WPT Prime Taiwan 2027: Dates, NT$30M Guarantee, $0.55 Satellites & Everything You Need to Know

Ask any regular who has played the CTP Club in Taipei and you’ll hear the same thing: the WPT Prime Taiwan festival is one of the busiest tournament weeks in Asia. It started in 2022 with fewer than 900 players in the Main Event. Two years later it drew 1,666 entries, and the World Poker Tour has had to treat Taipei as one of its key stops ever since.

The next edition is now confirmed. WPT Prime Taiwan 2027 runs January 2–11 at CTP Asia Poker Arena, with the NT35,000ChampionshipanditsNT30 million guarantee taking up the final five days. Below you’ll find what’s confirmed, what’s still coming, how to get in for less than a dollar online, and what the numbers from past years tell you about the field you’ll face.

Quick heads-up: Some older articles about a November WPT Prime Taiwan with a NT$10M guarantee are still being shared. Those details are from the first festival in November 2022. There is no WPT Prime Taiwan in November 2026. The November action at CTP this year is the APT Championship (Nov 13–29). The next WPT stop is January 2027.

WPT Prime Taiwan 2027 at a Glance

• Festival dates: January 2–11, 2027
• Championship dates: January 7–11, 2027
• Venue: CTP Asia Poker Arena, Zhongshan District, Taipei
• Championship buy-in: NT35,000(aboutUS1,100)
• Guarantee: NT30,000,000(aboutUS1 million)
• Presented by / sponsor: PokerTalk / WPT Global
• Online satellites: WPT Global, October 18 – December 27, 2026
• Full daily schedule: Not yet released

The host is CTP (the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association), founded by Hsing “David” Tai. Asia Poker Arena is its flagship room. If you’ve played APT Taipei or the APT Championship, you already know the venue: well-run floor, large table count, and a mix of local Taiwanese regulars and travelling players from across Asia.

The Championship: What NT$35,000 Gets You

At around US$1,100, the WPT Prime Taiwan Championship sits in the sweet spot for mid-stakes players. It costs less than an APT Championship Main Event but has more prestige than a typical local series. The winner also gets a WPT trophy, which still carries a lot of weight.

Day 1 flight times, starting stack and re-entry rules haven’t been announced. But the last edition gives a solid idea of the format. In August 2025 the Championship ran Day 1A on a Thursday, Day 1B on a Friday, and Day 1C plus a turbo Day 1D on the Saturday, with Day 2 on Sunday. January 7, 2027 is also a Thursday. So a Thursday–Friday–Saturday Day 1 pattern with a final table on Monday, January 11 is a reasonable guess. Treat it as an expectation until WPT publishes the official schedule, and don’t book non-refundable flights around a specific flight until it’s confirmed.

Will the guarantee be met?

Almost certainly. A rough estimate: after rake and fees, a guarantee of NT30Mneedssomewherearound1,000entriestocoverit.EveryWPTPrimeTaiwanChampionshipsince2023hascleared1,350entries.Don’tplanaroundanoverlay.Planinsteadforadeep,bigfieldwithaprizepoollikelywellaboveUS1 million, as in 2025, when 1,470 entries built a pool of more than US$1.5 million.

WPT Prime Taiwan History: How the Field Has Grown

Past results are the best way to judge what you’re signing up for. Here’s how every WPT Prime Taiwan Main Event has played out:

• November 2022 (inaugural): NT30,000buy-in,NT10M guarantee, 877 entries. Winner Marc Inizan (France), about US$138,939.
• August 2023: NT30,000buy-in,1,359entries.WinnerSeongukHuh(SouthKorea),NT6,139,800 (about US$198,000–208,000 depending on the source’s exchange rate).
• August 2024: NT33,000buy-in,1,666entries.WinnerJereldSam(Malaysia),aboutUS250,231.
• August 2025: NT35,000buy-in,NT30M guarantee, 1,470 entries. Winner Hyundong Lee (South Korea), about US$212,938 plus a WPT World Championship seat.
• January 2027: NT35,000buy-in,NT30M guarantee. Coming up.

A few things stand out. The 2024 field of 1,666 set a record for a WPT Prime Championship outside Las Vegas at the time. Korean players have won two of the four titles, which matches what you see on the felt: strong, aggressive Korean contingents travel to every major Asian stop. And while the 2025 field was slightly smaller than 2024, it came with a higher buy-in, so the prize pool barely suffered.

One new factor for 2027 is timing. This is the first WPT Prime Taiwan held in January rather than August or November. It comes right after the New Year and only weeks after the huge APT Championship in the same city. That could cut either way. Some players will be low on bankroll and energy after a big November, while others will treat early January as a fresh start to the season. Our honest read is that a field in the 1,200–1,600 range is realistic, but nobody can call it with confidence.

How to Qualify Online From $0.55

For most readers, this is the most useful part. WPT Global is the official sponsor and is running step satellites into the $1,100 Main Event seat until December 27, 2026. Every path ends in the same $110 final:

• Low-stakes path: $0.55 → $5.50 → $110 final → $1,100 seat
• Main path: $1.10 → $11 → $110 final → $1,100 seat
• Alternative path: $2.20 → $22 → $110 final → $1,100 seat

Online qualifiers are placed into Day 1A or Day 1B, depending on availability. That’s worth knowing if you’re planning travel, because it means arriving by January 7 rather than the weekend.

The Black Card extras

Qualifying online gets you more than a seat. Players who win their way in through WPT Global get “Black Card” benefits:

• Bubble protection: bust exactly one spot before the money and your $1,100 buy-in is refunded to your WPT Global account.
• Last Longer prizes: 17,500splitamongthethreeonlinequalifierswhogodeepest(10,000 / $5,000 / $2,500).
• An iPhone for eligible qualifiers who finish in the top 18, on top of prize money.

The catch: you need to wear the WPT Global patch throughout the tournament to stay eligible. And the satellite prize is the entry only, not flights or a hotel.

Asia-only leaderboard: 30 packages worth $1,600

If your WPT Global account is registered in Asia, there’s also the Asia MTT Super Package Leaderboard, running October 19 to December 20. The top 30 finishers each get a $1,100 Main Event entry plus $500 in account credit toward travel. Weekly leaderboards also hand out $110 satellite tickets to the top 91 finishers. For a grinder already playing MTTs every night, that’s a real second route in.

Don’t miss this deadline: every online seat winner must complete full identity (KYC) verification on WPT Global by December 30, 2026, or the seat is forfeited. Do it the week you qualify, not over Christmas. Extra seats can be transferred to another verified player, but you must use the first one yourself.

What to Expect From the Side Events

The 2027 side-event list hasn’t been released, but WPT Prime Taiwan schedules have grown every year. The 2025 festival had 59 trophy events, from about NT2,000uptoaNT250,000 Super High Roller. It also featured a NT$120,000 High Roller, a Seniors 50+ event, a Ladies event, team events, PLO and Big O, and plenty of bounty and turbo formats.

Several of those formats (Seniors, the Big Bounty Freezeout and the Turbo Main Event) first appeared at the 2022 festival and have been staples ever since. So expect most of them back in some form. A ten-day festival with the Championship packed into the last five days usually means the first weekend (January 2–4) is full of warm-ups, Mystery Bounty and turbo events. That’s a good window to get used to the room before the main event.

Practical Tips for Your Trip to Taipei

• Budget in TWD, not USD. Buy-ins are charged in New Taiwan dollars. Exchange rates move, so the “US$1,100” figure is only approximate.
• Pick your flight. If you’re buying in directly, Day 1A (likely Thursday) usually has the smallest field and the softest tables. Late flights on Saturday tend to be the busiest.
• Stay central. The arena is in Zhongshan District, one of Taipei’s better-connected areas, with hotels at every price within easy MRT reach.
• Check entry rules early. Visa requirements for Taiwan depend on your passport. Check official government guidance before you book.
• Watch for the August sequel. WPT has also confirmed a second Taipei event at the same venue for August 12–23, 2027. Its name and format are still to be announced.

Should You Play WPT Prime Taiwan 2027?

If you’re a mid-stakes tournament player in Asia, this is one of the better value events of early 2027. You get a real WPT title, a field big enough to produce a six-figure first prize, a guarantee that’s almost certain to be beaten, and a cheap online route in with bubble protection attached. The main risk is fatigue from back-to-back Taipei festivals. If you’re travelling from Singapore, Kuala Lumpur or China, the trip is short and Taipei is easy to get around.

Our advice: fire a few $1.10 or $0.55 steps now while there’s plenty of time, verify your account the moment you win, and keep an eye out for the full schedule. We’ll update this guide as soon as WPT and CTP publish Day 1 times, structure and the side-event list.

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