Welcome to the Kickoff of Season 11 and the 100th EPT Event in History!
"It's hot, it's sunny, the water's perfect, we're in a city brimming with style and culture, and we're going to spend the whole weekend indoors!"
That was Caroline Flack's opening monologue on the premier broadcast of the EPT, which debuted way back in 2004. While very much has changed over the years on the European Poker Tour, a few things remain the same — the weather is beautiful, the city is buzzing, and the EPT has once again embarked on Barcelona.
It's been exactly nine years and 11 months since the first-ever EPT event was held right here in Barcelona that saw Alexander Stevic conquer the field, and just look how far the tour has come. Today marks the kickoff of Season 11 on the EPT, but more importantly this is the 100th event ever for the prestigious tour, and it's only fitting to host it right back here in the City of Gaudi.
The festivities will begin with a bang, as today marks the start of EPT Barcelona's €50,000 Super High Roller event. While much more than just a weekend will be spent indoors, this event truly marks the kickoff of the 2014-2015 poker season. Since the completion of the World Series of Poker's summer schedule with the setting of the 2014 November Nine, players, fans, and industry members have had some downtime, but the break is over. For the next 10 days, Casino Barcelona will play host to several marquee poker tournaments as millions and millions of Euros shall be awarded.
The €50,000 Super High Roller was added to EPT Barcelona's schedule in Season 9, and it was Dan Smith who took the inaugural title and earned €962,925. Smith defeated a field of 64 entries (54 unique entries with nine reentries) and topped a final table that included JC Alvarado, Mike Watson, Ilari Sahamies, Mike McDonald, Erik Seidel, and Talal Shakerchi.
The event returned for Season 10, but the field size dropped to 51 entries (40 unique entries with 11 reentries). Taking home the €771,300 first-place prize was Vitaly Lunkin after he defeated Seidel heads up. Steve O'Dwyer, Mike McDonald, David Benefield, Ole Schemion, and Fabian Quoss were also at the final table.
Notably, Seidel and McDonald earned back-to-back final tables in the event and could notch a third in a row this year. It is likely that both players will be in the field, and Seidel was seen arriving at the Barcelona airport on Sunday afternoon.
This year's event will kick off on Monday at noon local time in Barcelona, with each player beginning with 250,000 in tournament chips. The blinds will begin at 500/1,000/100, and there are eight 60-minute levels of play on the Day 1 schedule.
That means things are almost ready to roll, and we'll be right back shortly with the starting coverage of the €50,000 Super High Roller from the EPT's first stop of Season 11. Stay tuned!