Qualifying players

To see the full list of players currently qualified for our national final, please click here

Quarterly Finals

Champions Poker League is pleased to announce that all of our quarterly finals will now be held in conjunction with our new partners, Grosvenor casinos!

Every Grosvenor Casino offers a fantastic night out, with late bars, great food and live entertainment in a exciting and modern casino environment which is certain to make our quarterly finals nights to remember. With over 30 venues up and down the country Grosvenor casinos and their new, ultra-modern G Casinos brand are a fantastic way to provide our players with a great casino experience, no matter where in the UK they live.

To take full advantage of these great venues we will be hosting regional quarterly finals, ensuring our players will never have to travel too far to attend a quarterly final. Quarterly final venues will be placed around the country and qualifying players can choose which of the finals they wish to attend.

Current Quarterly Final venues

Grosvenor Casino in Leeds (Merrion).

G Casino in Manchester.

G Casino in Luton.

Grosvenor Casino Bristol.

Grosvenor Casino Walsall.

Dates

The quarterly finals will be spread over two weeks, with the Bristol and Leeds finals held one week and the Walsall, Manchester and Luton finals being held the week after.

The date for the National Final of the year just past will be Saturday the 13th of September 2008 at the Grosvenor casino in Walsall

Dates for each season this year are as follows (these dates may be subject to change):

Season 1 quarterly final:

Bristol and Leeds - 1/11/2008
Walsall, Manchester and Luton - 08/11/2008

Season 2 quarterly final (dates to be confirmed):

Bristol and Leeds - 24/01/2009
Walsall, Manchester and Luton - 31/01/2009

Season 3 quarterly final (dates to be confirmed):

Bristol and Leeds - 25/04/2009
Walsall, Manchester and Luton - 02/05/2009

Season 4 quarterly final (dates to be confirmed):

Bristol and Leeds - 25/07/2009
Walsall, Manchester and Luton - 01/08/2009

National Final (date to be confirmed):

12/09/2009

Qualification procedure and Prizes

In order to keep the distribution of prizes and National Final places fair now that we have regionalised our quarterly finals we have changed our qualification procedure. A full breakdown is given below.

F.A.Qs

Q: Why have you changed the qualification procedure for the National Finals?

A: Using our old system, National Final places available at our Quarterly Finals were set before each event and were uniform across all regions. This meant that players at smaller finals had a better chance of winning prizes and qualifying than those who played at large ones, which was unfair. The new systems rewards players based on the size of the tournament. In other words - the more players at a final, the bigger the rewards!

Q: Why don't you invite the top 25% from the Quarterly Final through to the National Final anymore?

A: As the league has grown, so have the number of people attending our finals. Had we kept the 25% qualification rule we would have been inviting over 600 players to our National Final where the maximum capacity of the card room is only 200. We have changed the qualification procedure to this new system to prevent this problem.

Q: Why do you take a set number of players from each pub, the national and the averaged leaderboard? Why not a percentage system?

A: We have been running the current system for two years and it has worked well. We have considered switching to a percentage system, but unfortunately such a system is open to abuse so we have decided to stay with our current system.

Q: How are you working out how many qualify through to the National Final from each Quarterly Final?

A: There are 50 places per quarter available for the National Final (200 in total over four seasons). We calculate the total number of players at all Quarterly Finals for that season. Each final then has a proportional amount of places allocated to it from the 50 available. E.G in the above example for final 3, there are 109 players which is 18.16% of the total (600 players in this example). This when rounded out gives us 9 players.

Q: But if you use that system, how will you be able to know how many qualify from the first week's finals when the other events won't be held for another week?

A: We don't. At each final only the top five places (the prize bubble) are guaranteed qualification through to the National Final. The last few tables of players will all have their contact details taken on the day and will be informed after the second set of finals whether they have qualified through to the National Final.

Q: If a Quarterly Final venue only has less than 10% of the total players surely they should have less than 5 National final places?

A: We will be providing a minimum of 5 National Final qualification places to each Quarterly Final regardless of numbers. This helps us to give our players something to aim for on the day rather than no-one being 100% sure that they have qualified.

Q: Will this reduce the number of players qualifying through from larger Quarterly Finals?

A: The number of players qualifying from other Quarterly Finals will not be affected. This may mean that if one Quarterly Final has a comparitively low turn out then more than 50 players will qualify through to the National Final from that season. E.G. If a final only has enough players to warrant four players, five players will still qualify as that is the minimum, so 51 players will qualify through in total. This will not cause overcrowding at the national as we have purposefully given ourselves leeway in this area.

Q: What happens if someone who has already qualified for the National wins another spot?

A: Nothing. The National Final place does not roll down and the number of opponents the player has to face at the National is reduced by one. With a roll-down system there is no reward for players who qualify twice and it is easier for other players to qualify from Quarterly finals held later in the year rather than earlier. By not having a roll-down system we keep the finals fair across the board and reward our players who qualify twice by reducing their competition at the National Final.

Q: How do I know if I have qualified for the Quarterly Finals?

A: Players who have qualified through to the Quarterly Finals are notified by email and text message soon after the season's close, provided we have their correct email address and mobile phone number on file. A full player list is also sent out to every venue and posted on our website.

If you are not sure whether we have your correct email address and mobile phone number you can log in to your member area by entering your membership number and password into the boxes at the very top right of this page.

The email sent out will include buttons allowing qualifying players to confirm their attendance at a specific final.

We will be adding a page to our website soon that will generate a complete list of players who are currently in qualifying positions so that players can always see how likely they are to qualify.

Q: Why do i need to confirm my attendance?

A: In order to ensure that we have sufficient staff and equipment at each venue we need to know how many players will be attending a particular final. Also the number of players at a final exceed the card room limit, priority will be given to players who have pre-confirmed. The extra players will enter the tournament by use of the 'alternate' system, only joining the tournament as other players drop out. Therefore whilst it is not essential to confirm for a final before attending, it does help to ensure that you will not be dissapointed.

Q: How do I confirm my attendance?

A: If we have your correct email address on file you will receive an email should you qualify with confirmation buttons in it. Simply click the button for the final you wish to attend. Should you not receive the email for whatever reason, you can still confirm your attendance by emailing us at admin@championspoker.co.uk with your name, membership number and which final you will be attending, or by phoning us on 0845600012.

Once you have confirmed by one of the above methods, the word 'confirmed' will appear next to your name on our website's list of qualifying players along with the final you have chosen and you will receive a confirmation email .

Q: How do I know if I have qualified through to the national finals?

A: The top five players on the day will be informed, with all other qualifying players being informed during the week after the second set of finals. Players will also by contacted by email and text message in the run up to the National Final. A running list of players who have qualified for the National Final will be posted on our website.

Q: Do I need to confirm my attendance for the National Final as well?

A: Again we need to know how many players will be attending the National Final in order to ensure sufficient staff and equipment is available, so we ask that you confirm your attendance prior to the final to avoid dissapointment.

Q: How do I confirm my attendance?

A: As with the Quarterly Finals an email will be send out with a confirmation button contained with it. You can also confirm by emailing admin@championspoker.co.uk.

Q: Your chart talks about nine regions, yet there are only five finals, how come?

A: We are currently only running five regional quarterly finals as we do not yet have sufficient numbers in other areas to host quarterly finals. As the league grows we will be adding additional regional finals. We project that we will have enough venues to host nine regional finals in the near future.

Q: Why are you holding the finals in casinos?

A: According to the regulations regarding poker laid out by the UK Gambling Commission the maximum prize fund for a tournament held in a pub or similar venue is £100. We want to offer our players the biggest prizes we can, so we have teamed up with Grosvenor Casinos to hold our finals. In Grosvenor Casinos we are able to offer our players fantastic prizes and they have professional, experienced staff at all their venues to assist us in the runnning of our tournaments.

Q: Do I have to be a member of the casino to play in the final?

A: Yes you do have to join the casino. It is free to do so and you can do this on the day provided you bring photo ID with you, but we recommend you enter your details into Grosvenor's online registration system at least 24 hours before the tournament starts, as this will vastly speed up the process.

Q: Does Grosvenor have a dress code? Can I bring my kids? Do I need any ID?

A: Grosvenor Casinos do have a dress code as follows: no hoodies, no trainers, no football shirts. Only adults above the age of 18 will be allowed entry into Grosvenor casinos. No children, teenagers or pets will be allowed entry. You will need photo ID to join the casino, but once you have joined this will not be needed as you will be issued with a Grosvenor Casinos membership card. If you do not have any photo ID but are over the age of 18 you can still join Grosvenor Casinos using a credit card by way of credit check, though please be aware this will cost £3.50 to perform.