The world’s leading poker company, PokerStars, has become well known for its innovative approach to the game of poker, and it continues to provide a fresh face for the game this week in Spain.
As part of PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona, the global leader in poker is staging a new novelty tournament format they call “Chase your Dream” in which five lucky contestants will get 25 hands against select celebrities and seasoned poker professionals to accumulate as many chips as possible.
Once play against the pros and celebs has completed, the two players that built the biggest chip stacks during their 25 hands will play heads up for €10,000.
The five finalists that will be competing for the top prize are:
- Adrian Garcia, a 23-year-old student and DJ from Salamanca, Spain.
- Clement Eloy, a 36-year-old freelance product designer from Lille, France.
- Danielle Summer, a 38-year-old caregiver from Tenerife, Spain.
- Christoph Walkenhorst, a 35-year-old social worker from Bielefeld, Germany.
- Daryl Inglis, a 43-year-old military veteran from Ontario, Canada.
The best performing pro or celeb will win €10,000 for their favorite charity.
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- Largest player base in the world.
- Home of Spin & Go, Power Up and lots of other unique game variants including 6+ Hold’em.
- Biggest weekly tournament schedule around.
While the prize money for this competition doesn’t have the wow-factor that has come to be expected from prominent poker tournaments, the focus of the Chase your Dream promotion seems to be centered around bringing more fun into the game.
Making Poker Fun
The competitive aspect of poker can add to the enjoyment of the game, but it can also be a source of stress as well, especially for beginners or recreational players that find themselves playing for large amounts of money.
As a way of increasing the fun-factor, PokerStars is combining a poker vacation with TV time and a chance to play with pros and celebs in the Chase your Dream competition.
For starters, qualifying for Chase your Dream was part of the fun. Players needed to make a nominal deposit of $10 or more using a special promo code to be eligible to qualify to play in the event. The deposit granted them tickets to freerolls where the top 20 finishers of each were invited to submit a short video describing their “story” including details about their life outside of poker.
From there, PokerStars reviewed the submissions and interviewed the top candidates to come up with their final selections.
The five contestants that made the cut each received a vacation package for two to sunny Barcelona, including flights, accommodations and €500 in spending money.
As a way of adding to the fun, the competition will be live streamed on the PokerStars Twitch and YouTube channels. So not only will the participants get to test their skills against professional poker players, but they will have the added thrill of playing on a bonafide poker broadcast—a dream many aspiring poker players develop when watching televised poker.
Play starts August 27 at 13:30 local time with the heads up portion of the event scheduled to take place at 20:00.
Check out all of the action on the PokerStars Twitch channel or the PokerStars YouTube channel.
In addition, you can also check out the daily action from the other EPT Barcelona events with cards-up on a delayed broadcast through the final table of the Main Event on Sunday, September 1.
