The schedule for PokerStars’ first-ever Championship series in Ontario has been revealed. As previously announced, the Ontario Championship of Online Poker (ONCOOP) runs from October 1, stretching over two weeks until October 17.
The series boasts over CAD $2 million in guaranteed prize money, making it Ontario’s biggest online tournament series so far.
The $2 million prize money is spread over 66 events — each split into two tiers of buy-in — Low and High — to cater to all types of players, regardless of the size of their bankroll. Buy-ins start at an affordable CAD $5 and go up to CAD $2000, with a wide range of options in between.
PokerStars Ontario's First-Ever ONCOOP — Highlights:
- Runs from October 1 for 17 days
- Guarantees CAD $2 million
- 132 individual tournaments coming in two tiers: Low and High
- $500 buy-in Main guarantees CAD $200,000 — the biggest in the market
- Buy-ins start at CAD $5 and go up to CAD $2000
- PokerStars’ fourth online tournament series in Ontario to date
- Two Platinum Passes, each worth $30,000, will be awarded
- Second Chance Freerolls worth CAD $35,000 in total will be awarded across the series
- Excellent tournament schedule
- The best variety of game types
- #1 Rated online poker room in Ontario by pokerfuse.com
The series is highlighted by two Main Events with buy-ins of $50 and $500. The Low-tier $50 buy-in guarantees $40,000, and the High costing $500 boasts $200,000 guaranteed prize money — one of the largest online poker tournaments in the newly launched market.
The next biggest guaranteed prize money comes in a High Roller tournament with an entry fee of $2000, promising $90,000 in prize money.
As is typical of any series on PokerStars, there will be plenty of formats, including PKOs, Deepstack, Zoom, Total KO, Turbos, and Hyper turbos — all spread in a variety of table structures such as 8-max, 7-max, 6-max, 5-max, and heads-up.
Those who prefer playing non-Hold’em will not be disappointed as the schedule comprises a variety of poker formats, including Omaha, Mixed games, Stud, and even Short Deck.
What makes the series even more exciting is that there will be two Platinum Passes up for grabs, each worth $30,000. These coveted Passes can be used to play the PokerStars’ triumphant PokerStars No Limit Hold’em Championship (PSPC) event, which will return for its second edition in January 2023 in the Bahamas.
Plenty of Promotions for the First-Ever COOP Series in Ontario
PokerStars’ signature COOP series in Ontario is accompanied by various promotions, making the series even more interesting.
First, the series comes with a Player of the Series Leader Board offering a Platinum Pass to the overall leaderboard winner. The Platinum Pass is worth $30,000 and includes a seat at the PSPC event slated to take place in the Bahamas in January 2023.
An additional $33,500 in prizes will be awarded in cash prizes across the Low/High Leader Boards.
Another Platinum Pass will be given away via ONCOOP Prize Draw carrying $50,000 in prizes. Each time players play an ONCOOP event, they will earn an entry to the competition. Every player can earn a maximum of ten entries. The draw will take place on October 19.
The room will run Second Chance Freerolls every day — each with $2500 in guaranteed prizes. These freerolls will be open to those eliminated from the tournament before reaching the money.
The ONCOOP special promotions will award over CAD $150,000 in additional prize money.
| ONCOOP Promotion | Prize |
|---|---|
| Player of the Series Leader Board | $63,500 |
| Second Chance Freerolls | $35,000 |
| Prize Draw | $50,000 |
| total | $148,500 |
Ontario’s Biggest Tournament Series Till Date
This will be PokerStars Ontario’s fourth online tournament series and the biggest series in the real money Ontario online poker market. Immediately after going live, the operator ran its first tournament series. The inaugural Platinum Series featured over CAD $1 million in guarantees spread over 90 tournaments.
The second series, called the Summer Stacks, “featured over CAD $750,000 in guaranteed prize money in August. The knockout-exclusive Bounty Builder Series had another CAD $1 million in prize money.
- Excellent tournament schedule
- The best variety of game types
- #1 Rated online poker room in Ontario by pokerfuse.com
PokerStars Ontario: Tournament Series History
| Series | Dates | Total Gtd (CAD) | Tournaments | Avg Gtd (CAD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platinum Series | July 10 – 18 | $1,000,000 | 90 | $11,111 |
| Summer Stacks | Aug 7 – 14 | $750,000 | 108 | $6,944 |
| Bounty Builder Series | Sep 4 – 19 | $1,000,000 | 133 | $7,519 |
| ONCOOP | Oct 1 – 17 | $2,000,000 | 132 | $14,925 |
Rivals 888poker and BetMGM/partypoker have also hosted series, but the guaranteed prize money has been incomparable, and they haven’t come as frequently as PokerStars’.
“As Ontario’s first major online championship series, ONCOOP will have a range of Low and High buy-in options to allow players of all abilities to get involved for a shot at a piece of the huge $2M prize pool, an unparalleled figure, making it the richest and biggest PokerStars series in Ontario to date,” the press release stated.
WSOP Ontario, in partnership with GGPoker, will go live on Friday, September 30 is also expected to host a big tournament series soon after it launches. It remains to be seen whether the guarantees would be more significant than PokerStars’ ONCOOP series.
PokerStars ONCOOP series runs from October 1 through to October 17.
Learn all about the Best Online Poker Rooms in Ontario in our comprehensive guide!
