888Poker has followed Unibet in leveraging the current interest in the Olympic Games with a suitably branded competitive micro-series.
The company has followed Unibet’s “Road to Rio” tourneys with the 888Poker Summer ChampionChips Series, which kicks off this Sunday and, like the Olympics in Rio, runs through to August 21.
888Poker has invested $150,000 in guarantees on the project, which comprises 18 events, each with an Olympic theme and a format designed to attract mainly recreational players.
Most of the buy-ins are in the $1 to $12 range, although there is a $55 buy-in on the Weightlifting High Roller on August 16 which carries a guaranteed $30,000 prize pool. There’s also a $30 buy-in Marathon main event on August 21 which carries a $50,000 guaranteed prize pool.
The company is running supporting satellites as well, with small buy-ins and also plenty of free rolls and a 2,000 ceiling on player participation for each. These will enable up to 50 players to qualify for the Olympic themed events.
Completing the Olympic reference, a leader board will be running, with the top players winning $1,000 in cash for gold; $500 for silver, and $250 for the bronze, along with other prizes for the following 200 places on the list.