council Bluffs |Kosta Sengos |$219,576 |Paul Kraus |
| February 22, 2007
| Harrah's Rincon |$372,780 |Davidson Matthew |
| March 14, 2007
|Mehrdad Yousefzadeh |$488,828 |John McMahon |
| April 6, 2007
| Caesars Indiana |$238,756 |Young Phan |
| May 2, 2007
| Caesars Las Vegas |$505,176 |Justin Pechie |
| May 23, 2007
| Harrah's New Orleans |Louie Esposito |$516,801 |Clint Schafer |
=2007–08 season=
| class="wikitable"
! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Date ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Location ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Winner ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Prize ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Runner-up |
| September 13, 2007
| Grand Casino Tunica |Jordan Morgan |$216,852 |Terry Hawkins |
| November 2, 2007
|Caesars Indiana |Carlos Uz |$175,034 |Marc Fratter |
| November 18, 2007
|Harrah's Lake Tahoe |$203,649 |Dustin Fox |
| December 5, 2007
|Harrah's New Orleans |Andy Philachack |$247,860 |
| December 18, 2007
|Harrah's Atlantic City |John Racener |$379,392 |Eric Buchman |
| January 22, 2008
|Grand Casino Tunica |Bart Tichelman |$428,210 |Donald Nicholson |
| February 7, 2008
|Harrah's Rincon San Diego North |Mike Pickett |$229,002 |David Peters |
| February 27, 2008
|Horseshoe Council Bluffs |Ben Hock |$169,327 |
| March 15, 2008
|Caesars Atlantic City |$431,136 |Dan Hicks |
| April 14, 2008
|Caesars Indiana |Wilbur Futhey |$180,289 |Steve Merrifield |
| May 1, 2008
|Caesars Las Vegas |$499,162 | Ben Fineman |
| May 21, 2008
|Harrah's New Orleans |Nick Ceci |$382,928 |Timothy Miles |
=2008–09 season=
| class="wikitable"
! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Date ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Location ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Winner ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Prize ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Runner-up |
| October 14, 2008
|Horseshoe Southern Indiana |Samuel Oberlin |$143,064 |Jerry Martin |
| November 2, 2008
|Harrahs Horseshoe Casino Hammond |$208,885 |Thomas Koral |
| November 16, 2008
|Harveys Resort & Casino, Lake Tahoe |$181,379 |Ty Stewart |
| December 16, 2008
|Harrah's Atlantic City |Brent Roberts |$280,940 |Phillip Reed |
| February 2, 2009
|Harrah's Casino Tunica |Kai Landry |$183,974 |David Dao |
| February 25, 2009
|Horseshoe Council Bluffs |Jesse Hale |$113,020 |Dennis Meierotto |
| March 14, 2009
|Caesars Atlantic City |Samuel Chartier |$322,944 |John Nixon |
| April 1, 2009
|Harrah's Rincon San Diego |Dwyte Pilgrim |$125,775 |Esther Taylor |
| April 30, 2009
|Caesars Palace |$227,692 |
| May 20, 2009
|Harrah's New Orleans |Jean Gaspard |$211,722 |Billy Kopp |
=2009–10 season=
| class="wikitable"
! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Date ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Location ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Winner ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Prize ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Runner-up |
| October 25, 2009
|Harrah's Horseshoe Casino Hammond |Daniel Livingston |$291,749 |Thanasi Floros |
| November 2, 2009
|Horseshoe Southern Indiana |Gabriel Cook |$92,430 |Christopher Tryba |
| November 17, 2009
|Harveys Resort & Casino, Lake Tahoe |$106,435 |Justin Hallstrom |
| December 15, 2009
|Harrah's Atlantic City |Chris Klodnicki |$215,915 |Kyle Bowker |
| February 10, 2010
|Harrah's Casino Tunica |$139,422 |Larry Gurney |
| March 2, 2010
|Horseshoe Council Bluffs |Jovan Sudar |$95,455 |Gerald Walter |
| March 14, 2010
|Caesars Atlantic City |Roland Isra |$264,715 |Chris Mitchell |
| March 31, 2010
|Harrah's Rincon San Diego |Bryan Devoshire |$114,975 |
| April 15, 2010
|Harrah's St.Louis |Jeffrey Roper |$170,814 |Jason Mo |
| April 30, 2010
|Caesars Palace |Andrew Lichtenberger |$190,137 |Dan Casetta |
| May 19, 2010
|Harrah's New Orleans |Fred Berger |$197,584 |Mike Beasley |
=2010–11 season=
| class="wikitable"
! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Date ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Location ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Winner ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Prize ! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Runner-up |
| August 31, 2010
|Horseshoe Council Bluffs |$88,555 |Shiva Dudani |
| October 12, 2010
|Horseshoe Council Bluffs |Charles Moore |$98,878 |Kevin Calenzo |
| October 31, 2010
|Emerald Casino |Warren Zackey |$231,956 |Melanie Banfield |
| November 9, 2010
|IP Casino Resort & Spa |Travis Lutes |$95,253 |Farid Nasserazad |
| November 10, 2010
|Harveys Lake Tahoe |Stanley Quinn |$86,789 |John Mcneilly |
| December 22, 2010
|WSOP Regional Championship - Harrah's Atlantic City |Chris Bell |$358,295 |Chris Klodnicki |
| January 24, 2011
|Choctaw Casino Resort |Huy Nguyen |$232,706 |Traci Brown |
| February 15, 2011
|Harrah's Tunica |Sam Barnhart |$148,612 |Jesse White |
| March 1, 2011
|Palm Beach Kennel Club |John Riordan |$210,180 |Mike Morton |
| March 13, 2011
|Caesars Atlantic City |Brian Ali |$139,284 |John Andress |
=2011–12 season=
=2012–13 season=
=2013–14 season=
=2014–15 season=
=2015–16 season=
=2016–17 season=
=2017–18 season=
=2018–19 season=
=2019–20 season=
=2020–21 season=
This season was not held due to the ongoing situation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
=2021–22 season=
Spencer Smith won back-to-back Monster Stack rings in Cherokee, NC both in 2200+ entry fields, for a total of $205,000.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.wsop.com/history/circuit/ WSOP Circuit] at the World Series of Poker
{{Major Poker Tournaments}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:World Series Of Poker Circuit Events}}