The World Speed Poker Open (WSPO) was an international poker tournament held under speed poker rules.
The tournament had a £2,000 entry fee.
Twelve preliminary heats took place, each with six participants. The winner received £2,500 and a place in one of the WSPO semi-finals.
The top three finishers in each of the semi-finals received a seat in the WSPO Final. The winner also received a further £2,500. Players took to the Final the amount of chips they had when their semi-final got down to just three players.
The payout structure for the Final was:
- Winner: £50,000
- Runner-Up: £25,000
- 3rd place: £17,000
- 4th place: £10,000
- 5th place: £5,000
- 6th place: £2,000
Each player has 15 seconds to make their decision. The clock starts when the player knows how much the bet into him or her is.
Twice per tournament, a player may have an additional 30 second time-out, this idea was the brainchild of Dave "Devilfish" Ulliot.
If a decision is not made during that time period, the hand is declared dead.
To help speed things along, 2 dealers are utilised. The winner was Oliver Boyce.
Videos from World Speed Championship can be found here (PokerHeaven).
