2026 WPT bestbet Scramble Championship

The World Poker Tour returns to bestbet Jacksonville for the 2026 WPT bestbet Scramble, a three-week tournament festival running August 20 through September 9, 2026.

The distinction between the festival and its Main Tour Championship is important. The full WPT bestbet Scramble begins August 20, while the $5,000 WPT bestbet Scramble Championship does not begin until September 4. The Championship runs September 4–9 and carries a $1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool.

bestbet's current festival information advertises $1.5 million in guarantees across the series. The schedule combines lower-buy-in no-limit hold'em events, a $1,700 Mystery Bounty, Seniors and Ladies tournaments, heads-up play, mixed and specialty formats, satellites, and the WPT Main Tour Championship.

Players comparing Jacksonville with other live series can also browse Angry Aces Poker Tournament Guides and the site's calendar of upcoming poker tournaments.

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Festival Overview

The official 2026 player guide lists 16 numbered events between August 20 and September 9, plus a substantial satellite schedule that begins before the opening event and continues through the Championship starting flights.

The first major target is a six-flight $400 No-Limit Hold'em event with a $200,000 guarantee. The middle of the festival includes the $1,700 Mystery Bounty with a $300,000 guarantee, along with Seniors, Pot-Limit Omaha, Big O, Super Stack and other specialty events. The final stretch includes the Ladies Championship, a Double Board Bomb Pot tournament, Heads-Up, a $2,100 6-Max bounty tournament and the $5,000 WPT Championship.

Players should use the official schedule rather than relying on a shortened event list. The WPT player guide includes the complete festival calendar, satellite schedule and individual tournament structures.

View the official 2026 WPT bestbet Scramble player guide and tournament schedule

This guide reflects the official WPT and bestbet materials available as of August 15, 2026. Tournament directors can make changes, so players should recheck the official schedule and structure sheet before registering.

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Schedule Highlights

The festival opens August 20 with Event #1, a $400 No-Limit Hold'em tournament carrying a $200,000 guarantee. Six starting flights run across August 20, 21 and 22 before the remaining players return August 23.

The $1,700 Mystery Bounty is another major supporting event. Its three starting flights run August 27–29, with the remaining field returning August 30. The tournament carries a $300,000 guarantee and introduces the mystery bounties on the final day rather than during the starting flights.

Several specialty events break up the no-limit hold'em schedule. The Seniors tournament is August 24, Big O/8 or Better is August 25, and a Pot-Limit Omaha Three Bullet event follows August 26. A $500 Super Stack is scheduled for August 31.

September 1 includes both the $300 Ladies Championship and a $400 Double Board Bomb Pot event featuring a mix of no-limit hold'em and Pot-Limit Omaha. The $800 Heads-Up event follows September 2 with a 32-player cap, and September 3 brings a $2,100 six-max tournament with $500 bounties.

The WPT Championship then takes over the schedule September 4–9, although supporting events continue during the Championship, including $500 and $1,000 turbo events and the $500 bestbet 500.

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$5,000 WPT bestbet Scramble Championship

The official WPT bestbet Scramble Championship page lists the Main Tour event for September 4–9 with a $5,000 buy-in and $1,000,000 guarantee.

There are three starting flights in 2026:

• Day 1A: Friday, September 4 at 12:00 p.m.

• Day 1B: Saturday, September 5 at 12:00 p.m.

• Day 1C: Sunday, September 6 at 12:00 p.m.

• Day 2: Monday, September 7 at 12:00 p.m.

• Day 3: Tuesday, September 8 at 12:00 p.m.

• Livestream conclusion: Wednesday, September 9 at 2:00 p.m.

Each entry begins with 50,000 tournament chips. The Championship uses a big blind ante.

Levels are 60 minutes through Level 16. Beginning with Level 17, levels increase to 90 minutes until the final six players have been determined. Day 1 is scheduled for 10 levels, Day 2 for nine levels, and Day 3 continues until six players remain.

Those six return September 9 for the livestreamed conclusion. Levels on the final day are scheduled for 60 minutes until heads-up play, when they become 30 minutes.

The tournament is nine-handed through Level 16. From Level 17, play becomes eight-handed until the official nine-handed final table is formed. Day 3 then continues from that final table until six players remain for the streamed final day.

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Championship Registration and Re-Entry

Registration remains open through the start of Level 9 on each starting day.

Unlimited re-entries are allowed during the registration period. The Championship also uses a best-stack-forward procedure: a player may enter a later starting flight even after advancing from an earlier flight. If the player advances more than one stack, only the largest stack moves forward and the other stack is removed from play under the published rules.

The structure sheet indicates approximately one player in eight will finish in the money. Exact payouts are not published in advance because the payout schedule depends on the final field and prize pool.

The $5,000 price is divided into a $4,550 tournament buy-in, $380 entry fee and $70 staff gratuity.

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Action Clock

The Protection Poker Action Clock is scheduled to begin approximately one table from the money.

The 2026 bestbet Championship structure does not publish a specific per-decision clock duration or the exact starting allocation of time-extension chips. It does state that time-extension chips are treated as tournament chips. Players should therefore use the event-specific tournament instructions at the table rather than assuming the Action Clock rules are identical to another WPT stop.

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Added Championship Value

The Championship structure includes two WPT-related benefits that should not be confused with each other.

All Day 1A entries are entered into a drawing for a $13,000 WPT Championship package that is listed as added value.

Separately, $10,400 is withheld from the Championship prize pool and issued to first place as entry into the WPT World Championship in Las Vegas. Because that $10,400 comes from the prize pool, it should not be described as an additional $10,400 on top of the Championship winnings.

The current 2026 bestbet player guide does not separately identify a take-home Championship trophy or other trophy package. Prior-year WPT bestbet prizes should not be carried forward as 2026 benefits unless WPT confirms them for this event.

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$1,700 Mystery Bounty

Event #6 is a $1,700 No-Limit Hold'em Mystery Bounty carrying a $300,000 guarantee.

Three starting flights are scheduled:

• Day 1A: Thursday, August 27 at 12:00 p.m.

• Day 1B: Friday, August 28 at 12:00 p.m.

• Day 1C: Saturday, August 29 at 12:00 p.m.

• Final day: Sunday, August 30 at 12:00 p.m.

Players receive 30,000 starting chips, and the schedule uses 40-minute levels.

The $1,700 entry consists of a $1,500 tournament buy-in, with $500 of that amount allocated to the bounty pool, plus a $175 entry fee and $25 staff gratuity.

Registration closes at the start of Level 10, and unlimited re-entries are permitted during the registration period.

Each starting flight is scheduled to stop when approximately 12.5% of that flight remains, subject to tournament-director discretion. Mystery bounties do not begin during the Day 1 flights. Every player remaining when Day 2 begins becomes a mystery bounty.

Players who qualify more than once advance only their largest stack under the published multi-bag rules.

The final day is scheduled for bestbetLIVE coverage. The official structure does not publish the maximum mystery-bounty prize in advance, so players should not assume a top-bounty amount based on previous editions.

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Other Events to Watch

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$400 No-Limit Hold'em — $200,000 Guaranteed

The festival's opening event gives players a lower-buy-in route into a large multi-flight tournament before the WPT Championship portion of the series.

Event #1 has six starting flights:

• August 20 at 12:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.

• August 21 at 12:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.

• August 22 at 12:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.

The remaining field returns August 23 at 12:00 p.m.

The official master schedule and the detailed starting-stack section list a 30,000-chip start. Levels are 30 minutes, registration remains open through the start of Level 9, and unlimited re-entry is permitted during each registration period.

Starting flights play until approximately 10% of the field remains. Players may enter another starting flight after already advancing, but only their largest stack moves forward. The structure also publishes a $1,200 multi-bag bonus for a qualifying extra stack that is removed.

The event carries a $200,000 guarantee, and its final table is scheduled for bestbetLIVE coverage.

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Seniors Event

Event #3 is a $300 No-Limit Hold'em Seniors tournament scheduled for Monday, August 24 at 12:00 p.m.

Eligibility is 50 and older. The structure sheet defines eligibility specifically as players born on or before August 24, 1976.

Players begin with 20,000 chips. Levels are 30 minutes, registration closes at the start of Level 9, and unlimited re-entry is allowed during the registration period.

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Ladies Championship

The $300 No-Limit Hold'em Ladies Championship is scheduled for Tuesday, September 1 at 12:00 p.m.

The event begins with 20,000 chips and uses 30-minute levels. Registration remains open through the start of Level 9, with unlimited re-entry during the registration period. The event is also scheduled for feature/final-table bestbetLIVE coverage.

The official 2026 structure sheet identifies the event as the Ladies Championship but does not publish additional eligibility wording beyond the event title. Players with an eligibility question should confirm the current entry policy directly with tournament staff rather than relying on assumptions from other series.

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$800 Heads-Up

The Heads-Up tournament is scheduled for Wednesday, September 2 at 12:00 p.m. with an $800 entry and a maximum field of 32 players.

Players begin each match with 20,000 chips, and levels are 15 minutes.

The format is not a simple one-game knockout. Each standard round is best of three, meaning a player must defeat the same opponent twice to advance. The championship round is best of five, with the winner required to win three matches.

If the event fills to its published 32-player cap, the structure lists payouts of $9,000 for first, $5,800 for second and $3,800 each for third and fourth.

The current structure sheet does not publish a separate re-entry provision for the Heads-Up event.

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Other Specialty Formats

Players looking beyond standard no-limit hold'em can also find Big O/8 or Better, Pot-Limit Omaha Three Bullet, Double Board Bomb Pot and six-max bounty formats during the festival.

Those events make it worthwhile to check the individual structure sheet before playing. Starting stacks, re-entry windows, table sizes and format-specific procedures are not identical across the series.

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Satellites and Ways to Qualify

The official satellite schedule gives players multiple live routes into the $5,000 Championship.

Direct $580 Championship satellites are scheduled at 7:00 p.m. on August 23, 24, 25, 30 and 31, and again September 1 and 2.

The final approach to the Championship includes larger seat guarantees:

• September 3 at 6:00 p.m.: $580 Championship MEGA Milestone with five seats guaranteed.

• September 4 at 6:00 p.m.: $580 Championship MEGA Milestone with 10 seats guaranteed.

• September 5 at 7:00 p.m.: $580 turbo satellite into the Championship.

The festival also includes $360 qualifiers into the $1,700 Mystery Bounty on August 26 and 27 with five seats guaranteed in each, plus an August 28 turbo qualifier.

Players interested in the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas have separate opportunities on the schedule. Those include $140 satellites with $20 re-buys on selected dates and a September 2 $580 MEGA with $100 re-buys that advertises three WPT World Championship packages guaranteed.

WPT has also announced ClubWPT Gold qualification opportunities for the bestbet Championship. The official bestbet player guide does not publish the event-specific ClubWPT Gold schedule or satellite-seat transferability rules, so those details should be checked through WPT and ClubWPT Gold before relying on an online qualification path.

Satellite schedules are especially susceptible to operational changes. Players planning a trip around a qualifier should recheck the official player guide shortly before arriving.

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WPT Title and Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup

The Championship is a World Poker Tour Main Tour event, so winning carries significance beyond the cash payout.

WPT identifies its Main Tour winners as WPT Champions and maintains the WPT Champions Club. WPT also states that WPT Champions have their names permanently inscribed on the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup.

That makes the Jacksonville winner part of the same Main Tour championship lineage as the tour's previous champions.

The event also counts toward the Season XXIV Player of the Year race. Under the current WPT Season XXIV Player of the Year rules, Main Tour events are eligible POY events, and players earn points once they finish in the money. The exact points available in Jacksonville will depend on the Championship's final prize pool and each player's finishing position.

First place also receives the $10,400 WPT World Championship entry described in the Championship structure.

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Tournament Structures and Registration

Players entering a WPT event should complete WPT's registration requirements before reaching the tournament desk.

WPT states that all tournament players must download the WPT Live App and complete the Player Release Form before playing in a WPT event. The process can be completed before arrival, and once the release is completed it covers the player for the WPT season.

Review the official WPT Player Release Form instructions

The 2026 bestbet structure sheets also state that players need a verified WPT.com account.

Individual events have different registration deadlines and re-entry rules. The Championship remains open through the start of Level 9, the Mystery Bounty through the start of Level 10, and several supporting events use their own published windows.

The official player guide does not publish separate Championship cashier hours or a separate tournament-registration counter schedule. Players arriving close to a registration deadline should allow enough time to complete required account, release and onsite registration procedures before the applicable level begins.

bestbet states that guests must be at least 18 years old to enter its facilities and play.

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bestbet Jacksonville

The festival is held at bestbet Jacksonville, 201 Monument Road, Jacksonville, Florida 32225.

bestbet Jacksonville is a cardroom and gaming venue rather than a Las Vegas-style hotel resort. Its official site covers poker, other gaming, simulcast operations and dining, while lodging recommendations are provided separately at off-site hotels.

The current bestbet Jacksonville location page advertises 91 gaming tables overall. WPT's late-2025 coverage described the bestbet cardroom as having 68 poker tables. Those figures describe different categories, so the 91-table figure should not be treated as a poker-only table count.

The official bestbet poker information page says the room offers more than 10 poker games and provides access to active-table and waiting-list information.

Current published poker-room hours are:

• Monday through Friday: 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m.

• Saturday and Sunday: open 24 hours at the Jacksonville location.

Tournament players can order food and beverages tableside, and bestbet also advertises tableside massage and Starbucks service. The official bestbet food and drink page lists a Jacksonville poker menu, full-service bar availability and a sushi operation.

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Where to Stay

bestbet Jacksonville does not list an attached hotel on its official poker or property information. Players should plan for off-site lodging.

The WPT Championship page currently provides two player lodging options. WPT directs players to contact Hampton Inn in Jacksonville for a special player rate and also provides a separate beach-area lodging option using code CORP1.

Those listings are WPT-provided player options, but the current event page does not label either property as the exclusive official host hotel.

bestbet also maintains a list of recommended Jacksonville accommodations. As of August 15, its poker page lists a $99-plus-tax poker rate at Hampton Inn Jacksonville East Regency Square and a $119-plus-tax rate at Courtyard Marriott Jacksonville I-295/East Beltway, along with several other recommended properties.

Hotel prices and room availability can change, so players should verify the current rate and cancellation terms directly before booking.

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Getting There and Parking

bestbet Jacksonville's official address is 201 Monument Road, Jacksonville, FL 32225.

Players flying into the region can use Jacksonville International Airport. The airport's official ground transportation information lists onsite rental cars, taxis, limousine and shared-ride services, as well as authorized Uber and Lyft pickup.

The airport states that rental-car agencies and taxi/limousine services are located on the lower level near baggage claim. App-based ride pickup is also designated on the lower arrival curb.

No airport-to-bestbet travel time is quoted here because traffic and routing can vary.

The current bestbet pages reviewed for this guide do not publish a specific parking-fee schedule or valet policy for the WPT festival. Players for whom parking or valet arrangements are important should confirm current procedures with bestbet before traveling rather than assuming parking terms from another property or previous year.

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Historical WPT bestbet Context

bestbet Jacksonville is an established WPT Main Tour stop rather than a new destination.

In 2025, Connor Rash won the WPT bestbet Scramble Championship after a field of 327 entries generated a $1,487,850 prize pool. Rash earned his first WPT title and $315,350, including a $10,400 WPT World Championship seat.

The 2024 edition drew 361 entries and generated a $1,642,550 prize pool. Nick Yunis won that Championship.

Those numbers provide historical context for the Jacksonville stop, but they should not be treated as a forecast for 2026. This year's field size and final prize pool will be determined by actual entries across the three starting flights.

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What Players Should Know

• The full WPT bestbet Scramble festival runs August 20–September 9, not September 4–9.

• The $5,000 WPT bestbet Scramble Championship runs September 4–9.

• The Championship has three starting flights: September 4, 5 and 6.

• The Championship begins with 50,000 chips and has a $1,000,000 guarantee.

• Registration remains open through the start of Level 9, with unlimited re-entry during the registration period.

• The Action Clock begins approximately one table from the money.

• Day 3 plays down to six players, who return September 9 for the livestreamed conclusion.

• Live Championship satellites begin well before the first Championship flight.

• WPT requires the WPT Live App and completed Player Release Form before play.

• bestbet Jacksonville is not an attached hotel resort, so visiting players should arrange lodging separately.

• Players should check the official player guide before registering because structures and operational details remain subject to tournament-director changes.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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When is the 2026 WPT bestbet Scramble?

The complete WPT bestbet Scramble festival runs August 20 through September 9, 2026.

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Where is the WPT bestbet Scramble held?

The series is held at bestbet Jacksonville, 201 Monument Road, Jacksonville, Florida 32225.

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When does the WPT bestbet Scramble Championship begin?

The $5,000 WPT Main Tour Championship begins Friday, September 4, 2026. The festival itself begins earlier, on August 20.

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How much is the WPT bestbet Scramble Championship buy-in?

The Championship costs $5,000. The published breakdown is $4,550 toward the tournament, a $380 entry fee and $70 staff gratuity.

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What is the WPT Championship guarantee?

The WPT bestbet Scramble Championship has a $1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool.

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How many Championship starting flights are there?

There are three starting flights: Day 1A on September 4, Day 1B on September 5 and Day 1C on September 6. Each begins at 12:00 p.m.

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Are re-entries allowed in the Championship?

Yes. Unlimited re-entries are permitted during the registration period on each starting day. Registration closes at the start of Level 9.

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Are Championship satellites available?

Yes. The official schedule includes multiple $580 direct Championship satellites, including MEGA Milestone qualifiers on September 3 and September 4 with five and 10 seats guaranteed, respectively, plus a September 5 turbo satellite. WPT has also announced ClubWPT Gold qualification opportunities.

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Is there a Mystery Bounty event?

Yes. The $1,700 Mystery Bounty runs August 27–30 with a $300,000 guarantee. Mystery bounties begin on the final day after the three starting flights.

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Is there a Seniors event?

Yes. The $300 Seniors tournament is scheduled for August 24 at noon. Players must be age 50 or older, defined by the structure as born on or before August 24, 1976.

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Is there a Ladies event?

Yes. The $300 Ladies Championship is scheduled for September 1 at noon. The official 2026 structure sheet does not publish additional eligibility language beyond the event title.

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Is there a Heads-Up event?

Yes. The $800 Heads-Up tournament is September 2 at noon and is capped at 32 players. Standard rounds are best of three, while the championship round is best of five.

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Is the WPT Championship final table livestreamed?

Yes. WPT has confirmed a livestreamed Championship conclusion on September 9. The official festival schedule lists the final day's start time as 2:00 p.m. The current Championship materials do not specify the final streaming platform, so viewers should check WPT closer to the event.

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Does bestbet Jacksonville have a hotel?

The official bestbet property and poker pages do not list an attached hotel. WPT and bestbet instead provide recommendations and player-rate options at off-site Jacksonville hotels.

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Where can players find the complete WPT bestbet Scramble schedule?

The complete festival calendar, satellite schedule and structure information are available in the official 2026 WPT bestbet Scramble player guide.