EPT Grand Final

The PokerStars.com European Poker Tour is set to end Season Five in spectacular fashion this year – with Europe’s largest and richest seven-day poker extravaganza in glamorous Monte Carlo.
A wealth of different tournaments at the PokerStars.com Monte Carlo EPT Grand Final, which runs April 27 to May 3, looks set to make this the most exciting poker festival ever held in Europe. Fourteen separate events – stretched across one phenomenal week of poker – will provide breath- taking, non-stop action in one of the most stunning destinations in the world.

PokerStars is pulling out all the stops to ensure that poker fans from all over the globe have masses of opportunities to win their way to beautiful Monaco. Satellites are already running on PokerStars for the Main Event.

Last year’s Main Event attracted over 840 players with 22-year-old Canadian Glen Chorny taking home over €2 million for clinching the title.

This year, the €10,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em (NLHE) contest is set to smash all records at a European poker tournament with over 1,000 players expected to attend, creating an estimated €10 million total prize pool.

The Main Event is only one of the attractions – this year there are two major new tournaments – the three-day €25,000 European High Roller Championship and the two-day €5,000 European Pot Limit Omaha Championship (PLO). Dedicated satellites will be running for the PLO tournament on PokerStars, offering a special three-day weekend prize package to Monte Carlo for qualifiers.

In addition to the three premier tournaments, there is also a big increase in the number of side events which will now include €5k, €2k, €1k and €500 NLHE tournaments as well as a €500 PLO re-buy event. Numerous live satellite tournaments are also scheduled – including two super satellites each to the Main Event and high roller tournament, plus a unique super satellite tournament enabling players to win seats at any future PokerStars tour destination – a prize which effectively gives players the chance to win a trip to almost anywhere on the planet.

On top of all of this, PokerStars is planning another Poker Camp during the PokerStars EPT Monte Carlo event. This comes after the huge success of the Poker Camps held in Barcelona and the Bahamas as part of The PokerStars European Tour, Season Five. Members of Team PokerStars Pro will be on hand to provide invaluable and interactive coaching sessions focused on slow structure and deep stack tournament play, with the camp tournament winner being awarded a PokerStars EPT Monte Carlo Main Event package.

As well as competing in satellites for Monte Carlo, PokerStars players will also – for the first time on the EPT circuit – be able to buy-in online to all scheduled tournaments directly through their PokerStars.com accounts. Online registration opens on April 20, 2009.

Also for the first time ever, players who buy-in or qualify online for EPT Monte Carlo events will receive Frequent Player Points (FPP) for rewards in the PokerStars VIP Club.
“The other big news this year is that the EPT Grand Final Main Event structure is being changed to 30,000 in chips and 60-minute levels on Day 1, with 75-minute levels from Day 2. This will also be the structure for all Season Six PokerStars EPT Main Events.

PokerStars EPT founder John Duthie said: “It is staggering to think that, at the very first EPT Grand Final in 2005, we had just 211 players and a total prize pool of €2 million. Last year, both player numbers and prize pool were four times that and this year, it looks likely that we’ll smash the €10 million mark for total prize pool. The EPT Grand Final now sits at the very pinnacle of world poker events and will prove a massive draw for top players from all over the globe. The addition of the High Roller event, the new European PLO championship and myriad other side events will provide unending excitement for the players – it looks set to be an incredible week.”