Will Mini WCOOP hurt the main WCOOP?
While small stakes fans will no doubt be very excited for Mini WCOOP, will it harm the legacy and traffic for the regular series?
This week it was revealed that PokerStars are set to announce a 1/100th buy-in version of the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP). The WCOOP is the most coveted series in online poker, in part because they have huge guarantees, bracelets and most of the buy-ins start at at least $215 (and go into their thousands).
There is little doubt that this will be a success for PokerStars. They have the biggest share of low stakes players in poker and have the ability to offer big guarantees. Micro Millions is a huge success for them, as is SCOOP which offers low and medium buy-in events as well as the high roller tournaments.
In particular there will be a thirst among low stakes players who have wanted to play in WCOOP but do not have the bankroll for it. While PokerStars have already made it clear that this is not low stakes events in WCOOP, but a mini and separate version of WCOOP, it is probable that the small stakes grinders will view this as a genuine WCOOP series.
The small stakes always come first?
My general ethos in poker is to lean towards the small stakes and recreational players first and foremost. They are the lifeblood of the industry and specifically in terms of events like WCOOP they are the players who satellite into bigger events and create the huge fields we have come to expect from them.
Part of me wonders, however, if a low stakes WCOOP might detract a little from what makes the World Championship of Online Poker so special. It really is the online version of the World Series of Poker and one of the few online festivals worth railing. The WCOOP Main Event and perhaps the $10,300 8-Game Mix are perhaps the most coveted events online.
Would running a micro version of WCOOP take anything away from this ‘best of the best’ series for online poker? Could it also take something away from SCOOP, which is special precisely because it is the one tournament series that includes everyone? The reality is that most low stakes players rarely mix with high stakes players and vice versa, but what might get lost are the railbirds who help make WCOOP so coveted.
An impact on satellite traffic?
Ultimately that is perhaps a small concern, though a very realistic one could be that a Mini WCOOP could have an adverse impact on the satellite traffic for the regular WCOOP. While it will still always be preferable to play for the bigger money the likelihood is that Mini WCOOP will offer some fantastic guarantees which could otherwise entice casual players away from the satellites (Which of course would be good satellite regulars but bad for the WCOOP overall).
Maybe the best reason to finally have a low stakes WCOOP is the advent of poker on Twitch. All the biggest streamers will be playing in WCOOP so if they are also able to advertise to potential new players that there is a micro version of it running right now they can take part in, then that more than mitigates any harm done to the satellite traffic. If we are going to attract new blood to poker, this is perhaps the best way to do it.
Finally if there is one thing which will surely keep the railbirds railing this year it is the likely $102,000 Super High Roller event that is set to take place. It’s hard to ignore big buy-in poker and that in itself will be one of the spectacles of the year.
The reality is that WCOOP never stopped low stakes players from playing poker while it was on, so we may as well have a parallel festival which means that everybody can feel part of it. I’ll always ultimately vote in favour of whatever promotion most benefits recreational players anyway, but I just wonder if the WCOOP becomes slightly less of a spectacle this year.
What are your views on Mini WCOOP? Let us know in the comments.
