partypoker Announces 2018 Online Festival Schedule, Signs Philipp Gruissem
While other sites are cutting down on their poker offerings, partypoker is doing the exact opposite. The online poker room has just released its plans to host 11 different online poker festivals this year.
Shortly after publishing its online festival plans, partypoker announced Germany's Philipp Gruissem as its latest ambassador. The signing takes Gruissem full circle as according to a partypoker press release, he found his first success in poker playing at the online poker room which spurred a passion for the game.
"It was this win that drove me to learn more about the game,” shared Gruissem.
The German has found success both in the online poker arena where he has amassed more than $3.5 million in online cashes according to PocketFives, and in live poker as well where he has accumulated more than $11 million in cashes according to The Hendon Mob.
He has managed to give back to the community by co-founding the Raising for Effective Giving (REG) charity and is excited about joining partypoker as an ambassador.
“I feel great about joining partypoker!" Gruissem said. "They are now bringing healthy competition back into the market and partypoker has a new and fresh vibe that will grow our poker community.”
Part of the "new and fresh vibe" that Gruissem is excited about is partypoker's expanded online poker festival schedule. Here is a look at what's on tap:
Powerfest
The seventh edition of Powerfest featuring 147 events with $15 million in guarantees is currently in full force. The events are broken out into Low, Medium and High tournaments with the buy-ins of each approximately 10-times the lower tier.
The current festival culminates on Feb. 4 with three Main Events and three events with mouth-watering $1 million in guaranteed prize pools.
Powerfest will run two more times during the year on May 6-20 and again on Sept. 2-23. In addition to the huge prizes players can strive for, partypoker also hosts many promotions during the festival including Golden Chips for Main Event qualifiers, Powerfest missions, leaderboards, satellite promotions and double cashback points on selected days.
Knockout Series
On Feb. 25 to March 4, partypoker will be hosting its first Knockout Series where in each tournament, every player will have a bounty on their head.
Like Powerfest, the Knockout Series will be divided into three tiers with tons of satellites available so players regardless of the size of their bankroll can participate. The festival features tournaments with buy-ins ranging from $1.10 to $530 and the final day features a Main Event with a $215 buy-in and a $1 million guarantee.
In addition to the inaugural Knockout Series, partypoker will host two more in 2018, from June 2-10 and again Oct. 28 - Nov. 4.
Monster Series
The Monster Series, which made its debut in October, was popular among low- and mid-stakes players and is back again three times this year from April 29 - May 6, July 29 – Aug. 6 and Nov. 18-25.
During the inaugural festival, partypoker divided Monster Series events into two tiers. For the upcoming festivals, partypoker will instead utilize three tiers for Micro, Low and Mid events. Each of the tiers will of course feature tons of variety and separate Main Events.
MILLIONS Online
Leveraging off the highly successful partypoker Live MILLIONS launched early last year, partypoker hosted its first ever Online Millions in December. The event featured a huge $5,300 along with a massive $5 million guaranteed prize pool.
The event was the largest in partypoker history with 1,047 entrants, smashing the guarantee by generating a $5,135,000 prize pool. American poker refugee and renowned Jonathan "sordykrd" Van Fleet shipped the event for a huge $1,027,000 haul to become partypoker's single biggest winner in its almost two-decade history.
This year's edition of the MILLIONS Online, taking place Nov. 25 to Dec. 5, will not only set a new partypoker record but an online poker record for the biggest prize pool thanks to the lofty $20 million guarantee slapped on the event.
With huge expectations, partypoker will roll out online satellites starting at just one penny on Feb. 5, almost 10 months before the event begins. Additionally, it will award $3 million in seats through a leaderboard and players that finish in the top 10 spots in any partypoker Live MILLIONS event will also be awarded a free entry to the prestigious event.
High Roller Series
Partypoker will be hosting the brand-new High Roller Series while the MILLIONS Online takes place from Nov. 25 to Dec. 2. The eight-day festival will attract some of the biggest names of poker with all of the events featuring a buy-in of at least $530.
partypoker Ambassador Patrick Leonard explained that poker festivals are what players, including himself, strive for.
"Festivals to me is what tournament poker is all about," Leonard said. "You slog about all year honing your skills and testing strategies that you work on off the table all for that one big moment you get during a festival where you’re playing for huge prizes with great structures. Both live and online partypoker festival titles are seen as important as any to players through all stakes."
partypoker Online Tournament Festival Schedule
| Festival | Dates |
|---|---|
| partypoker Powerfest | Jan. 21 - Feb. 4 |
| partypoker KO Series | Feb. 25 - March 4 |
| partypoker Monster Series | April 29 – May 6 |
| partypoker Powerfest | May 6 – May 20 |
| partypoker KO Series | June 2 – June 10 |
| partypoker Monster Series | July 29 – Aug. 6 |
| partypoker Powerfest | Sept. 2 – Sept. 23 |
| partypoker KO Series | Oct. 28 – Nov. 4 |
| partypoker Monster Series | Nov. 18 – Nov. 25 |
| partypoker MILLIONS Online + HR Series | Nov. 25 – Dec. 5 |
