WPT Seoul 2026: Dates, Buy-Ins & Venue at INSPIRE Incheon

Last updated: October 2026

Quick answer: WPT Seoul 2026 runs October 30 to November 9 at INSPIRE Entertainment Resort in Incheon, the first time the World Poker Tour has been held in Korea. The series packs 46 events into 11 days, with buy-ins from about KRW 300,000 to KRW 8 million. The headline WPT Seoul INSPIRE Championship starts November 5, costs KRW 1.75 million to enter, and carries a KRW 1 billion guarantee with the final table on November 9.


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Yeongjong Bridge connecting Incheon Airport island to the mainland, the route to INSPIRE Entertainment Resort
Photo: Jinho Jung / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

What Is WPT Seoul 2026?

The World Poker Tour (WPT) is one of the best-known tournament poker circuits, and WPT Seoul is its debut in Korea. The series is hosted at INSPIRE Entertainment Resort on Yeongjongdo island, beside Incheon International Airport. According to industry coverage of the announcement, the resort is opening a new second-floor entertainment space for the occasion, including the YY Poker Club with 70 tables, a livestream studio, the Daia junket room and the Ultra Lounge, a nightclub and premium bar.

One practical note before you plan around it: poker rooms at Korean integrated resorts are a regulated activity, and access rules differ between foreign visitors and Korean residents. Check the official WPT and INSPIRE pages for entry requirements, ID rules and registration before you book anything non-refundable.

What Is the Schedule and Buy-In Range?

The festival lasts 11 days with 46 events. Buy-ins start around KRW 300,000 (roughly US$200) for the entry-level events and climb to KRW 8 million (roughly US$5,400) at the top end, so there is room for casual players as well as high rollers.

The centerpiece is the WPT Seoul INSPIRE Championship: a KRW 1.75 million buy-in, a KRW 1 billion guaranteed prize pool, play starting November 5, and the final table on November 9, which will be livestreamed worldwide. If you only want to watch rather than play, the final table weekend is the moment to be in Incheon.

Where Is the Venue and How Do You Get There?

INSPIRE sits on Yeongjongdo, roughly 15 minutes from Incheon Airport Terminal 2 and about an hour’s drive from central Seoul. That makes it an unusually easy event for overseas visitors: you can land, check in, play, and fly home without needing to cross Seoul. If you want to continue into the capital afterward, our Incheon Airport to Seoul guide compares the train, limousine bus and taxi options, and our new Incheon Airport routes roundup shows what has opened recently.

Planning the flight first is sensible, since late-October and early-November fares tend to climb as the event approaches. You can start by comparing flights into Seoul✈️ for the festival dates.

Where Should You Stay?

For a multi-day series, the most convenient base is on the resort island itself, so you can compare Incheon hotels for the tournament dates🏨 and pick whichever is closest to the venue. If the on-island rooms are full for the final-table weekend, a hotel near the airport terminals🏨 keeps you a short ride away. Our where to stay in Incheon guide breaks down the areas, and the same airport-side corridor hosted Sound Planet Festival earlier this autumn.


Affiliate disclosure: Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you book through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This does not influence which events or venues we cover.



About the Author

Stay Cat is a Korea travel expert, born and raised in the country, who has spent a lifetime exploring it first-hand — and a seasoned international traveler beyond it. As a travel creator with an audience of more than 40,000, Stay Cat writes every Trablind guide from native, on-the-ground knowledge: practical, lived-in advice you won’t get from secondhand research. Find more on Threads.

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