Another huge prize pool for WPN’s flagship tournament
The Winning Poker Network went big for the latest edition of The Venom, offering the biggest guaranteed prize pool ever in a U.S.-facing online poker tournament. The $8 Million Guaranteed Venom raised the bar again for WPN’s signature tournament, marking the highest guarantee for any of the five chapters of the Venom.
With the final Day 1 flight wrapping up Sunday, this edition of The Venom ended up with the second-largest prize pool ever for a WPN tournament. A total of 3,774 entries registered for the tournament, which began Jan. 22 and finished up Feb. 3.
That attendance pushed the final prize pool to $9,435,000. That total comes up just short of taking the top spot as the biggest-money final prize pool tournament ever operated on WPN.
The August 2020 edition of The Venom still enjoys that honor, as that tournament ended up with a $9,680,000 prize pool. Both the August 2020 and January/February 2021 versions of The Venom came at a $2,650 buy-in.
The August 2020 Venom guaranteed $7 million and drew 3,872 total entries.
WPN’s The Venom: All five chapters at a glance
| Venom Chapter | Guaranteed Prize Pool | Actual Prize Pool | Entries | First Place Prize |
| The Venom (July 2019) | $5,000,000 | $6,382,500 | 2,552 | $1,050,559 |
| The Venom (December 2019) | $6,000,000 | $6,740,000 | 2,696 | $1,039,982 |
| The Venom (August 2020) | $7,000,000 | $9,680,000 | 3,872 | $1,394,821* |
| The Venom PKO (October 2020) | $5,000,000 | $6,777,500 | 2,711 | $752,067** |
| The Venom (January 2021) | $8,000,000 | $9,435,000 | 3,774 | $1,113,330 |
The Venom will award $1,113,330 to the winner
The last of the four Day 1 flights played out Sunday, drawing the biggest attendance of any of the opening day flights. Day 1D drew 1,601 entries, topping Day 1A (503 entries), Day 1B (928 entries), and Day 1C (742 entries).
Of the total 3,774 entries, 596 players advanced to Monday’s Day 2 flight. The money bubble quickly burst on Day 2, as 591 players made it into the payout structure and clinched at least a min-cash of $3,774.
The Venom $8 Million Guaranteed final table payouts*
| Place | Prize (USD) |
| 1 | $1,113,330 |
| 2 | $849,150 |
| 3 | $612,331.50 |
| 4 | $381,117.50 |
| 5 | $217,005 |
| 6 | $121,711.50 |
| 7 | $89,632.50 |
| 8 | $70,762.50 |
| 9 | $56,610 |
The 596 players that sat down on Day 2 played down to the final 65 by the end of the 12-hour flight. All of the 65 players that survived to play today’s Day 3 flights earned at least 38,683, as the payout ladder starts to escalate to the big money at the top.
Day 3 plays on today until the nine-player final table is reached. Those players then come back Wednesday to play for the ultimate prize, with the $1,113,330 payday awaiting the winner.
The top six finishers will all come away with six-figure paydays. All remaining action in The Venom can be watched on delayed stream at the Americas Cardroom Twitch channel.
