PokerStars Postpones EPT Sochi Three Days Before its Start PokerStars Postpones EPT Sochi Three Days Before its Start
Key Takeaways
  • It makes it the seventh PokerStars live event to be canceled due to the global coronavirus pandemic.
  • Until now, it was holding out on EPT Sochi, set to kick off this Friday and run through to March 29.
  • Sochi and Monte Carlo make up two thirds of the operator’s slim European Poker Tour schedule this year.

EPT Sochi has been postponed indefinitely, PokerStars announced on Tuesday. It makes it the seventh PokerStars live event to be canceled due to the global coronavirus pandemic.

Already, the operator had canceled EPT Monte Carlo, scheduled for April 23 to May 2. But until now, it was holding out on EPT Sochi, set to kick off this Friday and run through to March 29.

“In response to the latest guidance from the World Health Organization, local authorities, and working with our partner casino, Casino Sochi, we have decided to postpone European Poker Tour Sochi, which was due to take place from March 20-29,” the company wrote in a statement.

“We have hosted European Poker Tour Open Sochi in October for the past two years. We can now confirm, alongside Casino Sochi, that the event we will hold this October in Sochi will be a European Poker Tour (EPT) event.”

“We currently expect that EPT Sochi will take place from October 2-11, with the EPT Main Event running from October 6-11,” it was stated.

Sochi and Monte Carlo made up two thirds of the operator’s slim European Poker Tour schedule this year. The remaining event, EPT Barcelona—which includes the PokerStars Players No Limit Hold’em Championship—is still scheduled for August.

The first wave of live event cancellations occurred last week, with some two-dozen postponed indefinitely.

For PokerStars, this included three Road to the PSPC events, in Germany, France and Spain, and Lex Live 3, that was to be held in Aspers Casino, UK. It initially hoped that other events would be able to proceed.