PokerStars' signature Fall Fest series has returned, maintaining its tradition of running around this holiday season in the North American region for the past three years.
Kicking off today, November 17, and extending through the end of November, the eleven-day series runs simultaneously in Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Ontario, Canada. The total combined guarantees for the series exceed $2.5 million in prize money.
For players in New Jersey and Michigan, which share a common player pool, guarantees exceed $1.25 million distributed across 47 tournaments. The Pennsylvania leg of the series operates independently, assuring $1 million in prizes over an identical number of tournaments.
Simultaneously, the PokerStars Ontario iteration guarantees CAD $550,000 but is spread across a slightly larger offering of 54 tournaments.
There are three distinct tournament series spanning two North American countries, featuring 148 tournaments. All three Main Events are set to take place on Sunday, November 26. Buy-ins start at $5 in the US jurisdictions and CAD $10 in Ontario, the largest province in Canada.
Satellites starting from $1 are already live in the client, along with special Spin & Go tournaments offering players the chance to secure Main Event tickets for buy-ins as low as $3. Additionally, PokerStars is hosting daily freerolls from November 17 to 26, each awarding Fall Fest tickets worth $1000 in prizes.
Returning to the schedule, most tournaments adopt the popular Progressive Knockout (PKO) format. Various bounty formats are available during the series, including:
- Standard PKO: 50% of the buy-in goes to the bounty pool
- Big PKO: 75% of the buy-in goes to the bounty
- Total KO: Entire buy-in is allocated to the bounty
The Main Event on the PokerStars US shared liquidity network, covering Michigan and New Jersey, guarantees $200,000 for a $300 buy-in, while the Pennsylvania edition promises $175,000 for the same buy-in. The Ontario version offers a slightly more affordable buy-in at CAD $200, with a guaranteed prize pool of CAD $70,000.
Beyond these main events, PokerStars players in North American markets have several exciting highlights leading up to Thanksgiving, including:
- Fall Brawls: A series of daily PKO tournaments with a $50 entry fee, guaranteeing $20,000 for players in MI/NJ and $15,000 in PA and Ontario.
- The Thanksgiving Thrill: A special edition $150 buy-in tournament for Thanksgiving Thursday (November 23), exclusive to US players, guaranteeing $35k in MI/NJ and $25k in PA.
- Main Event Previews: Warm-up tournaments with the same structure as the Main Event but with a $100 buy-in. Guarantees include $30k in MI/NJ and $25k in PA.
- High Roller Main: A high-stakes tournament accompanying the Main Event, promising $100k in guarantees for US players. A similar tournament in Ontario has a CAD $1000 buy-in with a guarantee of CAD $60k.
- Cyber Monday Stars: A $10 buy-in tournament on the final day of the series, catering to smaller bankrolls or those seeking a big cash-in on the last day.
Fall Fest marks another simultaneous series across all four North American sites since the launch of PokerStars in the North American division, unifying the US and Canadian markets under a single brand.
Last year, the Fall Fest series ran in all four markets, with the PA series awarding $1.2 million in prize money, the MI series giving away over $600k, the NJ edition paying out $466k, and the Ontario series producing CAD $564k over 57 tournaments.
The Fall Fest 2023 series runs from November 17 to 27 on the PokerStars platform.
