PokerStars’ iconic live poker brand, the European Poker Tour (EPT) may have been canceled, but that is not stopping the operator from moving the tour to the virtual felt.
For the first time since the inception of the EPT tour, players will have the opportunity to win an EPT title and the prestigious trophy from the comfort of their homes.
The online edition of the EPT tour will take place on the PokerStars dot-com platform from November 8 to 18, boasting a massive $20 million in guarantees.
The EPT Online series will feature 20 events with buy-ins ranging from $215 to $25,000 and a low buy-in companion series running alongside with buy-ins starting at $2.20 and going up to $215.
The operator states that the schedule has been designed to mimic the regular live event program, with a slew of EPT Trophies to be given to the winners as if they were taking place live.
Furthermore, there will be “cards up” coverage of some of the key events, allowing viewers on the live-streaming platforms such as Twitch and YouTube to see the hole cards of players at the table on a short delay.
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“The EPT is one of our most famous and well-loved poker tours and we know the EPT events have become must-plays in poker players’ calendars,” said Managing Director and Commercial Officer of Poker at PokerStars, Severin Rasset via a press release. According to Rasset, the events are a big draw “not only for the prestige and excitement that comes with winning a tournament of this magnitude but also for the community and comradery of players coming together.”
EPT Online Series Highlights
As previously stated, the EPT Online schedule is modeled after the events that would normally be seen at a live EPT stop – High Rollers and Super High Rollers boasting millions in guarantees are on the schedule with buy-ins of $10,300 and $25,000.
The series kicks off with a $1050 buy-in 8-Max, Arena Championship boasting $1.5 million in guarantees. It is followed by a $10,300 High Roller PLO event featuring a half million guarantee and an 8-max NLHE High Roller guaranteeing another half million for a buy-in of $5200.
On Tuesday, another $10,300 buy-in High Roller takes place promising $1 million in guarantees. It is followed by a $10,300 High Roller edition of 8-Game on Wednesday and a $25,000 buy-in NLHE Super High Roller with a massive $2 million guarantee.
There is also an EPT NLHE Online Cup event taking place on November 14 guaranteeing $500,000 for a buy-in of $215, but the biggest attraction of the series is the $5200 NLHE 8-Max, Main Event. It takes place on Sunday, November 15 guaranteeing a whopping $5 million.
The remaining schedule is filled with novelty variants such as Win the Button, 6+ Hold’em, Deepstacks and Turbos.
These 20 events alone guarantee $16.7 million, an average of $835,000 guarantee per tournament, making it one of the most prestigious series from PokerStars.
Key Highlight Events:
- $1050 Arena Championship, $1.5 million guarantee
- $10,300 High Roller, $1 million guarantee
- $25,000 Super High Roller, $2 million guarantee
- $10,300 6+ Hold’em, High Roller, $400,000
- $215 EPT Online Cup, $500,000
- $5200 EPT Main Event, $5 million guarantee
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Mini EPT Online Series
For players with small bankrolls, PokerStars is running a mini version of the EPT online series, offering the same events and big guaranteed prize pools, a day later, but with buy-ins at 1/100th of the size.
For instance, the 8-max Arena Championship on the opening day costs $1050 to enter. The miniature version costs just $11.
Similarly, there is a mini-EPT equivalent of the EPT Online Cup, costing just $2.20 to enter and a guarantee of $50,000.
The Mini Main costs $55 to enter and has a $500,000 guarantee.
In total, the Mini-EPT online series guarantees $3.3 million across 20 events with buy-ins ranging from $2.20 to $215.
To celebrate the launch of the first-ever EPT online series, PokerStars has committed to giving away thousands of tickets in giveaways via its ongoing Ticket Machine promotion. Running through to the end of November, Ticket Machine randomly distributes an average of $50,000 a day in tickets to all players that play scheduled tournaments.
Furthermore, the operator will be running free paths to qualify for EPT Online events with daily freebuy tournaments.
“We wanted to bring the EPT excitement and entertainment back again by recreating the live schedule for our poker community with online tables, ticket giveaways and the opportunity to win EPT trophies,” Rasset went on to say.
“We can’t wait to see who will be joining the famous names in the EPT history books. Good luck to all our players. Have fun and play responsibly,” he added.
EPT Online Series Overview:
- Scheduled to run from November 8 to November 18
- Total guarantees of $20 million
- 20 EPT events and 20 Mini EPT Events
- EPT Trophies to be awarded to the winners of EPT Online events
- Cards up coverage of key events on Twitch
- Thousands of tickets to be given away
