World Cup of Poker 8 Qualifier Tournaments

World Cup of Poker VIII

Peru Win the WCP VIII Title!

The World Cup of Poker is over for another year, and it was Peru who took victory at the live final in The Bahamas, held as part of the 2012 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA). The team of online qualifiers triumphed over the Netherlands, Japan, Germany, Tajikstan, Costa Rica, France and Italy, plus a team made up of players from smaller nations, to take home the trophy and $90,000.

See the PokerStars Blog for a full report from the live final, and keep checking back here for details of WCP IX being announced in the coming months.

Play for Your Country in Poker’s World Cup!

The World Cup of Poker (WCP) is the event where you get to represent your homeland in one of the biggest events anywhere online. What’s more, the seven countries that advance from the group stages get to go to the live final - held as part of the 2012 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) in The Bahamas. It’s about bragging rights, national pride, and proving that you are the best - and you can even qualify for free.

Stage 1 qualifiers run from August 20-21, giving you the chance to make it on to your national team. Every team is made up of a striker, midfielder, defender and a goalie - just like in a football team! Each position on the team has its own qualifier tournament across a range of buy-ins, starting for free or just $1.10. Make it through to the live final and you’ll also get a pro poker player added to your team line-up as Team Captain!

Free $11 Ticket for all First-Depositors

Make your first-ever real money deposit using the bonus code ‘WCP8’ and you’ll be rewarded with a free $11 Stage 1 ticket (Midfielder), in addition to the regular 100% First Deposit Bonus up to $600.

How WCP VIII Qualification Works

Stage 1 - Team Selection

Qualifiers for each position on every national team run on Saturday, August 20 & Sunday, August 21. Countries have been split into Groups, and times and dates for each tournament for your country can be found on the WCP Qualifiers page.

Each team position qualifier has a different buy-in as follows. The winner of each country-specific tournament for that buy-in level will be awarded their place on the national team in this position.

Buy-In	Team Position
Free	Goalkeeper
$1.10	Defender
$11	Midfielder
N/A - 2010 TLB Winners only*	Striker

*The qualifier tournaments for striker are invitation only, with the top-10 Tournament Leader Board (TLB) players from the 2010 annual rankings for each country being invited to take part.

To register for a Stage 1 qualifier, open the PokerStars lobby, click ‘Events’ & ‘World Cup’.

Stage 2 - Knockout Round

The four players selected for each national team (by winning their Stage 1 tournament) will then get to compete against the players from the other countries in their regional group that won their spot on the national team for that position.

The country team that performs best across all four tournaments will win their group and advance to the live final at the PCA (seven teams in total will go through from the group stages).

See the WCP Qualifiers page for Stage 2 tournament times and dates.

Stage 3 - Live Final

The seven winning teams from Stage 2 will be invited to play the live final, held in January, 2012 at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) in The Bahamas. Full details of the event to be announced soon.

The following countries are included in the WCP qualifiers: Canada , Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, Peru, Paraguay, Guatemala, Honduras, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Bolivia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Panama, Romania, United Kingdom, Poland, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Ireland, Slovakia, Serbia, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Slovenia Croatia, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Austria, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, Hungary, Belgium, Greece, Israel, Cyprus, Turkey, Estonia, Russian Federation, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Moldova, India, Tajikistan, Australia, New Zealand, China, Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia. Players from countries not listed can still qualify via the ‘Rest of the World’ team (Group 3).

Contact support@pokerstars.com if you have any questions about the World Cup of Poker and how to qualify for your country.