Season 5 - European Poker Tour
Season 5 of the European Poker Tour sponsored by PokerStars starts on September 10, 2008. The first stop is at Barcelona and the grand finale at Monte Carlo. The other cities where the EPT will take place include London, Prague, Copenhagen, Warsaw, Dortmund, San Remo and Deauville.
This year London will witness its first ever European Poker Tour high roller event during the EPT main event in October. A whopping £20,000 + £300 buy-in expected to take place in a No Limit Hold'em tournament over two days. The final table will be telecasted on television. An added incentive pitched in by PokerStars is that of a guaranteed £1 million prize pool.
The poker game played at the EPT Season 5 will be No Limit Texas Hold’em. The buy-in for all events in the season will be €8,000 or its equivalent in the local currency, except for the grand finale in Monte Carlo, which will have a buy-in of €10,000. All the main events in the EPT are freezeouts.
The eligibility criterion for entry into the EPT requires that every participant complete and sign a TV release form. The minimum age for participation is typically decided by the host casino but in most cases is 18 years.
It is recommended that a person wishing to participate in the EPT events should try to win by playing in one of the PokerStars satellites. The buy-in here starts from 42.22 or 111 Frequent Player Points (FPP). There will also be free satellites where you may use your FPPs to buy-in. However, in the event that you fail to qualify and still wish to participate, you can directly buy into a tournament through the host casino, each of which will list the specifics for that event.
The EPT Steps satellite is another great way for players to qualify for only $7.50 or 500 FPP. You can simply buy-in at any level to take on eight players in a single table tournament. In the event that you finish in the top two, you will be eligible to move up the ladder. If you reach Step 6, you will have a chance to enter the EPT package that includes your buy-in and luxury accommodation.
Winners of EPT Season 5 at a glance -
| TOURNA | DATES | BUY-IN | NO. OF PLAYERS | PRIZE POOL | WINNER | No. of PS Qualifiers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BARCELONA OPEN | Sep 10-14 2008 | €8,000 | 619 | €4,952,000 | Sebastian Ruthenberg €1,361,000 | 168 |
| LONDON | October 1-5 2008 | £5,200 | 596 | £3,349,200 (€4,286,976) | Michael Martin £1,000,000 | 234 |
| LONDON £1 MILLION SHOWDOWN | October 5-6 2008 | £20,000 | 85 | £1,700,000 (€1,914,588) | Jason Mercier £516,000 (€1,894,957) | 24 |
| HUNGARIAN OPEN | Oct 28 - Nov 1 2008 | €4,350 | 532 | €2,128,000 | Will Fry €595,839 | 157 |
| WARSAW | 15 - 19 November 2008 | 21,000 PLN | 217 | €1,172,972 | João Barbosa €367,141 | 77 |
| PRAGUE | 9 - 13 December 2008 | €5,250 | 570 | €2,764,500 | Salvatore Bonavena €774,000 | 128 |
| PCA | 5-10 January 2009 | $10,000 | 1,347 | $12,674,000 (€9,667,911) | Poorya Nazari $3,000,000 | 1,059 |
| PCA High Roller | 7-8 January 2009 | $25,000 | 48 | $1,200,000 (€915,312) | Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier $433,500 | 6 |
| EPT Deauville | 20-24 January 2009 | €5,300 | 645 | €3,096,000 | Moritz Kranich €851,400 | 155 |
| EPT Copenhagen | 17-21 February 2009 | 50,000 DKK | 462 | 22,176,000 DKK (€2,976,465) | Jens Kyllönen 6,541,920 DKK(€878,057) | 157 |
| EPT Dortmund | 10-14 March 2009 | €5,300 | 667 | €3,335,000 | Sandra Naujoks €917,000 | 214 |
| EPT San Remo | 18 - 23 April 2009 | €5,300 | 1,178 | €5,713,300 | Constant Rijkenberg €1,508,000 | 532 |
| EPT MONTE CARLO | 28 April - 3 May 2009 | €10,600 | 935 | €9,350,000 | €2,300,000 Pieter de Korver | 356 |
