PokerStars Big 20 Anniversary: Everything You Need to KnowThe pokerfuse guide to PokerStars’ 20th anniversary celebrations—including the massive $55 The Big Finale with $5,000,000 guarantee.
Last updated November 14 2021
Online poker giant PokerStars has been around for a very long time: two full decades to be precise. This year, PokerStars is celebrating its 20th anniversary and, as expected, the room is doing it in style with an aptly named promo, The Big 20.
The operator has always been big on celebrating momentous occasions and important dates with special tournaments, generous giveaways, and custom bonuses designed to hype up the celebrations and give something back to the players.
Its 20th birthday bash will be no exception. The operator is coming out with all guns blazing: Celebrations are set to last throughout November and into December, with plenty to look forward to for new and existing players alike.
Big 20 Promotions: Key Details at a Glance
| Date | Promo | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 1 | Boost | Daily leaderboards at Cash and Spins have boosted prizes |
| Nov 8 | Ticket Machine | Random giveaways to Finale at the tables |
| Nov 14 | Rewind | 22 themed tournaments with $5.5 million guaranteed |
| Nov 14 | The Big 20 $0.50 Spin & Go’s | Win up to $5000 in cash & Big 20 Finale entries |
| Dec 5 | Finale | $55, $5 million-guaranteed tournament |
On this page, we are bringing you a detailed guide containing all the information you need to know on the PokerStars The Big 20 festivities, from boosted daily leaderboards, random giveaways at the tables, a huge tournament series and a staggering $5 million guaranteed tournament.
Only preliminary information is available right now, but you can bookmark this page and come back later—we’ll keep it up to date as new information is revealed.
Great Opportunity for New Players
For those who do not have an account with PokerStars yet, this could be just the right time to open one. There will be plenty of great value to be had on the site during November, and the operator might even come up with some special promos for those who sign up during The Big 20 celebrations.
PokerStars already offers a nice welcome package consisting of $30 worth of free cash and tournament tickets that you can get when you make a deposit of at least $20. Alternatively, there is a more traditional welcome bonus offering a 100% match up to $600.
- Super-charged daily leaderboards starting with November 1 and running through the month, offering boosted prizes
- 20 thematic tournaments celebrating the biggest moments from the PokerStars two-decade history
- $5MM Guaranteed The Big 20 Finale with the buy-in of just $55 and ample opportunity to qualify for free
With all the special events scheduled to take place in the second half of November and the massive $5MM Finale, there are ample opportunities to put all these extra funds to good use.
The Big 20 Schedule
PokerStars will kick off The Big 20 promotion next month. Starting November 1, players will have a chance to take advantage of boosted prize pools in daily leaderboards, and this will for more than four weeks.
Then, starting with November 14, there will be a series of daily tournaments, aptly named The Big 20 Rewind, with one event taking place every day (except for November 23, which will see three events). These tournaments will celebrate big moments from the history of the online poker giant and will dish out $5.5 million in guaranteed prizes.
Celebrations will wrap up with The Big 20 Finale, set to take place on December 5. This special tournament will feature a prize pool of $5,000,000 and players can buy in for just $55.
Leaderboard Boosts
During the promotional period, PokerStars will super-charge rewards for their daily Spin & Go and Cash Game Leaderboards.
The Spin & Go leaderboard prizes have been bumped significantly, from $17,500 to $24,500 awarded each day. So, over the course of Big 20 celebrations, PokerStars will dish out a total of $742,000 in Spin & Go 10 and Spin & Go 30 leaderboard prizes. Boosted prize pools will be active until November 30.
Additionally, all players who complete a leaderboard will qualify for weekly giveaways. These feature additional $5000 in prizes, except for the final draw taking place on December 1, which will dish out $6500 in prize money.
Except for the prizes, nothing else changes. You will still need to opt in via the Challenges window to participate in these leaderboards and you will be able to track your progress there as well. Players are allowed up to three daily attempts per leaderboard.
This promotion is going to benefit high volume players the most, so if that’s you then you should carve out some time in the diary to hit these games hard from next month. However, if you’re a new or more casual player, then likely the other parts of this promotion will appeal to you more.
The Big 20 Rewind
PokerStars has announced a series of 22 themed tournaments set to take place over the course of the second half of November. The operator has finally come out with the full schedule, so you can check it out and plan ahead of time. There is a nice variety of tournaments across the board for players of all bankrolls. Buy-ins start at just $11 and go all the way up to $10,300.
Each tournament celebrates one big moment from a particular year (2001 – 2020), and there is a total of $5,500,000 in guaranteed prizes up for grabs. In addition to money, the operator will throw in some special rewards, such as an around-the-world holidays, luxury watches, an electric car, and a SLAM package featuring buy-ins for some of the biggest events powered by PokerStars.
PokerStars Big 20 Rewind Schedule
| Date | Event | Buy-in | Guarantee | Special Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 14 | 2001: Year of PokerStars | $11 | $100,000 | SLAM Package* |
| Nov 16 | 2002: Year of WCOOP | $1050 | $250,000 | Round the world trips |
| Nov 17 | 2003: Year of Moneymkaer | $86 | $125,000 | $10K PokerStars Passport |
| Nov 18 | 2004: Year of the EPT | $1050 | $250,000 | Trophy & EPT Package |
| Nov 19 | 2005: Year of the PCA | $109 | $100,000 | Luxury trip to Bahamas |
| Nov 21 | 2006: Year of the Sunday Million | $215 | $1,000,000 | Tickets to a major sports event |
| Nov 22 | 2007: Year of EPTLive | - | $20,000 | Streaming package |
| Nov 22 | 2008: Year of Turbo Takedown | $30 | $100,000 | Electric car |
| Nov 23 | 2009: Year of SCOOP | $109 | $300,000 | Luxury watch |
| Nov 23 | 2009: Year of SCOOP | $1050 | $700,000 | Luxury watch |
| Nov 23 | 2009: Year of SCOOP | $10,300 | $750,000 | Luxury watch |
| Nov 24 | 2010: Year of the Big Game | $55 | $250,000 | TV & surround system |
| Nov 25 | 2011: Year of Home Games | $11 | $100,000 | Bespoke home game package |
| Nov 26 | 2012: Year of Zoom | $11 | $125,000 | Monte Carlo Grand Prix & EPT package |
| Nov 27 | 2013: Year of the PKO | $22 | $225,000 | UFC tickets |
| Nov 28 | 2014: Year of Spin & GO | $10 | $150,000 | Dinner for 3 at 3* Michelin restaurant |
| Nov 29 | 2015: Year of Sports & Casino | $55 | $200,000 | Las Vegas trip |
| Nov 30 | 2016: Year of the USA | $200 | $200,000 | Trip to New York |
| Dec 1 | 2017: Year of Twitch | $11 | $100,000 | Trip to Amsterdam TwitchCon |
| Dec 2 | 2018: Year of the Platinum Pass | $5 | $50,000 | $10K in tickets to Year of PSPC event |
| Dec 3 | 2019: Year of the PSPC | $25 | $150,000 | Platinum Pass for PSPC 2022 |
| Dec 4 | 2020: Year of the Arena | $5200 | $300,000 | Foo Fighters VIP Live Arena experience |
The room will also organize The Big 20: Players Awards, inviting the entire community to get involved and vote for their favorites. Voting is already open on the PokerStars blog.
The Big 20 $0.50 Spin & Go’s
Starting with November 14, PokerStars will be running special Big 20 Spin & Go’s at the $0.50 buy-in level. Players can win up to $5000 in cash and a variety of tickets for Big 20 tournaments.
| Prize | Odds |
|---|---|
| $5000 | 1 in 1,000,000 |
| $55 The Big 20 Finale entry | 1000 in 1,000,000 |
| $5,50 Big 20 Ticket | 3500 in 1,000,000 |
| $2.20 Big 20 Ticket | 187,101 in 1,000,000 |
| $1.10 Big 20 Ticket | 808,498 in 1,000,000 |
The Big 20 Finale
The final event that will wrap up the 20th anniversary celebrations is the $55 The Big 20 Finale. With the buy-in of just $55 and a $5MM guarantee, the tournament offers great value and will give almost all players a chance to compete for big money.
Additionally, the room has prepared a number of giveaways that will see hundreds of tickets for the big event awarded for free. Keep on reading to find out more on how you can get your seat in The Big 20 Finale without putting any money on the line.
Ticket Machine Giveaways
Over the course of The Big 20 celebrations, PokerStars will be giving away heaps of random tickets for the main event. These will be awarded to players using the operator’s well-known Ticket Machine system that has been used in other similar promotions.
Players will have a chance to win up to three entries every day to increase their winning chances. To qualify, you need to complete one, two, or all three daily challenges:
- Play 300 cash game hands at any stake
- Play 10 Spin & Go’s with the minimum buy-in of $1
- Play 3 MTTs (including MTT Sit & Go’s) with the minimum buy-in of $1
Simply opt in to participate, complete the challenges, and win your tickets for daily draws. There is $300,000 worth of prizes up for grabs between November 14 and December 6, including The Big 20 Finale entries.
Freeroll Qualifiers for The Big 20 Finale
PokerStars has announced that there will be freeroll tournaments allowing players to win their seats in the big $5,000,000 event. These are scheduled to start on November 8 and run through the month, all the way until the start of the target tournament.
Like with ticket giveaways, we do not have information at this point in time how exactly these will work. Some of them might be open to everyone, and some might require players to make a deposit using a special bonus code or something along these lines. We will update this page with more information as it becomes available.
FAQ
During what period will The Big 20 promotion run on PokerStars?
The Big 20 anniversary celebrations on PokerStars will kick off on November 1 and will run through the month, until December 5. The promotion will officially conclude on December 5 with The Big 20 Finale event.
What kind of promotions will there be for the players?
There are all sorts of promotions available during the period, including super-charged prize pools for daily leaderboards, special thematic tournaments, and ticket giveaways and freerolls for The Big 20 Finale tournament featuring a $5MM prize pool.
What daily leaderboards will be boosted for the Big 20 promo?
PokerStars will boost prize pools for its daily Spin & Go and Cash Game leaderboards during the promotional period.
When does The Big 20 Finale take place?
The Big 20 Finale represents the culmination of the 20th anniversary celebrations and it takes place on December 5. Players can buy in for $55 and the tournament will offer a guaranteed prize pool of $5,000,000.
Can I get an entry for The Big 20 Finale for free?
Yes you can. PokerStars will offer free entries for the tournament randomly distributed via their Ticket Machine system. Additionally, from November 8, there will be freeroll tournaments hosted on the site, giving you additional chances to qualify for free.
Is the Big 20 promo open only to existing players or new players can get involved as well?
Everyone is welcome to take part in festivities, whether they have had an account for years or have just registered. In fact, this might be a great moment for new players to get involved and put the extra funds that they get from the welcome bonus to good use.