The Ultimate Prep Course for Poker’s Most Prestigious Event
Just as a marathon runner trains for weeks or a student studies before a major exam, poker players need preparation before diving into the most prestigious online poker series of the year. The World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) is scheduled to run from September 6 to 30, 2026, and while many players historically jump straight into the action without a warm-up, participating in a structured training camp can significantly enhance performance and tournament results.
To bridge this gap, the WCOOP Boot Camp is officially returning from August 2 to 17, 2026. Serving as an ideal warm-up series, the Boot Camp is designed to help both casual players and seasoned grinders hone their skills and experience the atmosphere of a major tournament festival.
Replicating WCOOP Prestige at a Fraction of the Cost
The WCOOP Boot Camp is structured to replicate the variety, game formats, and massive prize pools that make the main WCOOP series legendary, but at a fraction of the cost for lower buy-in tiers. Across 130 total tournaments (65 distinct events split into Low and High tiers), players can test their strategies across a multitude of poker variants and formats.
Key highlights on the Boot Camp schedule include:
- $75 Sunday Special (PKO): Featuring a $300K guarantee on Sunday, August 2.
- $75 Sunday Special (MB): Featuring a $300K guarantee on Sunday, August 9.
- Main Events: Commencing on Sunday, August 16, featuring a $109 Main Event Low with a $500K guarantee and a $1,050 Main Event High with a $300K guarantee. Satellites into these flagship events start from just $0.55.
Free Elite Coaching With BBZ Poker
Because the Boot Camp functions as a true training ground, PokerStars has teamed up with renowned coaching stable BBZ Poker to deliver free training sessions to players throughout the series. Utilized by top-tier professionals and ambassadors such as Ben “Spraggy” Spragg, Lex Veldhuis, and Andy “BowieEffect” Wilson, BBZ Poker, led by founder Jordan “bigbluffzinc” Drummond, will help players sharpen their edge.
The coaching sessions are scheduled on Friday “rest days” from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM CEST to align directly with the upcoming weekend tournament schedules:
- Friday, July 31
- Friday, August 7
- Friday, August 14
These sessions will be hosted live within the BBZ Discord channel, with recordings made publicly available on the BBZ Poker platform during the Boot Camp. Furthermore, password-protected centrolls will run every Friday following the coaching sessions, giving participants the opportunity to win valuable WCOOP tickets:
- July 31 & August 7: $1K in WCOOP tickets per centroll, including a $109 WCOOP ticket awarded to players finishing in 1st through 3rd place.
- August 14: $1.5K in WCOOP tickets, featuring a $530 WCOOP ticket for the tournament winner.
