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The World Poker Tour has announced the return of the Bay 101 Shooting Star Championship, once again set to take place at Bay 101 Casino in San Jose, California. The broader Shooting Star Festival will run from Oct. 16 through Nov. 1, while the marquee $5,300 buy-in Championship event will take place Oct. 23-27.
The tournament’s signature feature remains its bounty structure, in which select poker professionals and personalities are designated as Shooting Stars. Any player who eliminates one of these bounties earns an additional $2,500.
WPT CEO Adam Pliska highlighted the event’s history, stating that few tournaments carry the same tradition within the World Poker Tour’s legacy.
Last year’s edition featured bounties including Shannon Shorr, Nikki Limo, Matt Salsberg, Chance Kornuth, Justin Young and Nick Rigby, with Kornuth advancing furthest among them before being eliminated at the six-handed final table.
The 2025 Championship attracted 672 entrants and generated a prize pool exceeding $3 million. Florida’s Kharlin Sued emerged victorious, defeating California’s Danny Wong for the top prize of $480,700. Alfie Poetra, Matthew Widdoes and Daniel Maor rounded out the top five finishers.
Organizers have yet to release this year’s full schedule or confirm the list of Shooting Star Bounty players. The event fits into a packed fall calendar for the WPT, which also includes stops in Cyprus, Florida, Australia and Texas.
