WSOP Europe Debuts First Ladies Championship in Prague This Spring
The World Series of Poker has added a Ladies Championship to the schedule of its spring debut in Prague, drawing to Europe a world-class group of women who have been stacking up accolades at the WSOP in recent years. WSOP Europe runs from March 31 through April 12, and the new €1,000 buy-in will run on Saturday, April 4 at Hilton Prague. The roster is already filling out with several commitments, starting with UFC Women's Strawweight Champion Mackenzie Dern and back-to-back WSOP Women's Champ Shiina Okamoto. Other players committed to Prague include Vanessa Kade, Kitty Kuo, Xuan Liu, Cecile Ticherfatine, Kasey Lyn Mills, and WSOP Main Event final table qualifier Leo Margets.
"As we enter a new era for WSOP Europe in Prague, it was essential that our schedule reflected the full spectrum of the poker community," explained Ty Stewart, Chief Executive Officer of WSOP. "The Ladies Championship is always one of the most spirited and competitive environments of the summer in Las Vegas, and we are thrilled to bring that same energy and prestige to the heart of Europe. We want this to be the definitive Ladies Event on the continent."
This will be the inaugural women's bracelet event in Europe for the WSOP, and the event will feature a special version of the regular WSOP prize. A press release describes it as "a custom setting with additional gemstones" to set it apart from normal WSOPE bracelets. It's not the first WSOPE women's event, however, as the 2011 festival featured the first-ever WSOP Europe Ladies Poker Championship. That event awarded a gold ring to Barbara Martinez.
The rest of the schedule features 15 other bracelet tournaments and is headlined by the $5,000 Main Event, a €10,000,000 guarantee with three opening flights from April 3-5. Also on the schedule is the highly-anticipated European Circuit Championship, a $1,350 buy-in with four opening flights on August 8-9.
