WSOP Tournament of Champions is No More – Here’s What Comes Next

In the midst of the ongoing World Series of Poker (WSOP) festival in Las Vegas, Nevada, the WSOP has announced the schedule for the remaining stops of the WSOP Circuit (WSOPC) in 2025.

The schedule revealed 17 American and 12 international stops, but also revealed one major change for all WSOPC participants, who will no longer be battling for a seat in the WSOP Tournament of Champions, a traditional $1,000,000 freeroll hosted for the champions.

The tournament that caused some controversy in recent years has been scrapped altogether by the WSOP, with champions instead offered a “Ticket to Paradise,” a package worth $5,000 for the upcoming WSOP in Paradise festival.

For many WSOPC players, winning a ticket to the Tournament of Champions was about more than playing for a million dollars. It was rather about the prestige of showing up and playing against other champions in an exclusive event.

While some in the poker community have already expressed their disappointment with the decisions, others believe the Paradise package offers better value. We set out to find out how the two compare, and where the real value lies.

Are WSOPC Champions Gaining or Losing?

In recent years, all WSOPC ring winners were awarded an entry ticket to the $1,000,000 Tournament of Champions, a freeroll event held at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles in 2024 and 2025.

The relocation of the event to Los Angeles caused quite a stir among many poker players, who believed the event should be played in Las Vegas during the regular WSOP festival, saving players an extra trip to LA.

The most recent TOC was played this May, and saw Canadian player Kevin Li beat a field of 485 players to take home $200,000 in cash. A total of 1,169 players qualified for the event, but more than half never showed up to play it.

With the prize pool set at $1,000,000, the theoretical value of the ticket was under $1,000 before the event started, and ended up growing to just over $2,000 when more than half of the eligible players didn’t show up to play.

In addition, players would have to pay for their own flights and accommodations to Los Angeles, none of which was taken into account by the WSOP.

Starting this year, players will instead receive a package worth $5,000 for the WSOP in Paradise. The package will include $2,500 toward a tournament entry fee, and $2,500 toward accommodations.

The simple comparison shows the entry fee value to be higher than previous TOC, while a paid vacation in one of the most beautiful tropical islands in the world adds plenty of extra value.

Yet, there is the question of prestige. Instead of playing in an exclusive freezeout event reserved for champions only, WSOPC ring winners will now play an open event with potentially thousands of other entrants.

With the added costs of a plane ticket to the exotic destination, along with having to leave the country to attend the event, the number of those who actually use this privilege could go down even further.

The Paradise festival is also not created for low and mid stakes players, which many WSOPC champions are, as everything from tournament buyins to simple commodities tends to be quite pricey on Paradise Island.

If more than half of the eligible players skipped playing at the Commerce, we can easily see plenty skipping on the WSOP Paradise trip as well.

WSOPC Releases Schedule for the Rest of 2025

Along with the announcement that the TOC is being scrapped starting next year, WSOP also announced the schedule for the remaining events of 2025.

As usual, the schedule is heavily focused on the US, with 17 stops announced across the country. Players will get to play in multiple WSOPC festivals each month until the end of the year, including the final festival at the Horseshoe, Las Vegas, the same venue hosting the WSOP.

Here is a look at the full schedule of WSOPC festivals to be played on the US soil this year:

On top of the 17 domestic festivals on US soil, WSOPC will continue hosting events around the world, with festivals scheduled to play out in Canada, Europe, and Latin America.

If you outside the US and aren’t planning on visiting anytime soon, here is a look at the WSOPC events that may be closer to home: