Biggest prize pool in Winning Poker Network history on the line in the latest chapter of The Venom
The Winning Poker Network’s flagship tournament has emerged as an undeniable success over the past two years. The Venom made its debut on WPN in July 2019, with an ambitious prize pool unlike anything else on a U.S.-facing poker site.
WPN decided to make the tournament a quarterly event this year, and the third of four chapters of The Venom plays out from July 23 through August 4. The summer edition plays out in traditional poker format, following up on The Venom PKO that ran on WPN skins in the spring.
Americas Cardroom, Black Chip Poker, and other WPN platforms will serve as the venue for the biggest edition yet of The Venom. Let’s take a look at what to expect when the $2,650 buy-in tournament begins later this month:
An eight-figure prize pool
Previous editions of The Venom have come ever so close to eclipsing the $10 million mark. The August 2020 chapter of the tournament hit $9,680,000 in prize money, leaving the $7 million guarantee for the tournament far behind.
The August 2020 ($9,680,000) and January 2021 ($9,435,000) editions both approached an eight-figure prize pool. The July/August 2021 installment ensures that the prize pool will reach eight figures, as WPN is putting out a $10 million guarantee for the tournament.
Here’s a look at the attendance, prize pools, and first-place prizes for all chapters of The Venom so far:
WPN’s The Venom at a glance
| 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 PKO (April/May 2021) | $5,000,000 | $7,160,000 | 2,864 | $738,134 |
| The Venom (July/August 2021) | $10,000,000 | ? | ? | ? |
A pair of $1 million-plus winners
The $2,650 buy-in and $10 million guarantee add up to big money at the top of The Venom’s payout structure.
The top two finishers for this summer tournament are each guaranteed at least $1 million. The final table payout structure could closely resemble what we saw in the August 2020 version of The Venom.
That tournament produced a pair of seven-figure winners. Tournament champion ‘TRT-Vitor’ took home $1,394,821, while runner-up Marty ‘forrestranfar’ Mathis came away with $1,282,666.
‘TRT-Vitor’ and ‘forrestranfar’ made a heads-up deal that evened out each player’s cut of the nearly $2.7 million set aside for the top two finishers. Deal or no deal at this summer’s Venom final table, we’ll see more than a couple of life-changing paydays emerge.
The Americas Cardroom Team Pros
With $10,000,000 guaranteed at a $2,650 price point, you can bet on a massive field getting in on this summer’s Venom festivities. The tournament runs as an unlimited re-entry event, with four different starting flights.
Here’s a look at the schedule for the tournament:
$10 Million Guaranteed Venom schedule
| Date | Flight* |
| Friday, July 23 | Day 1A |
| Sunday, July 25 | Day 1B |
| Friday, July 30 | Day 1C |
| Sunday, August 1 | Day 1D |
| Monday, August 2 | Day 2 |
| Tuesday, August 3 | Day 3 |
| Wednesday, August 4 | Final Table |
The Day 1A flights guarantee the opportunity to play with the Team Pros at Americas Cardroom. You might compete against Vanessa Kade, one of poker’s biggest rising stars in 2021.
The legend himself, Chris Moneymaker, will also take a seat in The Venom. There’s no telling how many bullets the 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event champion might fire this summer, and you might get the chance to mix it up with the poker icon.
Jon Van Fleet, Jeff Boski, Ebony Kenney, Drew Gonzalez, Michael Loncar, Robert Kuhn, and Jon Pardy round out the roster of ACR Team Pros. You’ll find them all in the field at the $10 Million Guaranteed Venom, which will play out as one of the biggest online tournaments in the history of online poker in the U.S.
Featured image source: Twitter
