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ONCHAN, Isle of Man – PokerStars, an Amaya Inc. (TSX: AYA) company, today announced six stops for the forthcoming 12th season of its European Poker Tour – kicking off with the EPT’s most popular poker festival, in Barcelona in August. Six destinations have been confirmed so far, with a seventh to be determined for March. All those confirmed will run in conjunction with PokerStars’ national and regional live tours.
SAVE THE DATE
EPT Barcelona: August 19-30, 2015
EPT Malta: October 21-31, 2015
EPT Prague: December 6-16, 2015
PokerStars Caribbean Adventure: 4-16, January 2016
EPT Dublin: February 10-20, 2016
EPT Grand Final: April 26 - May 6, 2016
EPT Barcelona, which kicks things off in August, is always the most popular stop on the tour and has been a highlight since Season 1. The festival consistently breaks records, with ever-increasing numbers for both players and scheduled events. As in previous years, EPT Barcelona will be held in conjunction with the national Estrellas Poker Tour and satellites will be launched on PokerStars in less than a week - on May 10.
Exciting news for many fans will be the EPT’s return – after an eight-season gap – to Dublin. The Irish capital, which is renowned for its fun and vibrant après-poker social life, has an enthusiastic poker community and was one of the very first stops on the European Poker Tour back in October 2004.
The EPT has evolved and grown dramatically since Ram Vaswami took the first Dublin event down, topping a field of just 163 players for a €93,000 first prize. The Season 12 EPT Dublin event will be held jointly with the UK & Ireland Poker Tour next year (February 10-20) at the historic Royal Dublin Society venue, just minutes away from the heart of Dublin City.
The EPT will also be heading back to Malta for a joint Italian Poker Tour/EPT festival after its hugely successful debut there last month. Nearly 2,500 players from 73 countries competed in 69 events during the festival and more than €18.5 million was awarded in prize money.
As always, the EPT will be returning to Prague in the Czech Republic in December, and the Bahamas in January for the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. The season finale will again be held in Monaco, starting April 26, 2016.
EPT President Edgar Stuchly said: “Right from the stunning EPT100 celebrations in Barcelona last August to the eleventh EPT Grand Final here in Monaco, this has truly been a spectacular season, so we are understandably very excited about the forthcoming Season 12. In Europe-based events alone we will have awarded more than €100 million in prize money for the first time in the EPT’s history, with more than 60,000 tournament entries.
We will continue to take EPT to new locations and new audiences, and are constantly reviewing our events to ensure the tour stays fresh and exciting. Our festivals are held in the very best destinations in Europe, and we’re really looking forward to continuing to provide the best live poker experience worldwide in Season 12.”
This season’s PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino EPT Grand Final is already shaping up to be one of the most successful EPTs ever held. The €100,000 Super High Roller attracted 58 of the world’s best players – a €100,000 record. With 13 re-entries, the prize pool grew to a whopping €6,888,420. The €2,015,000 won by Erik Siedel was the third highest first prize ever awarded in Monaco. The €1,100 France Poker Series Monaco Main Event also broke records with 993 runners creating a prize pool of €963,210 and 383 players competed in the €2,000 FPS Monaco High Roller.
EPT Season 12 promotional video: http://psta.rs/1IvQL1q.
About the European Poker Tour
The European Poker Tour (EPT) is the world’s richest and most popular poker tour. Since 2004, the EPT has paid out over €672 million in tournament prize pools, and hosted successful festivals right across Europe. The EPT also visits the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA), which takes place every January in the Bahamas and is the largest poker festival outside of Las Vegas.
Season 11 of the EPT has built on the success of a decade of world-class live poker events, and major poker festivals have been held in Barcelona, London, Prague, Deauville and Malta.
