Master Classics of Poker Plans to Return to Holland Casino Amsterdam on Nov. 13-20

September 03, 2021

Jason Glatzer

After a year off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the iconic Master Classics of Poker announced it plans to return for its 29th edition to Holland Casino Amsterdam on Nov. 13-20. The plans are pending a press conference of the national government on September 17 with organizers hoping that the 1.5-meter distance regulations will be lifted allowing not only for the festival to take place, but also allow Holland Casino to offer poker once again.

Holland Casino will make its final decision about the festival after the press conference including releasing this year's schedule if the event is allowed to take place.

Director of Gaming & Services at Holland Casino Pieter Boers made the following announcement about the festival according to CasinoNieuws.nl (translated from Dutch to English):

"We are very happy to finally be able to get back into poker. Even if it is still only with the planning and preparations. We can't wait to finally be able to receive poker players again in Holland Casino after a year and a half. We had to cancel the 2020 edition of the Master Classics of Poker because of Corona. The health and safety of our guests and employees naturally came first. Nevertheless, we are now hopeful of organizing another Master Classics of Poker. In addition, we are also busy preparing for the reintroduction of the live poker offer in our branches. What the event will look like exactly and when and how we can offer live poker again."

About the Master Classics of Poker

The Master Classics of Poker is one of the longest-standing poker festivals not only in Europe but around the world. The festival began with humble beginnings in 1992 with a small 7-card stud event won by a local poker player Eng Angh for ƒ18,600 (€8,749).

The following year, the Main Event switched to no-limit hold'em where it remains that day. British poker player Surinder Sunar won that event for ƒ41,800 (€19,661).

Dutch player Belinda Blokker won the Main Event in 1995 before there was a 16-year gap between the next Dutch winner in David Boyaciyan in 2011. The Dutch have had better success in the Main Event during the past decade with Noah Boeken (2013), Ruben Visser (2014), Alberto Stegeman (2018), and defending champion Kevin Paqué (2019) all hoisting the trophy.

Master Classics of Poker Main Event Champions (1992-2019)

Year	Winner	Country	Entries	Buy-in	Top Prize
2019	Kevin Paqué	Netherlands	346	€4,300	€260,878
2018	Alberto Stegeman	Netherlands	293	€4,300	€240,183
2017	Claas Segebrecht	Germany	285	€4,300	€235,087
2016	Abdelhakim Zoufri	Netherlands	356	€4,250	€275,608
2015	Jussi Nevanlinna	Finland	291	€4,250	€300,000
2014	Ruben Visser	Netherlands	298	€4,250	€225,000*
2013	Noah Boeken	Netherlands	298	€4,250	€306,821
2012	Ole Schemion	Germany	212	€5,250	€286,200
2011	David Boyaciyan	Netherlands	294	€5,000	€382,200
2010	Marcel Bjerkmann	Norway	249	€6,000	€403,380
2009	Kristoffer Thorsson	Sweden	342	€6,200	€636,120
2008	Jan Sorensen	Denmark	335	€6,200	€623,100
2007	Trond Eidsvig	Norway	428	€5,100	€620,600
2006	Ali Jalali	Germany	345	€5,000	€700,000
2005	Thomas Middelthon	Norway	264	€5,000	€528,000
2004	Robert Mizrachi	United States	188	€5,000	€372,240
2003	Johan Storakers	Sweden	205	€3,020	€243,540
2002	Angelo Yu	China	198	€3,020	€168,000
2001	Graham Hiew	United Kingdom	170	ƒ5,040	ƒ336,600
2000	Steve Liu	United Kingdom	159	ƒ5,000	ƒ314,820
1999	Ram Vaswani	United Kingdom	135	ƒ5,000	ƒ276,300
1998	Asher Derei	United Kingdom	125	ƒ5,000	ƒ247,500
1997	Bjorn Janson	Germany	90	ƒ5,000	ƒ178,200
1996	Mike Magee	Ireland	122	ƒ1,000	ƒ80,360
1995	Belinda Blokker	Netherlands	96	ƒ1,000	ƒ84,909
1994	G Hawass	Unknown		ƒ1,075	ƒ56,050
1993	Surinder Sunar	United Kingdom		ƒ2,000	ƒ41,800
1992	Eng Angh	Netherlands		ƒ1,000	ƒ18,600