Poker tournament in Europe
Old logo used prior to 2024
Old logo used from 2024 to
2024
The European Poker Tour (EPT) is a series of poker tournaments similar to those in
the World Poker Tour (WPT), created by John Duthie, winner of the inaugural Poker
Million tournament. It began in 2004 as part of the worldwide explosion in Texas Hold
'em popularity. Since 2011 the EPT has been sponsored and wholly owned and controlled
by PokerStars the online casino and taped by Sunset + Vine for television broadcast
across Europe.
In seasons 1-3, the most significant difference between the competing
poker tours was the buy-in and its effect on the prize pool, with the EPT featuring
buy-ins about half the size of the WPT. This changed in season 4 when the buy-in for
most EPT events was increased to €8,000 (due to increased popularity and lack of space
in participating casinos[1]). At 2007 exchange rates, this is approximately equal to
the US$10,000 which is the buy-in for most WPT events.
Furthermore, the final table is
made up of 8 players, as opposed to the 6 player final tables popularised by the
WPT.
For the first couple of seasons, Duthie commentated for the show alongside Colin
Murray. Since the middle of Season 3, James Hartigan has been the lead commentator,
with professional players Greg Raymer, Daniel Negreanu and Victoria Coren Mitchell
providing analysis. Hartigan also presents the live webcast[2] from each event. The TV
show was first hosted by Caroline Flack, then joined by Natalie Pinkham. Seasons 4 and
5 were hosted by Kara Scott, while Seasons 6 and 7 were fronted by Michelle Orpe. Since
Season 8, there have been four different presenters with Kristy Arnett, Sarah Grant,
Laura Cornelius and Lynn Gilmartin, with commentators James Hartigan and Joe Stapleton
presenting the TV shows.
2010 EPT Berlin robbery [ edit ]
On 6 March 2010 four masked
men, armed with knives and at least one hand gun robbed the EPT event in Berlin.
According to the police, the robbers got away with €242,000. No one was seriously
injured, only one guard got a minor cut while trying to detain one of the robbers. The
panic which gripped the crowd was briefly captured on the live webcast before the
camera cut away. The attackers were caught several days after the robbery and later
convicted and sentenced to three years in prison.[3]
2024 rebranding [ edit ]
In 2024,
the series was discontinued and rebranded as the PokerStars Championship. However, this
only lasted one year and the EPT returned in 2024.[4]
2024 EPT Online [ edit ]
In 2024,
three scheduled stops on the EPT (in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Prague) were cancelled
due to the COVID-19 pandemic – a fourth event (in Sochi) continued as planned.
An
inaugural EPT Online series took place on sponsor site PokerStars instead, running from
8–18 November 2024. The series comprised 20 tournaments, including aR$5,200 Main Event,
fourR$10,300 High Roller events, and aR$25,000 Super High Roller. The Main Event, which
had aR$5 million guaranteed prize pool, attracted 1,304 entries. The final prize pool
came toR$6.52 million, of whichR$1,019,082 went to the eventual winner "WhatIfGod",
with Timothy Adams finishing as runner-up.[5]
EPT Main Event winners [ edit ]
