One of the reasons Full Tilt Poker established a strong reputation in the online Multi-Table Tournament (MTT) community was its quarterly series of tournaments, the FTOPS. Consisting of middle and high stakes tournaments held in a wide variety of poker formats with stellar guarantees and side promotions, Full Tilt set high standards for poker tournament series.
Since Full Tilt was closed down, the absence of the FTOPS has left voids in the online MTT schedule. But players looking for a major online poker series have not been forgotten. Several sites have launched new tournament series in an attempt to satisfy players looking for a worthy successor.
The next big series will take place on PartyPoker. Announced back in September, “PokerFest” starts on Oct 23 and lasts for three weeks, giving an opportunity to players to compete in 47 events and claim their share of a $3m guaranteed prize pool. Entry fees range from using frequent player points – earned by playing at the site – up to $1060. The series includes No Limit and Fixed Limit Hold’em as well as Pot Limit Omaha.
Sky Poker, the British Sky Broadcasting’s online poker division, recently unveiled their own series too, the “UKOPS” – the UK Online Poker Series. As the natural follow-up to their recently successful Sky Poker Tour, this series will consist of eight tournaments between October 31st and November 6th with buyins ranging from £22 to £530, one in PLO and the remaining seven NL Hold’em.
European residents may find the upcoming iPOPS interesting. Between November 28th and December 4th on the iPoker network, the iPOPS have replaced their yearly series, the ECOOP. The schedule can be considered lackluster compared to the schedules of previous years. Nonetheless, for those seeking 6max action this series can be a prime target as two of the four events, including one in Pot Limit Omaha, will be played in their favorite format. The main event offers added value for the last 27 players remaining in form of an event ticket worth $770 to a live tournament taking place in Prague this December.
In spring, PokerStars will once again host their Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP). Last years series rewarded over $43m in 114 separate tournaments played between the buyins of $5.50 and $25.5k in more than ten different game types. This Sunday, the site holds the “Double Vision Sunday,” which – combined with the newly expanded Daily Bigs lineup – may give a hint to the players about what is coming next year.
