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WSOP 2025 Tournament of Champions Returns to Commerce Casino

WSOP 2025 Tournament of Champions Returns to Commerce Casino
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Iva Dozet News Editor
  • Fact Checked by: PokerListings
  • Last updated on: March 20, 2025 · 3 minutes to read

Yesterday, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) had some big news to share. The poker mogul announced the return of its 2025 Tournament of Champions (TOC), with the prestigious event once again taking place at The Commerce Casino & Hotel in Los Angeles. The freeroll event, running from May 15-17, will feature a $1,000,000 prize pool and award the first WSOP bracelet of the summer.

Just in case you’ve been living under a rock, this marks the second consecutive year the TOC will be hosted at Commerce, following its move from Las Vegas in 2024. The tournament serves as the grand finale for the WSOP Circuit season and leads into the full WSOP schedule, set to kick off on May 27 in Las Vegas.

Read on for everything you need to know about the 2025 WSOP Tournament of Champions and the broader WSOP Circuit stop in Los Angeles.

How the WSOP Tournament of Champions Works

The WSOP Tournament of Champions is an exclusive invite-only freeroll event open to all players who have won a WSOP bracelet or Circuit ring between June 2024 and May 2025. This includes winners from live WSOP events in Las Vegas, WSOP Paradise, WSOP Europe, as well as online winners from WSOP.com and GGPoker.

In 2024, 1,176 players qualified for the TOC, but only 559 participated, making it a competitive but not overly crowded field. The 2025 edition is expected to draw a similar number of participants, with many of the game’s biggest names potentially making the trip to LA.

The winner of the TOC will take home a significant cash prize and a coveted WSOP bracelet, officially kicking off the 2025 WSOP season.

WSOP Circuit Los Angeles – 18 Ring Events at Commerce Casino

The Tournament of Champions is just one part of a packed WSOP Circuit schedule at Commerce Casino, which runs from May 8-24. The series features 18 gold ring events and a combined $3.5 million in guaranteed prize money.

The centerpiece of the Circuit stop is the $1,700 WSOP Circuit Main Event, which runs from May 16-20 and boasts a $2,000,000 guarantee. The schedule also includes a mix of No-Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha, HORSE, and bounty tournaments, catering to a variety of poker disciplines.

Notably, the series does not include a Mystery Bounty event, but it does feature an ITM XL Bounty tournament, a format new to the WSOP Circuit.

2025 WSOP Tournament of Champions & Circuit Schedule

Below is the full schedule for the WSOP Circuit stop at Commerce Casino, including the Tournament of Champions:

DateEventBuy-in
May 9The Housewarming (2 days)$600
May 11Seniors (1 day)$400
May 11No-Limit Hold’em (1 day)$600
May 12Monster Stack (2 days)$400
May 13HORSE (2 days)$600
May 14No-Limit Hold’em (1 day)$1,100
May 15No-Limit Hold’em (1 day)$400
May 15-17WSOP Tournament of ChampionsFreeroll
May 16WSOP Circuit Main Event (3 days)$1,700
May 16No-Limit Hold’em (1 day)$400
May 17No-Limit Hold’em (1 day)$400
May 18Pot Limit Omaha (1 day)$400
May 19No-Limit Hold’em (2 days)$600
May 19PLO 8 or Better (1 day)$400
May 20TORSE (1 day)$400
May 218-Max NLH High Roller (2 days)$2,200
May 22ITM XL Bounty NLH (1 day)$600
May 238-Max NLH (1 day)$600
May 24Double Stack Closer (1 day)$400

Who Could Play in the 2025 WSOP Tournament of Champions?

With $1,000,000 in free prize money at stake, the TOC is expected to attract a strong field of players who have earned their spot through WSOP victories over the past year. Some notable names who could make an appearance include:

  • WSOP 2024 bracelet winners: Daniel Negreanu, Scott Seiver, Phil Ivey, Nick Schulman, and Jared Bleznick.
  • WSOP Paradise 2024 champions: Alex Foxen, Alejandro Lococo, Stephen Chidwick, and Yinan Zhou.
  • WSOP Europe 2024 winners: Martin Kabrhel, Darius Neagoe, Vivian Saliba, and Simone Andrian.

Defending champion Dong Meng, who won $200,000 in the 2024 TOC, could also return to defend his title.

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