The PokerStars Players No Limit Hold’em Championship (PSPC) and PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) are about to kick off over at the Atlantis Resort & Casino in The Bahamas.
In what is being called a “true celebration of poker” by PokerStars, the PSPC will be played as a rake-free freezeout tournament and starts on January 6. Live streams and reporting will also get underway on the same day, with video content planned on all social media channels as well as PokerStars TV.
$9 million has already been pumped into the prize pool by PokerStars, and the series is expected to be the biggest live $25k buy-in tournament in poker history.
Danny McDonagh, PokerStars’ Executive Tournament Director, spoke to pokerfuse about the plans and goals surrounding the PSPC ahead of the start of the tournament, revealing that “live reporting and live streaming will be running from the outset of the PSPC” which will come as a relief to those who have not been lucky enough to bag a Platinum Pass.
The players who were lucky enough a win a Platinum Pass—an initiative PokerStars created to send 320 players to the tournament for free—will get there very own welcome reception at the Atlantis Resort & Casino.
As a reminder, each Platinum Pass is worth $30,000. $25,000 for the buy-in and another $5000 for travel, hotel and expenses, making it a once in a lifetime opportunity for poker players who were lucky enough to win one the coveted passes.
“This will be the first time we will see so many players participating who have never played a $25K event before, be they Platinum Pass winners or players enticed by the enormity of the prize pool,” McDonagh went on to say to pokerfuse. “The interaction of all these players and regular high roller players will be really unique and make the coverage special. There will be special emphasis on Platinum Pass winners who are progressing well and their path to playing the PSPC.”
The PCA follows straight on from the PSPC where 41 events including the $10,300 Main Event will play out.
PokerStars has also coordinated a Mini PSPC online that will allow those that could not make the trip to The Bahamas to get a taste of the action from home. The tournament is rake-free and features a $25 buy-in and $9000 in added prize money by PokerStars. For additional details on the online Mini PSPC, see our coverage here.
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Where Can I Watch All The Action?
To get a slice of the action from the comfort of your own home, fans can tune into the action on PokerStars TV (link below), YouTube and Twitch. There will also be exclusive giveaways and freerolls for live stream viewers, so make sure you are subscribed to the PokerStars Twitch channel well in advance of coverage starting.
There will be 11 days of consecutive steaming so be sure to tune it to catch up with how players are progressing. The PSPC will be covered from start to finish with cards-up coverage each day.
The final two days of the $100k PCA Super High Roller and the final four days of the $10k PCA Main Event will also be available to watch.
If that weren’t enough, a webcast will be available in English, German, Russian, Spanish, French, Brazilian Portuguese.
How will the PSPC Play Out?
After listening to player feedback via a survey dubbed “Have Your Say About #PSPC,” PokerStars revealed the following about the festival back in September of last year.
- The tournament will adopt the Big Blind Ante format
- There will be a shot clock from Day 2 or once the tournament is In the Money (ITM)
- Players will start with 60,000 chips (300 big blinds) and starting blinds will be 100/200
- 60-minute levels for the duration of the tournament will be standard
- 5% of the field will receive a payout
- The event will start nine-handed and move to eight-handed at the start of Day 2
- Each day will have eight hours of play with dinner breaks from Day 3
Having been critiqued in the past for not listening to players feedback, the survey and direct response from PokerStars should go some way towards creating extra goodwill around the event.
PSPC Schedule of Webcast Events
| PSPC Events | Date | Start Time |
| PSPC Day 1 | January 6 | 12:30 EST |
| PSPC Day 2 | January 7 | 12:30 EST |
| PSPC Day 3 | January 8 | 12:30 EST |
| PSPC Day 4 | January 9 | 12:30 EST |
| PSPC Final Table | January 10 | 13:30 EST |
| PCA $100k Super High Roller Day 2 | January 11 | 12:30 EST |
| PCA $100k Super High Roller Final Table | January 12 | 13:30 EST |
| PCA Main Event Day 2 | January 13 | 12:30 EST |
| PCA Main Event Day 3 | January 14 | 12:30 EST |
| PCA Main Event Day 4 | January 15 | 12:30 EST |
| PCA Main Event Final Table | January 16 | 13:30 EST |
