Japan Open Poker Tour Faces Backlash Over Ladies Championship Prize Sponsorship
The Japan Open Poker Tour announced its upcoming Ladies Championship as a women-only event carrying a ¥30,000 buy-in equivalent to roughly $190 with the tournament scheduled for October 12 in Tokyo and the winner set to receive 150 condoms along with lubricant as sponsored prizes from Japanese condom manufacturer Sagami while second and third place would receive smaller quantities of the same items plus additional merchandise and jewelry.
Details of the explicit prizes appeared on the JOPT website before public criticism prompted their removal and replacement with more generic language describing the awards as Sagami Product Gift Sets and both the tour and the sponsor issued statements of apology for the original wording.
Event Details and Initial Prize Structure
Organizers positioned the Ladies Championship as part of the broader Japan Open Poker Tour lineup with the October 12 date falling within the 2026 schedule in Tokyo and registration open exclusively to female participants at the stated buy-in level while the sponsored component from Sagami formed an addition to standard merchandise and jewelry awards.
Initial listings specified 150 condoms plus lubricant for the champion with reduced quantities allocated to the runner-up and third-place finisher and observers noted that the explicit product descriptions remained visible until external pressure led to their deletion from the site.
Public Response and Subsequent Changes
Criticism emerged quickly after the prize details became public with some commentators arguing that the sponsorship sexualized or disrespected female players and reports indicated that the explicit references were taken down from the JOPT website shortly after the backlash surfaced.
Both Sagami and JOPT responded with apologies that rephrased the awards in neutral terms as Sagami Product Gift Sets and the tour confirmed the adjustment reflected an effort to address concerns raised by participants and observers.
Industry coverage from sources including PokerNews documented the sequence of the announcement the criticism and the subsequent revisions while additional reporting from Poker.org tracked how the original product descriptions were removed and replaced.
Statements from Organizers and Sponsor
JOPT representatives acknowledged the feedback in their apology and explained that the intent had been to highlight a local manufacturer yet the phrasing had not aligned with expectations and Sagami likewise issued a statement expressing regret over any unintended implications of the original prize listing.
The revised description on the website now refers only to the generic gift sets without specifying product types and tournament materials continue to list the October 12 date for the event in Tokyo alongside the established buy-in and eligibility rules.
Context Within the 2026 Schedule
The Ladies Championship sits within the Japan Open Poker Tour calendar for 2026 and the October timing places it among several other events on the schedule with the women-only format remaining unchanged despite the adjustments to prize presentation and registration details continue to specify the ¥30,000 buy-in for participants.
Those following the tour have noted that the sponsorship arrangement with Sagami predated the public announcement yet the explicit listing of condom quantities drew the primary attention once it appeared online and the shift to generic terminology occurred in response to that attention.
Conclusion
The sequence of events surrounding the JOPT Ladies Championship illustrates how prize announcements can generate discussion when they involve sponsored products and the tour along with its sponsor have adjusted their communications following the October 2026 event details coming under review. The facts remain centered on the original listing the criticism that followed and the subsequent rephrasing of the awards as Sagami Product Gift Sets while the tournament date and format stay intact.