Welcome to the 2025 WPT Prime Thailand Exhibition Championship Event
Live poker in the Asia-Pacific region has been booming for quite some time and a new contender has arrived on the live poker scene, as the highly-anticipated launch of the first-ever major event is currently unfolding in the heart of Bangkok in Thailand. Known to be a traveler's paradise for everyone from near and far, the country in South East Asia has also been the home of many poker enthusiasts from numerous years thanks to the affordable cost of living.
Live poker had been a grey area until now, but that will certainly change going forward as the card game has been officially recognised as a sport by the Thai government. They have also struck a partnership with the World Poker Tour to host the first approved tournament series and that has resulted in the 2025 WPT Prime Thailand Exhibition, which is a special event and not part of the global ranking.
With rules and regulations still in a fluid state, the start of the event was pushed back by one day and officially had the first cards dealt on Thursday, July 31, 2025. One day later, the Championship Event is set to kick off and it features the usual WPT Prime global structure with a starting stack of 40,000 in chips.
In compliance with the local Thai regulations at the moment, which only allows for six hours of game play during week days, the level duration was adjusted to 20 minutes each and the opening flight will kick off at 6 p.m. local time inside the spacious UOB LIVE Bangkok on the fifth floor of the Emsphere Mall right in the city centre of the bustling metropole. The late registration for the opening flight will close at the start of level ten at approximately 9.20 p.m. local time and aim to reach "in the money" or finish at midnight local time.
While the field will likely contain many aspiring poker pros and recreationals from Asia, some expats living in the region will also be joined by "flag hunters" for the newly opened live poker market. The HendonMob platform gathers results from all over the world and this event will be the first opportunity to capture the Thai flag, which has gathered the interest of Canada's Dominick French and Scottish player Andrew Leathem. They were both active in yesterday's Freeroll Opener, which is also set to recommence at 6 p.m. local time as well.
In order to enter the tournaments at UOB LIVE, players have to purchase Thai travel packages that include the tournament entry with the most expensive package coming at an expense of 37,000 Thai Baht. That is also the requirement for the Championship Event, of which PokerNews will be providing updates until a winner has been crowned on August 5, 2025. For all official communication with regards to the tournament, players are also encouraged to follow the social media channels of PokerTalk Thailand as well.