Creation of the European Poker Tour
The poker boom in the early 200s saw immense growth in televised poker such as💴 the Late Night Poker, the Poker Million and the World Poker Tour. The European Poker Tour (EPT) was created by💴 John Duthie, winner of the inaugural Poker Million.
EPT Season 1 (2004-05)
The very first EPT was held in Barcelona and was💴 won by Alexander Stevic for €80,000. Stevic would go on to finish third in the inaugural season's Grand Final held💴 at the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort for €178,000.
The Grand Final was won by the Netherlands' Rob Hollink for💴 €635,000.
There were seven events in the inaugural season with two British and two Dutch players grabbing titles.
Date Event Entrants Winner💴 Country Prize Sep-04 EPT Barcelona 229 Alexander Stevic Sweden €80,000 Oct-04 EPT London 175 John Shipley United Kingdom £200,000 Oct-04💴 EPT Dublin 163 Ram Vaswani United Kingdom €93,000 Jan-05 EPT Copenhagen 156 Noah Boeken Netherlands DKr1,098,340 Feb-05 EPT Deauville 245💴 Brandon Schaefer United States €144,000 Mar-05 EPT Vienna 297 Pascal Perrault France €184,500 Mar-05 EPT Grand Final, Monte Carlo 211💴 Rob Hollink Netherlands €635,000
EPT Season 2 (2005-06)
The second season of the EPT also had seven events, with the only change💴 being a switch from Baden to Vienna. Patrik Antonius won the new EPT Baden only two months after winning the💴 Scandinavian Poker Championships.
Meanwhile, there were wins for both Mark Teltscher and Mads Andersen in their "home" EPTs in London and💴 Copenhagen respectively.
Date Event Entrants Winner Country Prize Sep-05 EPT Barcelona 327 Jan Boubli France €426,000 Oct-05 EPT London 242 Mark💴 Teltscher United Kingdom €280,000 Oct-05 EPT Baden 180 Patrik Antonius Finland €288,180 Oct-05 EPT Dublin 248 Mats Gavatin Sweden €317,000💴 Jan-06 EPT Copenhagen 288 Mads Andersen Denmark DKr2,548,040 Feb-06 EPT Deauville 434 Mats Iremark Sweden €480,000 Mar-06 EPT Grand Final,💴 Monte Carlo 298 Jeff Williams United States €900,000
EPT Season 3 (2006-07)
The first ever EPT live-reported by PokerNews took place in💴 March 2007 in Dortmund, as Andreas Hoivold won €672,000 after defeating a field of 493 players.
Roland de Wolfe wins EPT💴 Dublin Main Event
EPT Dortmund was one of eight stops in Season 3 with other notables grabbing titles including Roland de💴 Wolfe (pictured) and Gavin Griffin, both of whom would go onto achieve poker's Triple Crown (winning EPT, WPT and WSOP💴 titles).
Date Event Entrants Main Event Winner Country Prize Sep-06 EPT Barcelona 480 Bjørn-Erik Glenne Norway €691,000 Sep-06 EPT London 398💴 Victoria Coren United Kingdom €500,000 Oct-06 EPT Baden 331 Duc Thang Nguyen Germany €487,397 Oct-06 EPT Dublin 389 Roland de💴 Wolfe United Kingdom €554,300 Jan-07 EPT Copenhagen 400 Magnus Petersson Sweden DKr4,078,080 Mar-07 EPT Dortmund 493 Andreas Høivold Norway €672,000💴 Mar-07 EPT Warsaw 284 Peter Jepsen Denmark zł1,226,711 Apr-07 EPT Grand Final, Monte Carlo 706 Gavin Griffin United States €1,825,010
EPT💴 Season 4 (2007-08)
The big names were out in force on Season 4 of the European Poker Tour, with Mike McDonald💴 (pictured), Jason Mercier and Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier bagging titles. Grospellier won his EPT title at the inaugural PokerStars Caribbean Adventure💴 (PCA) for a coolR$2,000,000.
Mike McDonald EPT4 Dortmund Main Event Champion
This season was book-ended by two other seven-figure first prizes with💴 Sander Lylloff winning the season-opening EPT Barcelona (denying Mark Teltscher a second EPT title heads-up), and Glen Chorny winning over💴 €2m in the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo.
EPT Season 5 (2008-09)
There was no let-up from the EPT with another💴 11-event schedule for the fifth season. The EPT record of 1,136 set at the PCA in Season 4 was broken💴 not just by the same event in Season 5, but also by EPT Sanremo.
Will Fry wins EPT Budapest Main Event
Stories💴 from Season 5 include Will Fry winning his first major tournament at EPT Budapest, Sandra Naujoks becoming the second female💴 EPT champion and the first champions from Portugal and Italy.
Date Event Entrants Main Event Winner Country Prize Sep-08 EPT Barcelona💴 619 Sebastian Ruthenberg Germany €1,361,000 Oct-08 EPT London 596 Michael Martin United States €1,000,000 Nov-08 EPT Budapest 532 Will Fry💴 United Kingdom €595,840 Nov-08 EPT Warsaw 217 João Barbosa Portugal €367,140 Dec-08 EPT Prague 570 Salvatore Bonavena Italy €774,000 Jan-09💴 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) 1,347 Poorya Nazari CanadaR$3,000,000 Jan-09 EPT Deauville 645 Moritz Kranich Germany €851,400 Feb-09 EPT Copenhagen 462💴 Jens Kyllönen Finland DKr6,542,208 Mar-09 EPT Dortmund 667 Sandra Naujoks Germany €917,000 Apr-09 EPT Sanremo 1,178 Constant Rijkenberg Netherlands €1,508,000💴 May-09 EPT Grand Final, Monte Carlo 935 Pieter de Korver Netherlands €2,300,000
Read More: Looking Back at the European Poker Tour💴 - The Early Years
EPT Season 6 (2009-10)
By Season 6, the EPT had grown to include 13 destinations, the most stops💴 in its history. Many players who would go on to become EPT regulars won titles in Season 6, including Jake💴 Cody and Liv Boeree who would enjoy successful spells as PokerStars Team Pros.
Jake Cody wins EPT Deauville Main Event
In March💴 2010, future WSOPE Main Event winner Kevin MacPhee won the EPT Berlin Main Event. However, the festival is notable for💴 the tournament venue being robbed by a group of armed men in the middle of the tournament. Play was suspended💴 for several hours and two weeks later, a suspect surrendered to German authorities.
Read More: Armed Robbery Suspends Play at EPT💴 Berlin (2010)
EPT Season 7 (2010-11)
Season 7 of the EPT would start just like previous seasons, but by the end of💴 the season, the poker world would be rocked by the events of Black Friday in April 2011.
Galen Hall would win💴 the largest PCA Main Event ever forR$2.3 million, defeating 1,560 players in the process. Future Triple Crown winner Robert Romanello💴 won his EPT title in Season 7 at EPT Prague, while there were three other British champions in the shape💴 of Toby Lewis, David Vamplew and Rupert Elder.
EPT Season 8 (2011-12)
Season 8 was the final season with 13 stops on💴 the calendar. It was also the only time the series visited Greece for EPT Loutraki, and that Campione held an💴 EPT festival.
Davidi Kitai wins EPT Berlin Main Event
Three Danes picked up EPT honours in as many festivals as Mickey Petersen,💴 Frederik Jensen and Jannick Wrang all won EPT Main Events. This was followed by Davidi Kitai's victory at EPT Berlin,💴 the first by a Belgian on the European Poker Tour. This also marked the only occasion that a player has💴 completed poker's Triple Crown by winning an EPT title. He became the fifth winner of poker's triple crown.
Read More: Looking💴 Back at the European Poker Tour Part Two - Berlin Robbery and Black Friday
EPT Season 9 (2012-13)
By 2012, the EPT💴 was beginning to focus on several core stops as part of the tour. This included Barcelona as the season-opener, Prague💴 and the PCA straddling the turn of the year, and the Grand Final in Monte Carlo rounding out the year.
Steve💴 O'Dwyer wins EPT Grand Final Main Event
Mikalai Pobal and Dimitar Danchev won the first EPT titles for Belarus and Bulgaria💴 respectively, while Steve O'Dwyer won the EPT Grand Final Main Event for €1.2m. This victory, along with several other major💴 scores, puts him at the top of the EPT all-time money list with almostR$12.5 million in earnings.
EPT Season 10 (2013-14)
Season💴 10 of the European Poker tour was a historic one, with Victoria Coren-Mitchell sensationally clinching victory at EPT Sanremo to💴 become the first two-time EPT champion. Coren-Mitchell followed up her victory at EPT London in Season 3 with another victory,💴 defeating Giacomo Fundaro heads-up to win €376,100.
Victoria Coren-Mitchell wins EPT Sanremo Main Event
Like in previous seasons, several EPT regulars finally💴 got their hands on Main Event glory including Robin Ylitalo and Dominik Panka, with Sotirios Koutoupas becoming the first Greek💴 EPT winner.
EPT Season 11 (2014-15)
Up until 2024, Spain had yet to win an EPT Main Event. That all changed with💴 the EPT Grand Final as Adrian Mateos secured victory just two years after winning the World Series of Poker Europe💴 (WSOPE) Main Event at just 19 years old.
Adrian Mateos wins EPT Grand Final Main Event
The EPT also visited Malta for💴 the very first time, with Jean Montury securing victory. This was also the last time the EPT visited London and💴 Deauville, which between them held 20 EPT festivals.
EPT Season 12 (2024-16)
The European Poker Tour returned to Dublin for the first💴 time since Season 5, with young Polish phenom Dzmitry Urbanovich (pictured) clinching victory.
Dzmitry Urbanovich wins EPT Dublin Main Event
Future WSOP💴 Main Event winner Hossein Ensan won EPT Prague, while former John Juanda became the second former WSOP Europe Main Event💴 winner to taste EPT Main Event glory.
EPT Season 13 (2024)
There were just three EPT festivals held in 2024. Sebastian Malec💴 won EPT Barcelona in sensational fashion, becoming the second Polish player to win an EPT Main Event.
Sebastian Malec wins EPT💴 Barcelona Main Event
Date Event Entrants Main Event Winner Country Prize Aug-16 EPT Barcelona 1,785 Sebastian Malec Poland €1,122,800 Oct-16 EPT💴 Malta 468 Aliaksei Boika Belarus €355,700 Dec-16 EPT Prague 1,192 Jasper Meijer van Putten Netherlands €699,300
Read More: Looking Back at💴 the European Poker Tour Part Three
PokerStars Championship
In 2024, PokerStars announced it was to overhaul its live tournament schedule. As a💴 result, the European Poker Tour was rebranded as the PokerStars Championship.
There were seven PokerStars Championship festivals:
Bahamas
Panama
Macau
Monte Carlo
Sochi
Barcelona
Prague
The PokerStars Championship was💴 discontinued after one season, with the EPT brand returning once more.
EPT Season 14 (2024)
The EPT returned in 2024 with five💴 stops including the first trip to Russia, with a visit to Casino Sochi. Arsenii Karmatckii became only the fourth Russian💴 to win an EPT title, before the tour returned to stops in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Prague.
EPT Season 15 (2024)
Season💴 15 of the European Poker Tour was unusual, in that it held the same five stops as the previous year.💴 This is the first time the tour had done this, and as a result it saw increased Main Event numbers💴 in three of the five festivals.
That included the 2024 EPT Barcelona Main Event with a staggering 1,988 entries - almost💴 as many entries as the inaugural EPT season attracted. The event was won by Sweden's Simon Brandstrom for almost €1.3💴 million.
Then, at EPT Prague, Mikalai Pobal became the second two-time winner on the EPT after defeating 1,154 players to win💴 the EPT Prague Main Event.
EPT Season 16 (2024)
In 2024, there was only one live European Poker Tour festival held as💴 a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Ruslan Bogdanov took down the EPT Sochi Main Event title forR$175,743 after a heads-up💴 deal with Viktor Tkachenko.
Date Event Entrants Main Event Winner Country Prize Oct-20 EPT Sochi 637 Ruslan Bogdanov Russia ₽15,984,500
Additionally, there💴 were 20 tournaments held online at PokerStars as part of the inaugural EPT Online. Sweden's "WhatIfGod" won theR$5,200 EPT Online💴 Main Event forR$1,019,082 after defeating Timothy Adams heads-up.
Read Full Live Updates from the EPT Online
EPT Season 17 (2024)
The only EPT💴 held in 2024 was again in Russia. The 2024 EPT Sochi Main Event was won by Artur Martirosian forR$325,316.
Date Event💴 Entrants Main Event Winner Country Prize Mar-21 EPT Sochi 852 Artur Martirosian Russia ₽24,633,000
EPT Season 18 (2024)
Following the coronavirus pandemic's💴 end, EPT Season 18 resumed to normality, with five stops occurring throughout 2024. There were two stops in Prague, Czech💴 Republic, and the tour returned to London, England, for the first time in eight years. The EPT also visited regular💴 destinations, such as Monte Carlo and Barcelona.
The EPT returned with a bang, with several events breaking attendance and prize pool💴 records throughout the year. The 2024 EPT Barcelona Main Event became the biggest of all time, with 2,294 entries recorded.💴 Italy's Guiliano Bendinelli was the victor in that tournament and pocketed the €1,491,133 allocated for first place.
DATE EVENT ENTRANTS MAIN💴 EVENT WINNER COUNTRY PRIZE Mar-22 EPT Prague 1,190 Grzegorz Glowny Poland €692,252 May-22 EPT Monte Carlo 1,073 Marcelo Simoes Mesqueu💴 Brazil €939,840 Aug-22 EPT Barcelona 2,294 Giuliano Bendinelli Italy €1,491,133 Oct-22 EPT London 749 Ian Hamilton United Kingdom €664,400 Dec-22💴 EPT Prague 1,267 Jordan Saccucci Canada €913,250
EPT All-Time Money List
RANK PLAYER COUNTRY CASHES 1 Steve O'Dwyer IrelandR$14,117,421 2 Ole Schemion💴 GermanyR$8,316,754 3 Sam Greenwood CanadaR$7,829,992 4 Adrian Mateos SpainR$6,615,652 5 Timothy Adams CanadaR$6,554,610 6 Igor Kurganov RussiaR$6,510,104 7 Bertrand Grospellier💴 FranceR$6,464,718 8 Mike McDonald CanadaR$6,461,548 9 Mike Watson CanadaR$6,329,802 10 Mustapha Kanit ItalyR$6,244,898
Top 10 Largest EPT Main Events
DATE EVENT ENTRANTS💴 WINNER COUNTRY PRIZE Aug-22 EPT Barcelona 2,294 Giuliano Bendinelli Italy €1,491,133 Sep-19 EPT Barcelona 1,988 Simon Brandstrom Sweden €1,290,166 Sep-18💴 EPT Barcelona 1,931 Piotr Nurzynski Poland €1,037,109 Aug-16 EPT Barcelona 1,785 Sebastian Malec Poland €1,122,800 Aug-15 EPT Barcelona 1,694 John💴 Juanda Indonesia €1,022,593 Jan-11 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) 1,560 Galen Hall United StatesR$2,300,000 Jan-10 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) 1,529 Harrison💴 Gimbel United StatesR$2,200,000 Aug-14 EPT Barcelona 1,496 Andre Lettau Germany €794,058 Jan-09 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) 1,347 Poorya Nazari CanadaR$3,000,000💴 Dec-22 EPT Prague 1,267 Jordan Saccucci Canada €913,250
Top 10 EPT First Place Payouts
Date Event Entrants Main Event Winner Country Prize💴 Jan-09 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) 1,347 Poorya Nazari CanadaR$3,000,000 Jan-11 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) 1,560 Galen Hall United StatesR$2,300,000 May-09💴 EPT Grand Final, Monte Carlo 935 Pieter de Korver Netherlands €2,300,000 Jan-10 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) 1,529 Harrison Gimbel United💴 StatesR$2,200,000 Apr-08 EPT Grand Final, Monte Carlo 842 Glen Chorny Canada €2,020,000 Jan-08 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) 1,136 Bertrand Grospellier💴 FranceR$2,000,000 Jan-13 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, (PCA) 987 Dimitar Danchev BulgariaR$1,859,000 Apr-07 EPT Grand Final, Monte Carlo 706 Gavin Griffin United💴 States €1,825,010 Jan-12 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) 1,072 John Dibella United StatesR$1,775,000 Apr-10 EPT Grand Final, Monte Carlo 848 Nicolas💴 Chouity Lebanon €1,700,000
European Poker Tour Destinations
The European Poker Tour has visited 23 destinations in 18 countries across Europe, not including💴 the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure held in the Bahamas from 2008-19.
The destination that has hosted the most EPT festivals is Barcelona,💴 closely followed by Monte Carlo who hosted the EPT Grand Final in every year from 2004-16 (apart from 2011 where💴 it was held in Madrid).
16: Barcelona, Spain
14: Monte Carlo, Monaco
14: Prague, Czech Republic
12: London, United Kingdom and The Bahamas
9: Deauville,💴 France
8: Copenhagen, Denmark
7: San Remo, Italy
5: Dublin, Ireland
4: Sochi, Russia; Warsaw, Poland and Berlin, Germany
3: Malta; Dortmund, Germany; Vienna, Austria💴 and Baden, Austria
2: Madrid, Spain; Vilamoura, Portugal; Tallinn Estonia and Salzburg, Austria
Only four destinations have held just one EPT festival:💴 Budapest, Hungary (2008); Kiev, Ukraine (2009); Loutraki, Greece (2011) and Campione, Italy (2012)
European Poker Tour (EPT) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
