2026 WPF Asian Nations Cup — Rules & Rundown

I. Tournament Overview

The tournament runs over three days. Day 1 and Day 2 make up the Qualifying Stage; Day 3 is the Final.

1. Day 1 — Heads Up
2. Day 2 — NLH MTT, Escalating Bounty MTT
3. Day 3 — Heads Up, Single Table Tournament (STT)

II. Overall Scoring

(A) Qualifying Stage

Each of the three events has its own score pool. The three pools sum to approximately 1,000 points, with rounding differences not exceeding ±0.05:

All three events share the same formula:

The denominator is the actual sum of every team's raw score for that event as shown on the scoreboard, and can be checked at any time during play. The sum of all teams' total scores will always equal 1,000. Totals are calculated to two decimal places, with the third decimal place rounded.

Raw score definitions:

• Heads Up raw score = Team's number of match wins × 5
• NLH MTT raw score = Sum of placement points (see Appendix 3) for the team's 3 players in that flight
• Escalating Bounty MTT raw score = Sum of placement points (see Appendix 4) for the team's 3 players + total bounty chips held by those 3 players

See Appendix 6 for a fully worked example.

(B) Final

1. Team Total Score = Heads Up total + Single Table Tournament total + Qualifying-stage ranking bonus.
2. Qualifying-stage ranking provides a bonus added to the Final total score:

III. Day 1 — Heads Up

(A) Format

1. Each team fields 6 players; each player plays a fixed 2 matches, for 12 matches per team in total.
2. There are 2 rounds; in each round, all 6 players from every team compete.
3. One physical table accommodates 3 Heads Up matches; the number of tables needed per round equals the number of teams.
4. Every player's opponents always come from other teams, and a given player's two opponents (across the two rounds) come from two different teams. See Appendix 7 for the actual pairing schedule.

(B) Match Rules

1. Starting stack: 30,000
2. Blind level duration: 8 minutes
3. Blind structure: see Appendix 1

(C) Scoring

The winner of each match earns 5 points for their team.

IV. Day 2 — Flight Rosters & Table Assignment

1. Each team sends 3 players to the NLH MTT and 3 players to the Escalating Bounty MTT; all 6 players compete.
2. Both flights fix the field at 4 tables, with 8–9 players per table.
3. At the start of play, a team's 3 players in a flight must be seated at 3 different tables.
4. When tables are broken/merged, avoiding seating two players from the same team together is the top priority, down to the last 2 tables.
5. Each team must submit its flight rosters (3 for NLH, 3 for Bounty) 30 minutes before Day 2 play begins; rosters may not be changed after submission.
6. Once all rosters are submitted, the Tournament Director will publicly draw seats to determine table assignments for both flights. Roster submission precedes the draw; rosters may not be adjusted after the draw.

V. Day 2 — NLH MTT

(A) Grouping

See Chapter IV above.

(B) Match Rules

1. Starting stack: 30,000
2. Blind level duration: 15 minutes
3. Blind structure: see Appendix 2

(C) Scoring

See Appendix 3.

VI. Day 2 — Escalating Bounty MTT

(A) Grouping

See Chapter IV above.

(B) Match Rules

1. Starting stack: 30,000
2. Blind level duration: 15 minutes
3. Blind structure: see Appendix 2

(C) Scoring

This flight uses dual-track scoring: a player's raw score = Placement points (see Appendix 4) + Bounty chips held.

Bounty chips accumulate progressively (Escalating Bounty):

1. At the start, every player holds 1 bounty chip.
2. Each time the number of players remaining first reaches a milestone, the Tournament Director (Floor) issues 1 additional chip to every player still in the tournament. The number of chips an eliminated player must surrender at that stage is called the elimination value (see Appendix 5); it is posted on a placard at the tables by the Floor and updated each time chips are reissued.
3. When a player is eliminated, they surrender bounty chips equal to the current elimination value to the player who eliminated them; any chips remaining with the eliminated player become that player's final score.
4. When the champion is decided, the champion receives 1 additional bonus chip. All chips held by the champion count toward their score.
5. 1 bounty chip = 1 point.
6. Adjudication details:
   • If an elimination occurs in a hand and the remaining count only reaches a milestone once that hand concludes, the elimination value for that elimination is based on the stage in effect at the start of the hand; the milestone reissue takes place after the hand concludes.
   • If the main pot and a side pot in the same hand are won by different players, an eliminated player's chips go to whichever player won the main pot containing that eliminated player's final chips.
   • If two or more players are eliminated in the same hand, each surrenders the elimination value separately, to their respective winner.

VII. Day 3 — Heads Up & Single Table Tournament

(A) Format

1. Each team must submit its 6-player Final roster before the Final begins; once submitted it cannot be changed, and any player not on the list may not compete.
2. There are 3 rounds. In each round, each team sends 3 players to Heads Up and 3 players to the Single Table Tournament; all 6 players compete every round.
3. Across the three rounds, every player must play at least 1 Heads Up match and at least 1 STT.
4. Given points 1–3, each team has 18 playing slots across the 3 rounds, and every player plays a fixed 3 matches. The only feasible distribution is: 3 players play 2 Heads Up + 1 STT, and the other 3 players play 1 Heads Up + 2 STT.

(B) Grouping

1. Heads Up: the 4 teams each send 3 players, for 6 matches per round. Each team's 3 Heads Up players face one player from each of the other 3 teams — a single round-robin among the 4 teams every round.
2. Single Table Tournament: the 4 teams each send 3 players; 3 tables run each round, 4 players per table, each from a different team.
3. Each team must submit that round's roster (3 for Heads Up, 3 for STT) 15 minutes before the round begins.
4. Once all rosters are submitted, the Tournament Director will publicly draw to determine that round's matchups and table assignments. Roster submission precedes the draw; rosters may not be adjusted after the draw.
5. Tables needed per round: Heads Up 6 matches ÷ 3 matches/table = 2 tables; STT 3 tables; 5 tables total.

(C) Match Rules

1. Starting stack: Heads Up 40,000; STT 30,000
2. Blind level duration: 15 minutes
3. Blind structure: see Appendix 2

(D) Scoring

1. The winner of each Heads Up match earns 4 points for their team.
2. STT points are awarded by placement:

VIII. Supplementary Provisions

(A) Qualifying-Stage Tiebreakers

When total scores are tied, advancement order is determined in this sequence:

1. Higher total bounty chips held in the Escalating Bounty MTT.
2. Higher best individual placement across the two multi-table tournaments (NLH MTT and Escalating Bounty MTT).
3. Higher second-best individual placement.

(B) Final Tiebreakers

When total scores are tied, ranking is determined in this sequence:

1. Higher Single Table Tournament total score.
2. Higher Heads Up total score.

(C) Fixed Items vs. Scalable Items

To avoid disputes from ad-hoc adjustments on site, the following is specified:

(D) Rule Interpretation

Any matter not covered by these rules, or any on-site dispute, shall be decided by the Tournament Director. Matters of rule interpretation shall be decided by the Organizer.

IX. Individual Points

To be announced.

Appx. 1 Heads Up Blind Structure (Day 1, Qualifying Stage)

Appx. 2 Multi-Table Tournament Blind Structure (Day 2 Qualifying & Day 3 Final)

Appx. 3 NLH MTT Placement Points (Day 2, Qualifying Stage)

Rank across the top row, points earned below. Placements beyond the last listed rank earn 0 points.

Appx. 4 Escalating Bounty MTT Placement Points (Day 2, Qualifying Stage)

Placement points only — bounty chips are scored separately and added on top (see Chapter VI).

Appx. 5 Escalating Bounty Milestone Rules & Examples (Day 2, Qualifying Stage)

Milestones occur the first time the remaining player count drops to 1/2, 1/4, and 1/8 (rounded down) of the starting field, followed by additional reissues when 3 players remain, 2 players remain, and when the champion is decided.

11 Teams / 33 Players

Total chips issued: 67

12 Teams / 36 Players

Total chips issued: 73

Appx. 6 Qualifying-Stage Scoring Example

Worked example for a 12-team field. Raw scores are converted to points using the formula in Chapter II(A).

Teams C, E, D, L advance (highlighted). The gap between 4th and 5th place is 3.90 points.

Quick-Reference Conversion Table (estimate only)

Sum of raw scores per event: Heads Up 330 (11 teams) / 360 (12 teams); NLH MTT fixed at 240; Bounty 156 (11 teams) / 162 (12 teams).

Appx. 7 Day 1 Heads Up Pairing Schedule

Teams are denoted A, B, C…; players within a team are numbered 1–6 (e.g., A1 is Team A's player #1). One physical table runs 3 Heads Up matches. Every team has a “home table” where that team's players #1, #2, and #3 compete, for ease of chip and floor management.