PokerStars live events are coming back with a bang after the site staggered through the past couple of years with their live tournament series. Stiff competition from rival sites that upped their game in the same period was bound to cause a bit of a stir in the industry and they have indeed given PokerStars a run for its money when it comes live poker festivals.
In response to the growing competition, Daniel Negreanu on behalf of PokerStars announced the PokerStars Players No-Limit Hold’em Championship (PSPC). The announcement that was made in Prague highlighted the juiciest $25,000 buy-in event that is set to be held in the Bahamas and is anticipated to be the best event come 2019.
There are, of course, a plethora of $25,000 buy-in events around, but PokerStars will be giving out 300 free Platinum Passes or PSPC packages each worth $30,000 in preparation for 2019 – this will be done all through 2018 and will also include hotel and travel expenses. As such, by the end of 2018, PokerStars will have pumped about $8 million into the championship’s prize pool with an additional $1 million to be added to the first-place prize as soon as the event kicks off on January 6th, 2019.
“We expect the PokerStars Players No Limit Hold’em Championship will set the new global standard for live poker tournaments,” said Rafi Ashkenazi, the Chief Executive Officer of The Stars Group. “We want to demonstrate and reinforce our commitment to the game, and give something back to the players by investing in our live events in a meaningful way. Our objective is to create an event that brings professionals and amateurs together, creating many winning moments and unforgettable stories.”
Thanks to this new initiative, 300 ordinary or upcoming poker players will have a shot at playing alongside poker bigwigs for the mind-boggling prize money without having to battle through fields of thousands of players before they get to the final table. The next batch of Platinum Passes are to be awarded in the online Winter Series event that will take place from December 25th to January 7th – so be sure to add that to your calendar especially if you are not within U.S borders. More Platinum passes will be handed to poker players during the PSL Macau, IPO in Italy, PokerStars Festival London and all through 2018 till all the 300 Platinum Passes are in the hands of the lucky poker dreamers. Also, look out for the Platinum Passes at the PokerStars signature online series WCOOP, SCOOP as well as Sunday Million and Sunday Storm events.
