WCOOP 25 Opens With a $5M Sunday Million Final

WCOOP 25 kicks off with a landmark opening day

PokerStars is launching the 25th World Championship of Online Poker on September 6, and the opening day already tells you how big this festival is set to be. The series runs through September 30, features 121 events and 350 tournaments, and includes more than $6.5 million guaranteed across six Main Events.

What makes the opener even more striking is the timing. WCOOP begins on the very same day as the $5 million Sunday Million 20th Anniversary Final. That means September 6 is not just the start of a flagship online series — it is also the day one of PokerStars’ most famous weekly tournaments closes out its own anniversary run.

Sunday Million and WCOOP collide on September 6

The Sunday Million has been a PokerStars staple for 20 years, and it still runs every week at a $215 buy-in. For the anniversary edition, players qualified through $109 phased satellites running daily until September 6.

The headline number is hard to miss: the Sunday Million Final carries a $5 million guarantee, which is twice the guarantee attached to WCOOP’s most expensive Main Event at $2.5 million. In other words, the opening day of WCOOP is not only about the new series — it is also about a standalone event with a bigger single guarantee than any individual WCOOP Main Event on the calendar.

For players, that creates a rare convergence:

• more traffic across poker rooms,
• deeper fields in major events,
• more value in satellites and qualifiers,
• and a much stronger incentive to plan bankroll usage carefully.

WCOOP’s confirmed championship events so far

PokerStars has already named ten tournaments as official World Championship titles, ranging from specialty formats early in the month to the biggest Main Events at the end of the festival.

Confirmed WCOOP championship events include:

• NLHE 6-Max Championship — $5,200 buy-in, $400,000 guarantee, Sept. 6
• HORSE Championship — $1,050 buy-in, $50,000 guarantee, Sept. 7
• Razz Championship — $1,050 buy-in, $40,000 guarantee, Sept. 10
• NLHE PKO Championship — $1,050 buy-in, $500,000 guarantee, Sept. 13
• Triple Draw Championship — $1,050 buy-in, $40,000 guarantee, Sept. 15
• PLO8 Championship — $1,050 buy-in, $100,000 guarantee, Sept. 17
• Women’s NLHE Championship — $215 buy-in, $10,000 guarantee, Sept. 20
• 8-Game Championship — $2,100 buy-in, $80,000 guarantee, Sept. 24
• NLHE Main (Low) — $109 buy-in, $1,250,000 guarantee, Sept. 27
• NLHE Main (Medium) — $1,050 buy-in, $2,000,000 guarantee, Sept. 27
• NLHE Main (High) — $10,300 buy-in, $2,500,000 guarantee, Sept. 27
• PLO Main (Low) — $109 buy-in, $100,000 guarantee, Sept. 28
• PLO Main (Medium) — $1,050 buy-in, $250,000 guarantee, Sept. 28
• PLO Main (High) — $10,300 buy-in, $400,000 guarantee, Sept. 28

This structure is what keeps WCOOP relevant year after year. It is not just a high-roller showcase. It is a full ecosystem, combining mixed games, PKOs, PLO, women’s events, and multiple price points that allow players to enter through promotions & bonuses or via direct buy-ins.

How players can qualify without paying full price

One of WCOOP’s biggest strengths is accessibility. Satellites begin at just $0.55, while WCOOP-themed Spin & Go qualifiers start at $0.75.

On top of that, PokerStars is running the Power Path Express promotion, which alone is distributing more than $175,000 in ticket bundles and Main Event seats. Two more prize pools add further value:

• the WCOOP Lucky Dip, with $500,000 in tournament tickets across the festival;
• a separate $100,000 leaderboard pool split between Low, Medium, High, and overall Player of the Series races.

That matters because major online series are no longer only for players who can fire the full buy-in. A lot of regulars build their schedule around qualification paths, then sharpen their approach through poker school content so they can handle ICM spots, late-stage pressure, and format-specific edges.

Expert analysis: why this opening day matters

From an industry perspective, this launch is important for three reasons.

First, the overlap between Sunday Million and WCOOP creates a traffic spike that should deepen fields across the board. For serious players, deeper fields often mean more variance but also more room for edge realization over a long sample.

Second, the buy-in ladder is one of the best examples of how modern online poker keeps its ecosystem healthy. From $0.55 satellites to a $25,000 Super High Roller, PokerStars is offering a path for almost every bankroll tier. That kind of range is one reason poker clubs, training communities, and staking networks continue to matter in the online game.

Third, the field is likely to be larger than in any previous edition because PokerStars has folded Betfair Poker UK into its main player pool. A bigger shared pool usually means better guarantees, tougher late-stage competition, and more value for players who can adapt quickly.

Strategically, players should think about the series in layers:

• softest value often comes in the lower buy-in championship events and satellites;
• mixed-game specialists should target the niche titles where skill edges are larger;
• Main Events will reward solid ICM discipline and stack management;
• qualifier-heavy schedules require careful bankroll planning and volume control.

From nine events in 2002 to a 350-tournament festival

The first WCOOP, in 2002, was tiny by today’s standards: just nine events with buy-ins from $109 to $1,050. The Main Event drew 238 entries, built a $238,000 prize pool, and was won by a player known only as MultiMarine for $65,450.

Compare that to the current schedule and the growth is obvious. A single low Main Event this year guarantees more than five times the entire prize pool of that first WCOOP Main Event. The series has gone from a small experiment to the biggest recurring online festival in poker.

The all-time leaderboard reflects that evolution, with names like Benny "RunGodLike" Glaser, Joao "Naza114" Vieira, and Niklas "Lena900" Astedt sitting among the game’s most decorated online champions.

Bottom line: WCOOP 25 is set up for a huge September

WCOOP 25 arrives with massive guarantees, a deep schedule, and a rare opening-day clash with the Sunday Million anniversary final. For players, that means one of the most important online months of the year is about to begin.

If you are planning to play, the best move is to map out your targets early, decide which disciplines fit your skill set, and choose your qualification route before the first cards are dealt.

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