Live Poker Worldwide: Whats On In March 2024
16 Jul 2024
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APAT CEO Announces 2024 Calendar
- Amateur Poker Association & Tour (APAT) announces its 2024 schedule
- CEO Leigh Wiltshire discusses the tour in its 17th season
- Online events on GG Poker yet to be announced
Photos Courtesy of APAT
The Amateur Poker Association and Tour (APAT) has announced its full calendar for 2024. Now in its 17th season, the longest running poker tour in the UK is aimed solely at recreational players, with the largest buy-in events usually being in the £100 region.
PokerWired talked to APAT CEO Leigh Wiltshire to find out more about the tour and the 2024 schedule.
APAT 2024 Schedule
| Dates | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|
| January 12-14 | UK Team Championship | Dusk Till Dawn, Nottingham |
| February 9-11 | German Team Championship | Grand Casino Asch, Czech Republic |
| February 21-25 | European Championship of Amateur Poker | Aspers Casino, Stratford, London |
| March 22-24 | APAT Open Championship | Man325 Casino, Manchester |
| April 27-28 | Mediterranean Amateur Poker Championship | Portomaso Casino, Malta |
| May 1-2 | Irish Amateur Poker Championship | Dublin, Ireland |
| May 17-18 | Scottish Amateur Poker Championship | Grosvenor Casino, Glasgow |
| June 14-16 | UK Amateur Poker Championship | Grosvenor Casino, Leeds |
| August 21-26 | World Championship of Amateur Poker | Dusk Till Dawn, Nottingham |
| October 2-6 | German Amateur Poker Championship | Grand Casino Asch, Czech Republic |
| October 18-20 | English Amateur Poker Championship | Grosvenor Casino, Blackpool |
| Novenber 2-3 | Maltese Amateur Poker Championship | Portomaso Casino, Malta |
| November 15-17 | UK & Ireland Amateur Poker Championship | Grosvenor Casino, Newcastle |
| November 29-December 1 | Poker Squads Live | Dusk Till Dawn, Nottingham |
APAT CEO Leigh Wiltshire Talks to PokerWired
PokerWired: What are the highlights of the 2024 schedule and is there anything new or different included this year?
Leigh Wiltshire: So far we’ve announced 14 stops for 2024, but we’re working on a couple more venues, so we might well add to the list in the coming months. The highlight of the year from the feedback we get from the players is always the World Championship of Amateur Poker (WCOAP). We’ll be back at Dusk Till Dawn in Nottingham again for six days of poker with over twenty bracelet events aimed at recreational poker players.
2024 will also see us return to Glasgow, Newcastle, Manchester and Leeds. We’ll also see the return of the European Championship of Amateur Poker (ECOAP), playing out at Aspers Casino in Stratford, London across five days at the end of February.
PokerWired: Do you have any seniors events and if so, at what age is someone considered a senior?
Leigh Wiltshire: We regularly discuss senior events and female only events but since APAT launched, we’ve always tried to make all of our events inclusive to all and ensure our events are a safe and enjoyable environment for all poker players, whatever age, gender, experience or background.
We are very proud that a typical APAT player field will have a higher proportion of female players than most tours and we’ll have players sat playing their first live poker event alongside players who have played the game for decades, enjoying their retirement.
PokerWired: What is available online for APAT members at GG Poker? Are there daily/weekly/monthly events and if so, what are they?
Leigh Wiltshire: We run a weekly schedule on GG Poker. Low buyin with very low feeders, again ensuring they are accessible to all bankrolls. We run regular leaderboards with added value and each month we have an online Championship Weekend where players can compete to win those cherished APAT medals across the virtual felt.
PokerWired: Do you run online satellites to live APAT events and if so, to which events, what is the usual satellite format/buy-in/package type?
Leigh Wiltshire: We regularly run satellites for events. Our live events are affordable to most, but that’s not to say poker players don’t like to get into events via satellites and get a bit more value. Some of our events will also have an Online Day 1 option via GG Poker and players can use satellites to qualify for those too.
Live APAT seats are also regularly available on Poker Raffles (www.pokerraffles.com) for those players that don’t have the time to grind the satellites.
PokerWired: Will you have another online APAT series?
Leigh Wiltshire: Expect to see a full APAT online schedule announced very soon. One of the benefits of partnering with GG Poker is the incredible online series that they run on a regular basis, with huge guarantees and added value. It’s great for players, whilst they are on the site playing some of the APAT games, they can also jump into all the other tournaments on offer.
PokerWired: Do you have an annual leaderboard or ranking system for the live events?
Leigh Wiltshire: Since APAT launched in 2006, we have always had an annual rankings leaderboard and a player of the year. All of our results are published on The Hendon Mob for players to keep track of their overall cashes. Now we are back to a full schedule after the disruptions caused during the Covid years, players can expect to see our annual rankings return in 2024.
PokerWired: How have live APAT events been since Covid? Is there increased interest/attendance compared with before lockdown?
Leigh Wiltshire: During the lockdowns, the APAT community really came together online and was there for each other. That time also saw us launch The APAT Show, a regular live stream where we follow the online poker action on a Sunday night but also get guests on from the community and wider poker industry to chat poker and pretty much anything else going on in the world.
Since we’ve been back live, the enthusiasm for live poker seems to have been dialled up a bit. We’ve seen record numbers for APAT events. We have always sold out our events, but we’ve definitely seen demand increase. Bringing new players, some players we’ve not seen for a while, alongside those regular players that have been with us throughout the APAT journey.
PokerWired: In what ways are live APAT events different/unique compared to other live poker events?
Leigh Wiltshire: APAT was founded on giving recreational poker players the high quality experience of the big poker tournament you used to see on the television, but at a fraction of the buyin and giving value back to the players.
APAT events are probably a little bit more social than most other live poker events, I’d certainly like to think they are more welcoming to new players.
The poker is as competitive as anywhere else, but for the APAT community, it’s about more than just the poker.
PokerWired: If someone wins too often, do they get barred for being a pro in disguise?
Leigh Wiltshire: No one would ever get barred for winning too often. We’ve had APAT players that have gone on to become professional players, win WSOP bracelets, WPT events, GUKPT events and many other events across the world. The likes of Toby Lewis, Liv Boeree & Niall Farrell have all played APAT events in the past.
APAT is aimed at recreational poker players. We love the fact that each year we get professional players wanting to play our events because of the structures and the different variants that we put on, especially at the WCOAP & ECOAP.
Our response has always been the same. Classify yourself as an amateur player if you don’t earn your sole income from playing poker professionally.
If you are a professional poker player, you’re always welcome in the APAT community but there are plenty of other poker events you can play each year.
In order to play an online APAT event or participate in an online satellite to a live APAT event, players need to have an account on GG Poker.
If you don't already have an account, register using the GG Poker bonus code wired for a matched deposit bonus of up to $600.
