Pokerstars has announced six stops for the forthcoming 12th season of its European Poker Tour – kicking off with the EPT’s 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:
EPT Barcelona: August 19-30, 2015
EPT Malta: October 21-31, 2015
EPT Prague: December 6-16, 2015
Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure: January 6-14, 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.
Many fans will welcome the EPT’s return – after an eight-season gap – to Dublin. The Irish capital has an enthusiastic poker community and was one of the first stops on the European Poker Tour back in October 2004.
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 successful debut there last month. Nearly 2,500 players from 73 countries competed in 69 events during the festival and more than Euro 18.5 million was awarded in prize money (see previous report).
Prague in the Czech Republic will again host the EPT in December, and the Tour moves to 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 Tuesday: “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 Euro 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.”