The PokerStars World Cup of Poker, a worldwide competition between national teams of poker players, is in its early stages. Players have been working to qualify for their national teams. In the U.S. and Canada, players were able to play for their state or province. In just the last couple of days, the U.S. and Canada state and province teams advanced to the next round of play.

Congratulations to Alberta and Newfoundland, the two teams that will now move on to the next level of play. If they win there, it will send them to Barcelona, Spain this June for the live cash competition. American states North Carolina, Louisiana, West Virginia, and Arizona have also advanced to the big game. See the USA news and results page for how they got there.

Players in the USA and Canada still have a chance to qualify for their national teams. PokerStars will host 50 FPP qualifiers on April 23 and 24. Click Events, then World Cup, then FPP Qualifiers in the PokerStars game lobby to register.

After that, the eight regions of WCP Countries will face off for the chance to get to Barcelona, play on TV, fight for their country, and battle for a $200,000 prize pool. International play begins in May.

In case you missed last year, here's the 2005 World Cup of Poker report