PokerStars.com has announced a replacement series of WCOOP (World Championship of Online Poker) events for those that were forced to be cancelled by last weekend's massive DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack against the site. Dubbed the "WCOOP Championship Weekend," the mini-series consists of nine major WCOOP events that will be re-offered on the November 5-6, 2022 weekend.
Heading the list of restored events are the three WCOOP NLHE mains, with low/medium/high buy-ins of $109, $1,050, $10,300, which will start from scratch on Sunday, November 6. The same starting date applies for the three cancelled Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) main events, also with buy-ins of $109, $1,050, and $10,300. Rounding out the roster of restored events are the three WCOOP Women's Championships, with buy-ins of $5.50, $22, and $109.
The WCOOP NLHE Championship is a four-day event that will run through November 9, while the WCOOP PLO Championship runs for two days, ending on November 7. PokerStars has not confirmed the starting times for the three sets of events. Last Sunday, the NLHE mains began at 5:30 p.m. ET and ran briefly before play was frozen. The Women's and PLO trifectas were scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET and 8:05 p.m ET, respectively.
Boosted guarantees promised for replacement tourneys
PokerStars will be adding some elements in an attempt to make the November WCOOP events at least as large in prize money than Sunday's cancelled tourneys. "All NLHE Main Events will now include boosted guarantees, ensuring they’re even bigger and better," reads PokerStars' latest statement. For example, the three cancelled WCOOP NLHE mains had guarantees of $2.5 million, $4 million, and $6 million, so the November tourneys are promised to at least meet those standards.
