EPT season 10 Grand Final Set for Record Numbers
Second Mega Qualifier on Sunday guarantees 20 x €14k packages
ONCHAN, Isle of Man – The PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino European Poker Tour Grand Final is set to attract record numbers later this month as well as offer players the most varied tournament schedule ever. With three weeks still go before the festival kicks off at the glamorous Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel and Resort, more than 210 PokerStars players are already registered, including more than 140 who have won their seats online.
This Sunday’s €700 EPT Grand Final Mega Qualifier is set to swell the numbers still further, with 20 €14,000 EPT Grand Final packages guaranteed – double the number of the first Mega Qualifier that awarded 22 packages in February. PokerStars is also laying on numerous extra satellites in the lead-up to the prestigious €10,600 Main Event, as well as hosting regular €700 qualifiers on April 13 and 20. In all, more than 200 players are expected to win their seats for the Main Event by the time the festival starts on April 23, compared to 167 last year.
A host of big names are among those who have already qualified, including Team PokerStars Pro Jose ‘Nacho’ Barbero, Team PokerStars Online’s Marc-Andre Ladouceur, Aussie Millions champ Ami Barer, EPT champions Kevin MacPhee and Mike McDonald, plus PCA champs Dimitar Danchev and newly-sponsored Dominik Panka. The first-ever EPT Grand Final “Early Bird Exclusives” were also snapped up super fast, giving 50 players a 50% discount on their hotel package.
The EPT is joining forces with the France Poker Series (FPS) for the first time in Monaco to provide an unparalleled variety of events at a wide range of buy-ins. The debut event is the €1,100 FPS Monaco Main Event, which will enjoy its first ever appearance on EPTLive with a cards-up, ‘as live’ broadcast of the final on April 27.
Another exciting activity taking place during the festival is filming of Heats 3 and 4 of Shark Cage, the new PokerStars TV show where PokerStars qualifiers, celebrities and poker legends from around the world compete for a shot at a $1 million winner-takes-all prize. The last heats – at the PCA in January – featured stars such as Seinfeld’s Jason Alexander and actress Jennifer Tilly, and big names are also lined up for the next round in Monaco.
A significant number of tournaments (21 in total) are priced at €500 and below at this season’s festival, giving a wide spectrum of players a chance to get in on the action. Some of the fun formats making their Grand Final debut include a €200 Deuces Wild tourney and €300 Run It Twice event. High rollers certainly have enough to keep them happy as well: in addition to the €2,000 FPS High Roller and €25,000 EPT High Roller, the €100,000 Super High Roller starts April 24. This will be filmed for television as well as broadcast live, with the final shown cards-up on April 26. Cash game players will yet again benefit from up to 40 tables running 18 hours a day and offering a wide range of games including No-Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha, Stud, Draw, Open Face Chinese and Open Face Chinese Pineapple.
