Your Q1 2026 WPT® Live Calendar: Where To Play And How To Qualify

Q1 2026 is packed with some exciting dates for the year ahead, especially if you’re looking forward to seeing some WPT® live poker. You get the Winter Classic in Montreal, a Cambodia double header, Prime Cyprus in March, and big US stops like Lucky Hearts, Venetian, and Rolling Thunder.

This guide walks through the key events in date order. For each stop you see the dates, venue, buy-in, and headline guarantee, how big it played last year, and how you can reach it (eg WPT® Global, Passport Dollars, ClubWPT, or only live satellites)

All dates, guarantees, and promo details are accurate as of January 2026. Always confirm final information on WPT.com and in the WPT® Global events section before you book flights or buy-ins.

Three pillars hold the quarter together.

WPT® Main Tour Championships

Lucky Hearts, WPT® Cambodia Championship, Venetian, Rolling Thunder. Buy-ins from $3,500 to $5,000.

WPT® Prime Championships

Prime Cambodia and Prime Cyprus. Buy-in $1,100, big fields, softer price point

Partner festivals with WPT® Global qualifiers

Winter Classic at Playground, WPS Bogotá, Dublin Poker Festival, The Festival Bratislava.

For players, keep in mind this split as you plan Q1. WPT® Global and Passport Dollars matter for Winter Classic, Cambodia, Cyprus, Dublin, Bratislava, Bogotá.

ClubWPT and land-based satellites matter for Lucky Hearts, Venetian, Rolling Thunder, because WPT® Global does not operate in the United States. Saying this, there are many low-stakes paths to live majors.

16–21 Jan - WPT® Seminole Lucky Hearts Poker Open Championship, Florida – $3,500, $3M GTD

18 Jan–1 Feb - WPT® Global Winter Classic, Playground, Canada – $1,150 CAD Main, $600k CAD GTD

30 Jan–3 Feb - WPT® Prime Cambodia Championship, Phnom Penh – $1,100, $750k GTD

4–9 Feb - WPT® Cambodia Championship, Phnom Penh – $3,500, $1.5M GTD

14–26 Jan - WPS Bogotá (partner series) – COP $3,000,000 Main, $500k GTD

19 Feb–1 Mar - Dublin Poker Festival (partner series), Ireland

23 Feb–1 Mar - The Festival Bratislava (partner series), Slovakia

19–24 Feb - WPT® Venetian Las Vegas Spring Championship – $5,000, $2M GTD

5–9 Mar - WPT® Prime Cyprus Championship – $1,100, $1M GTD

29 Mar–1 Apr - WPT® Rolling Thunder Championship, California – $3,500, GTD TBA

Tour / tier - Partner festival powered by WPT® Global

Venue - Playground Poker Club, near Montreal, Canada

Festival 18 January – 1 February 2026

Headline events:

Winter Classic Main Event: Buy In - $1,150 CAD Guarantee - $600,000 CAD

Winter Classic Mystery Bounty: Buy In - $350 CAD Guarantee - $250,000 CAD

The series carries over $1.5M in total guarantees, with a deep side schedule including a $2,200 High Roller and multiple $300–$600 events.

How WPT® Global fits in:

• Step satellites inside WPT® Global start from around $5.

• You can qualify into OnLive Day 1s for both the Main Event and the Mystery Bounty.

• If you bag online, your stack moves into the corresponding live Day at Playground.

There is also a Golden Ticket promotion, in which if you win a $220 Golden Ticket satellite on WPT® Global and you receive a Golden Ticket.

If a Golden Ticket holder then wins the live Winter Classic Main Event, WPT® Global adds $120,000 CAD to the winner’s payout.

For many, this is the “start of year” live trip fed directly from WPT® Global.

There are many exciting championships happening this year. As a player, deciding which stop is right for you, or if you should play online satellites vs live qualifiers, can be a big decision.