The PokerStars Players No Limit Hold’em Championship (PSPC) event has officially been postponed until 2021 as a result of the global pandemic outbreak of the coronavirus.
The successful PSPC event was due to take place in August at Casino Barcelona, Spain.
PokerStars has confirmed that the event will still be held at the same location but the dates for 2021 have not yet been announced.
Along with the PSPC, EPT Barcelona 2020 – which was also scheduled to take place in August 2020 – has been deferred until 2021.
“We are of course disappointed, and we sympathise with the players who will have to put their PSPC poker dreams and aspirations on hold until next year,” said in a press statement released today.
“However, players can rest assured that we aim to make the event even more special, with extra activities and surprises in the run-up.”
In addition, three other events have been canceled including a couple of the Road to PSPC events in France and Spain as well as the Manilla Super Series in the Philippines.
The news about the postponement of the PSPC event has been widely expected in the face of coronavirus gripping the world, despite optimism from the operator back in March that it may still go ahead. Practically, all of the live poker events that were scheduled to take place beginning in March have either been canceled or postponed.
The richest live tournament series, the World Series of Poker (WSOP), also came under the grabs of the pandemic outbreak, with the organizers now targeting fall of 2020 for the 51st running of the WSOP. Other major events including most of WPT events, WSOP Circuit events, and Triton events have been postponed.
More Platinum Passes to be Given Away
Now that the event will take place next year, the operator has said in the statement that more Platinum Passes will be given away. The operator previously planned to give away 320 passes, but is now targeting a total of 400 which equates to around $12 million.
Already 175 Platinum Passes – each worth around $30,000 – have been awarded by the operator through a myriad of promotions. These passes will remain valid for the next year, the operator has said.
PSPC Online Version to Run in August 2020?
With the PSPC event getting postponed until next year, there is a high possibility that the operator will run an online version replicating the same structure and format except with a much lower buy-in.
Many online poker operators have moved their live tours online, including partypoker, Unibet, 888Poker and PokerStars itself.
Partypoker has been working with multiple live tour organizers to host their tournaments on their online platform. Over ten live events are being run on partypoker.
Unibet postponed all of its live events scheduled for this year and moved most of those events online under its campaign “IRL to URL.”
PokerStars ran the online edition of the Brazilian Series of Poker (BSOP) on its online poker platform last month after the tour was forced to be canceled. It also did the same with the Lex Live tour.
So it would not be surprising to see PokerStars run an online version of the PSPC in August 2020. In fact, last year, PokerStars already ran an online miniature version of PSPC replicating the same format and structure except the buy-in was 1/1000th of the price.
The buy-in for the online PSPC event was set to $25 and no rake was charged. It adopted the same five-day format as the live event, and the tournament was played 8-handed with each player receiving a 60,000 starting stack.
PokerStars PSPC was slated to run from August 20 to 24 followed by the EPT Barcelona Main Event from August 24 to 30. These events have been postponed until 2021.
PokerStars PSPC FAQs
Will the PSPC 2020 event go ahead as scheduled in Barcelona from 20-24 August?
Due to the health risks and challenges to international travel posed by the global pandemic, PokerStars has made the decision to postpone EPT Barcelona in August and, as such, the 2020 edition of the PSPC.
When will the PSPC event now take place?
PokerStars has not decided on a new date for the PSPC event and EPT Barcelona. The operator is monitoring the global situation and will announce information and accompanying promotions as soon as they can.
Will the PSPC still be played in Barcelona?
Yes. PokerStars is committed to running this edition of the PokerStars Players No Limit Hold’em Championship at Casino Barcelona.
Will PokerStars continue offering free Platinum Pass packages to enter the PSPC?
Yes. In fact, PokerStars will award 400 PSPC Platinum Pass packages in total, which is 80 more than originally planned. The operator is currently working on upcoming promotions.
How can I win a Platinum Pass?
For the time being PokerStars has suspended all promotions awarding a Platinum Pass, but they will update and announce new promotions both online and live as soon as they have confirmed a new date for the PSPC.
What will happen to Players’ Platinum Pass?
Players’ Platinum Pass is still valid for this event and their hotel booking will be arranged by PokerStars for the new Barcelona dates once these are confirmed.
Can I have my Platinum Pass value refunded to my account?
Unfortunately, no. The Platinum Pass is non-refundable and non-exchangeable. It can only be used to enter the PokerStars Players No Limit Hold’em Championship event.
I have already booked my flights for Barcelona in August. What will happen to my booking?
Please send an email to live@pokerstarslive.com with your flight reservations so we can review your request.
Will the other live events that were awarding Platinum Passes still go ahead?
PokerStars cancelled the following events for the same reasons as the PSPC 2020:
- Road to PSPC Cannes
- Manila Super Series 14
- Road to PSPC Madrid Torrelodones
