2017 will see the dawn of a new day on the PokerStars Live Tournament circuit as the operator has unveiled two new brands: PokerStars Championship and PokerStars Festival. The Championship will consist of the well known European Poker Tour (EPT) and the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA).
Enhancements have also been made to the registration process (both live and online) and a new leaderboard promotion will run at each stop.
PokerStars is said to be making “it’s biggest live events even bigger”——both new live tournament series will now have a global reach.
The PokerStars Championship event will stop in the Bahamas on January 6, 2017 (formally the PCA) and other stops have been confirmed including Barcelona, Monte-Carlo, Macau and Panama—so the EPT will live on in a different guise.
The PokerStars Festival will stop in New Jersey and London—with more stops expected to be announced for both tournament series in the coming months.
PokerStars Championship
Although catering to “all levels” of poker players, this poker tour is focused more on the pros as stops will typically last 10-11 days with at least 100 tournaments scheduled and a €/$5000 Main Event.
A new Player of the Year competition will also form part of the Championship offering, and will include a tournament leaderboard at each stop.
The winner of the individual leaderboards is set to win a VIP package containing the buy-in and accommodation for the PokerStars Championship Main event and entry into a special invitational tournament featuring a $100,000 winner-takes-all first prize.
More information on the Championship can be found here.
PokerStars Festival
The PokerStars Fesitval is being billed as having a “fun, holiday feel” and has been tailored to suit recreational players (Fedor Holz, not included.)
The festivals are set to last around 6 to 7 days and will include a concise schedule of events plus a Main Event with a buy-in in the range of $1000-$1500.
The first event for the Festival will actually take place in New Jersey in October at the Resorts Casino, Atlantic City —clashing with the Final Table of the World Series of Poker Main Event over in Las Vegas.
As no PokerStars Pros made the November Nine, Jason Mercier, Daniel Negreanu and Vanessa Selbst are all expected to compete in the New Jersey PokerStars Festival which will run will run from October 29 to November 6 and include a $2200 High Roller and $1100 Main Event.
More info of the PokerStars Festival can be found here.
A streamlined experience
Soon to be known exclusively as PokerStars Live, the registration system (available both live and online) has been streamlined to give players a better experience prior to playing. Players can now log in with their Stars ID online and on self-service terminals at the venues.
A new mobile app for all PokerStars Championship events has also been created, along with a new website and social media handle—*PokerStarsLive*—that is set to become a one stop shop for all things Championship and Festival related.
Check out PokerStars’ new promo video for the Championship and Festival here.
