WPT Global raises the stakes next Sunday, 2 August, when the WPT Bounty Boost brings a $225,000 guarantee and an $82 buy-in to the WPT Asia Series Summer Overdrive. It is the first Sunday buy-in jump of the festival.
The opening fortnight kept every ring event at $26. Bounty Boost more than triples that, and the guarantees climb with it, from $150,000 to $225,000.
The same Sunday closes the $9 Rev Up phase, whose surviving stacks return for their own $150,000 ring final. Two more Gold Rings will be decided before the night is out.
WPT Bounty Boost: The First Step-Up of the Series
The step-up is the story. Overdrive spent two weeks letting anyone in for pocket change, and from Bounty Boost onwards the Sundays start playing for bigger money every week through to the $122 Grand Prix Main Event.
The volume around the Sundays stays enormous. Opening weeks have packed in around 147 events a day, peaking at 175 on 27 July, with ring Mystery satellites firing every couple of hours around the clock.
The key numbers for Sunday's headliner:
- Buy-in: $82, more than triple the $26 charged for Ignition and Mystery Surge.
- Guarantee: $225,000, a 50% jump on the opening fortnight's prize pools.
- Start time: 13:05 CET on Sunday 2 August, evening prime time across Asia.
- Prize: a Gold WPT Ring and a step towards the ¥3,000,000 (~$415K) Collect 3 bonus.
From here, every remaining Sunday climbs. The back half of the $30M Summer Overdrive series schedule looks like this:
| Date | Ring Sunday | Buy-in | GTD |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 August | Bounty Boost | $82 | $225,000 |
| 9 August | Mystery Overheat | $82 | $225,000 |
| 16 August | Redline Championship | $92 | $300,000 |
| 23 August | Mystery Nitro Championship | $92 | $300,000 |
| 30 August | Grand Prix Main Event | $122 | $375,000 |
Guarantees rise by $75,000 every fortnight, finishing with $375,000 and a $75,000 first prize in the Main Event on 30 August.
Bigger guarantees at bigger buy-ins are also where overlays live. If a field falls short of covering $225,000 at $82 a head, WPT Global pays the difference, and every entrant is playing for added money.
That is not a prediction, it is arithmetic worth watching. The room has backed the step-up weeks with prize pools that need genuinely large fields to cover, and any shortfall is pure extra equity for the players who show up.
Rev Up's $9 Flights Close Into Their Own Ring Final
The Rev Up phase has been running Day 1 flights every couple of hours since 26 July. The window shuts on 2 August, when every surviving stack returns for a Day 2 final guaranteeing $150,000.
At $9 a flight, it is the last single-digit route to a ring this series. The $12 Throttle phase opens the same day and carries a bigger $225,000 pool, but the price of entry only rises from here.
Multiple bags merge. Re-entry is allowed until the end of each flight's late registration, and players who advance from more than one Rev Up flight have their surviving stacks combined into a single stack for the final.
The Phase Ladder From Here
Four phases remain after Rev Up, each running a week of Day 1 flights into a Sunday final. The buy-ins settle at $26 while the guarantees keep climbing.
| Phase | Day 1 Window | Buy-in | GTD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Throttle | 2 to 9 August | $12 | $225,000 |
| Top Gear | 9 to 16 August | $26 | $300,000 |
| Boost Mode | 16 to 23 August | $26 | $375,000 |
| Full Throttle | 23 to 30 August | $26 | $450,000 |
Full Throttle's $450,000 pool is the biggest phase guarantee of the entire series, larger than the Grand Prix Main Event it shares the closing Sunday with. A $26 entry playing for the festival's largest prize pool is the value story of the back half.
Week 3 Leaderboard and the Collect 3 Race
Sunday also wipes the weekly leaderboard clean. The week 3 race carries its own ¥300,000 (~$41.5K) pool, with points for every entry and every deep run, so players joining mid-series start level with the field.
The Daily Mission Flip also rolls on regardless of the buy-in climb. Completed missions still pay up to 27 Tickets per day for the hourly Allin Flips, and Tickets never expire, so a stockpile built in the cheap weeks keeps its value now.
The longer race is Collect 3, promoted in the client as the Triple Ring Challenge. Rings carry through the whole festival, and with two more decided on Sunday and eight still to come after it, the ¥3,000,000 (~$415K) bonus stays live for anyone who starts winning now.
The Asia-friendly schedule keeps helping players further west too. A 13:05 CET start means the 26 July double-ring Mystery Surge card and every Sunday after it lands in the European afternoon rather than the usual late-night grind.
Mystery Overheat Follows on 9 August
The bounty theme continues on 9 August with Mystery Overheat, another $82 event where the guarantee holds at $225,000 and the Grand Box climbs to $22,500.
We will cover the Bounty Boost and Rev Up ring winners as the series moves into its bigger-money half.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the WPT Bounty Boost play?
Sunday 2 August at 13:05 CET on WPT Global, as the third of seven Sunday ring features in the WPT Asia Series Summer Overdrive. The buy-in is $82 with $225,000 guaranteed.
Is there still a cheap route to a WPT Ring?
Yes. The $12 Throttle phase flights open on 2 August and run all week into their Day 2 final on 9 August, carrying a $225,000 guarantee of their own.
What does the winner receive?
The full first-place prize plus a Gold WPT Ring. Every ring won this series counts towards Collect 3, which pays ¥3,000,000 (~$415K) to any player who reaches three.
Why are some prizes listed in yuan and others in dollars?
WPT Global posts Overdrive buy-ins and guarantees in CNY (¥), and the official player guide includes a currency switch showing approximate US dollar values. Coverage mixes the two for the same reason, with dollar figures always approximate.
