THE WORLD’S RICHEST POKER TOUR ANNOUNCES BIGGEST SEASON YET
LONDON, UK, JUNE 15, 2009 – John Duthie, Chief Executive
of the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour (EPT), today announced
the first half of the schedule for EPT Season Six. The European
Poker Tour is now the world’s richest poker tour in terms
of both players and prize pools and is sponsored by PokerStars,
the world’s largest online poker site with over 23 million
registered players worldwide.
"The new EPT season includes many events which have made the
past five seasons such a triumph with world record breaking fields
and prize pools across Europe.” said Duthie. “We have
set very high standards and we aim to improve on this still further
in Season Six - with new additions to the schedule as well as a
richer mix of games and buy-ins to cater for more players.”
Last year’s PokerStars EPT season proved a massive success
and overtook the WPT in terms of amount of players and prize pools.
EPT Season Five generated an overall prize pool of almost €55
million (approx $77 million USD) with 7,980 players from 97 countries
of which 3,077 were PokerStars players. The four richest prize pools
available in poker tournaments outside the United States last year
occurred during the fifth season of the PokerStars EPT at: the PCA
($12.7M USD); Monte Carlo ($12.3M USD); San Remo ($7.5M USD); and
Barcelona (7M USD).
The EPT Monte Carlo Grand Final generated the biggest ever prize
pool in Europe at more than €9.3 million. The Grand Final winner,
newly-signed Team PokerStars Pro Netherlands member Pieter de Korver,
a 26-year-old poker pro from Leeuwarden, Holland, bested a record
field of 935 players to take the first prize of €2.3 million
($3.2 million USD).
“This year’s EPT will be bigger and better than ever,
kicking off in August in one of our new scheduled destinations –
magnificent Moscow in Russia. Overall, the tour will visit an unprecedented
thirteen countries* - an increase of four events on top of last
season. As well as Russia, the tour will include new stops in Portugal
this November and other destinations to be announced shortly.”
said Duthie.
The PokerStars EPT Season Six looks set to continue building upon
the successes of the previous five seasons, attracting even more
players and even larger prize pools. There will be more ‘Festival
of Poker’ style stops on the tour, beginning in London this
October with “The Pokerstars.com EPT London Festival at the
Hilton Metropole Hotel” which will feature significant Pot-Limit
Omaha and 8-Game events, as well as the return of the popular High
Roller event. The EPT London Main Event will likely be the richest
tournament ever in the United Kingdom.
Online satellites for the PokerStars EPT Moscow, Season Six start
today, Monday, 15 June, 2009 on PokerStars with buy-ins from as
little as $2.22. Players who qualify on PokerStars don’t just
win their seat; they also win hotel accommodation (or cash equivalent)
and spending money as part of their prize package. The EPT invites
players from around the world to participate in this exciting event
in Russia’s historic and storied capital.
The PokerStars European Poker Tour Season Six schedule so far (more
dates announced soon)* is as follows:
