Season 12 of the European Poker Tour Is Here!
Welcome to Barcelona, Spain, and the kickoff event of Season 12 of the European Poker Tour!
Nestled on the northeast coast of the Iberian Peninsula, looking out towards the beautiful Mediterranean Sea, the City of Counts has been a home to the EPT since its inception. Only three times in the history of the tour was Barcelona not the starting event of season, but we find ourselves here once again for another exciting poker offering.
This year's EPT Barcelona festival plans to be bigger and better than ever, evidenced by the large expansion of playing space added for both cash games and tournaments. It's those tournaments that PokerNews is here to focus on, specifically the €50,000 Super High Roller, the €5,300 Main Event, the €25,500 Single-Day High Roller, and the €10,300 High Roller, and today is the beginning of the biggest buy-in of them all.
The first time the €50,000 Super High Roller appeared on the EPT Barcelona schedule was in Season 9, three years back in 2012. That tournament proved to be an impressive affair with 64 total entries, a prize pool of nearly €3.1 million, and one of the brightest young stars of the game, Dan Smith, taking home the top prize of €962,925.
The following year, Vitaly Lunkin topped field of 51 total entries to claim the €771,300 top prize, and then in last season's event, 77 entries and a prize pool of just under €3.7 million was produced. Heads-up play came down to the mentor and the mentee, with Olivier Busquet taking on Daniel Colman. In the end, it was the teacher that emerged victorious after the two struck a deal, and Busquet took the title and the €896,434 first-place prize.
Guesses pertaining to the field size have been circulating more and more in the lead up to this event, and right now it looks as though we should see something in the realm of 60-70 entries. Of course, it could be more or it could be less, but seeing just how big this one will get is all part of the fun.
Another part of the guessing game has to do with which players will show up to compete. We do know that Dominik Nitsche, David Peters, and Dzmitry Urbanovich all won a seat to this event via a satellite tournament last night, so they should be in the mix. We also know that JC Alvarado, who finished runner-up to Smith in 2012, is already in Barcelona, along with Max Altergott, Igor Kurganov, Philipp Gruissem, and Ole Schemion.
Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier has already arrived from across the pond, too, coming off a big win of more than $500,000 in the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open $25,000 High Roller. That marked his fourth six-figure score of 2015, and those have been the last four cashes he's recorded in a year that's already seen him earn more than $2.1 million.
On the flip side, one person that we know won't be here is Daniel Negreanu. Negreanu has been going hard all around the globe for several months now, and he's finally taking some time for a little break from poker following conclusion of the World Series of Poker and wrap up of the PokerStars Pro Tour.
The cards are scheduled to be in the air at 12:30 p.m. local time. Each player will begin with 250,000 in tournament chips, the levels will last 60 minutes, and the blinds will begin at 500/1,000 with a 100 ante. Eight levels are on the slate for Day 1, and participants will be allowed unlimited reentry up until registration closes at 12:15 p.m. on Day 2.
According to the official EPT structure sheet, there will not be a dinner break on Day 1. That should see play end right around 9:30 p.m. local time — enough time to head out into the city or down along the beach for some food, drinks, and smiles.
The anticipation is high and growing by the minute, so stay tuned right here to PokerNews for live coverage that will begin shortly.