World Poker Tour, Japan Poker Union announce WPT Japan

(PRESS RELEASE) -- World Poker Tour is coming to Japan for the first time ever. In partnership with the Japan Poker Union Corporation, WPT Japan is a special, four-day event to be held in Tokyo from 23-26 November 2017.

Four events will be featured as part of the WPT Japan schedule and qualifying for WPT Japan events will take place at local poker clubs in the months leading up to the four-day championship festival in late November.

"The Japan Poker Union Corporation is very pleased to partner with the World Poker Tour on this brand new event, WPT Japan," said Yabuuchi Nobuhiro, Japan Poker Union Corporation representative. "The World Poker Tour is the perfect brand to help launch a new chapter for poker in our country, and we look forward to hosting players from all over at WPT Japan and showcasing all that this great region has to offer."

"The World Poker Tour is honored to partner with the Japan Poker Union Corporation for this momentous occasion, not only the history of the World Poker Tour, but for our industry," said Adam Pliska, CEO of the World Poker Tour. "Japan is a truly spectacular place, and the Japanese poker market is a flourishing one that deserves to be showcased on a global stage such as the World Poker Tour. Having spent a considerable amount of time in Japan, I strongly encourage poker players of all levels from around the world to come to Japan and experience firsthand everything this beautiful region has to offer."

Prizes for all WPT Japan events will consist of packages to future WPT events. The WPT Japan Main Event winner will receive a package to both the Season XVII WPT Main Tour event in Beijing, plus another WPT event of their choice in the Asia-Pacific region.

Additionally, WPT Japan tournaments will qualify players for the WPT Asia-Pacific Player of the Year leaderboard, which will award a $15,000 package to be used for any WPT Main Tour, WPTDeepStacks or WPT500 events in the Asia-Pacific region.

As part of the $15,000 package earned by the WPT Asia-Pacific Player of the Year, complimentary accommodations and ground transportation for the events will be provided by the WPT. The WPT Asia-Pacific Player of the Year runner-up will receive a $3,500 buy-in to the Season XVII WPT Beijing Main Event, and third place will receive one WPTDeepStacks main event buy-in and one WPT500 buy-in for WPT events in the Asia-Pacific region.

Below are the eligible events to earn WPT Asia-Pacific Player of the Year points for Season XVI:

• 15-19 April 2017: WPT Beijing
• 23-26 November 2017: WPT Japan
• 7-13 November 2017: WPT India

Additional eligible events will be added when they are announced.

For full WPT Japan schedule details, head to the website.