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)
