Oct 30 – Nov 9, 2026 · Inspire Hotel & Casino
Announcements, structure updates, and — once the festival opens — chip counts and results from INSPIRE.
11 articles
Vietnamese poker player and content creator Gemmy Tue An (Ngoc Huyen Quach) has partnered with WPT Seoul 2026, aiming to connect the festival with Vietnam's growing poker community. Tue An left an eight-year career in priority banking to pursue poker and content creation full-time, and now runs free workshops training Vietnamese players, with the goal of building an internationally competitive female poker team. Her own results include a win at an influencer event at APT Manila Classic 2025, which carried a Main Event ticket she parlayed into a 15th-place finish, plus an 8th-place finish at Philippine Poker Million 2025. Through the partnership, she'll help bring players trained through her workshops to compete at WPT Seoul, running October 30 - November 9 at INSPIRE Entertainment Resort, Incheon.
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WPT Seoul 2026 will be run by Danny McDonagh, a veteran tournament director with 28 years of experience across the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. McDonagh directed tournaments at Crown Melbourne from 1997-2007, helped grow the Aussie Millions from 122 entries in 2003 to 780 by 2008, and launched the Asia Pacific Poker Tour in 2007, later serving as its President through 2016. He went on to serve as PokerStars' Executive Tournament Director, establishing operations in Macau and Manila and running EPT events including the inaugural 2019 PokerStars Players Championship. Since 2017 he has directed first-time WPT events in Australia, Japan, New Zealand and Taiwan. McDonagh was inducted into the Australian Poker Hall of Fame in 2011.
September 6, 2026
The full structure for the WPT Seoul Inspire Championship (Event #27) is now available, including all four Day 1 flight times and the complete blind level schedule. See the Schedule page for the full breakdown.
August 25, 2026
Save time onsite at INSPIRE by completing pre-registration online before you arrive. Registration takes just a few minutes.
August 20, 2026
PokerNews has published a full preview of WPT Seoul, the World Poker Tour's debut at INSPIRE Entertainment Resort, Oct 30 – Nov 9. What stands out: • A packed schedule across 11 days, from KRW 300,000 buy-ins up to the KRW 8,000,000 Super High Roller, including Mystery Bounty, Monster Stack, Survivor Bounty, Big O and plenty of PLO. • Early highlights include a Championship Warm Up with a KRW 100 million guarantee and a KRW 2.2 million Mini High Roller Warm Up. • The WPT Seoul INSPIRE Championship starts Nov 5: KRW 1,750,000 buy-in, KRW 1 billion guaranteed. • Later in the festival: a KRW 3.3 million Mystery Bounty High Roller, a KRW 3.5 million High Roller and the Mini Championship. • Off the felt: complimentary nightly entertainment at Daia and Ultra Lounge, a Welcome Players Party, the 15,000-seat arena, an indoor waterpark, and Incheon International Airport right next door. Read the full preview and complete schedule on PokerNews via the source link below.
August 19, 2026
PokerHeaven explains how players can win a seat at the WPT Seoul Inspire Championship online through WPT Global, starting from just $1.10. How the ladder works: • $1.10 Step → $8.80 Satellite → $88 Qualifier. • The $88 Qualifier runs every Sunday at 12:05 UTC until October 25, with three $1,500 packages guaranteed each week. • Each package includes a Championship Day 1A entry (Nov 5), $250 in expenses, lounge and player-party access, and exclusive merchandise. • The first 30 package winners also get a four-night hotel stay for two (Nov 4–8) on top of the package. The Championship runs Nov 5–9 at INSPIRE with a KRW 1,750,000 buy-in, 40-minute levels and a KRW 1 billion guarantee. Read the full guide on PokerHeaven via the source link below.
August 18, 2026
Multiple paths to a WPT Seoul package are now running, from daily online steps to live satellites in Hong Kong. See the Partners & Satellites page for the full schedule.
August 10, 2026
70 tables, daily cash games and weekly tournaments. Ultra Lounge and Daia junket rooms to follow.
August 1, 2026
INSPIRE Entertainment Resort has announced WPT Seoul in Japan through an official press release on PR TIMES, inviting Japanese players to the World Poker Tour's first festival in Korea, Oct 30 – Nov 9, 2026. Highlights of the announcement: • The WPT Seoul Championship starts Nov 5 and reaches its final table on Nov 9: KRW 1,750,000 buy-in, KRW 1 billion prize pool. • Buy-ins across the festival range from KRW 300,000 to KRW 8,000,000, for experienced players and first-timers alike. • The venue is YY Poker, a new 70-table room with a dedicated livestream studio, alongside the Daia VIP room and the Ultra Lounge, which hosts special entertainment for players every night. • The final table will be livestreamed to fans worldwide. • Festival players can book special limited-time room rates at INSPIRE. Read the full press release (in Japanese) on PR TIMES via the source link below.
July 22, 2026
Asia Gaming Brief reports that INSPIRE Entertainment Resort is opening a new entertainment floor built around YY Poker Club, a 70-table poker room with its own livestream studio, timed to open with WPT Seoul (Oct 30 – Nov 9, 2026). Key points from the report: • WPT Seoul is the first tournament series at YY Poker Club and the centrepiece of its opening, announced jointly by the World Poker Tour, its licensee Khartes and INSPIRE. • The same floor adds Daia, an exclusive junket room, and Ultra Lounge, a nightclub and bar with complimentary nightly entertainment for festival players. • Buy-ins range from KRW 300,000 to KRW 8,000,000. • The WPT Seoul Championship runs Nov 5–9 with a KRW 1,750,000 buy-in and a KRW 1 billion guarantee, overseen by Tournament Director Danny McDonagh. Read the full report on Asia Gaming Brief via the source link below.
July 21, 2026
SoMuchPoker has published a full venue guide to INSPIRE Entertainment Resort near Incheon International Airport, the home of WPT Seoul 2026 (Oct 30 – Nov 9). Highlights from the guide: • YY Poker Club: a purpose-built 70-table poker room with its own livestream studio, on INSPIRE's new second-floor entertainment level alongside the Ultra Lounge. • Stay and play under one roof: 1,275 rooms, suites and villas across the Forest, Sun and Ocean Towers. • Plenty to do between sessions: South Korea's largest foreigner-only casino, the 15,000-seat INSPIRE Arena, Splash Bay, INSPIRE Mall and the Aurora digital entertainment street. • Easy to reach: 10–20 minutes from Incheon International Airport, with free shuttles to Terminals 1 and 2. Central Seoul is about an hour away by road. SoMuchPoker's tip: stay on property. INSPIRE is a long way from central Incheon and Seoul, so heading out for meals or rooms gets inconvenient on long tournament days. Check the airport shuttle timetable before an early-morning or late-night flight. Read the full guide on SoMuchPoker via the source link below.
July 21, 2026
