Calling the Clock: party and Stars announce epic live and online events

Calling The Clock: party and Stars announce epic live and online events

In this week’s Calling The Clock, partypoker and PokerStars announce plans to host two of the most significant online and live events in 2018; a round-up of live tournament results from across the globe, and much more. 

Calling The Clock: party and Stars announce epic live and online eventsIt’s not easy being a poker writer this time of the year. Trying to find print worthy stories is as tricky as trying to explain to your other half that your genital wart is a birthmark.

But this week was different.

Very different.

PokerStars and partypoker traded two mighty blows in their scrap for ultimate supremacy, and the net result is a great time to be a poker player: recreational or professional.

It began with PokerStars announcing at the PokerStars Championship Prague that it would be the last Championship held under that particular banner. A year after euthanising the European Poker Tour (EPT), Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT), and the Asian Pacific Poker Tour (APAT), PokerStars promised to bring the three of them back to life.

These three tributaries will run into an annual $25,000 buy-in event called the PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em Player’s Championship (PSPC). The first event begins Jan 2019 at the Atlantis Resort, Bahamas, as a prelude to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA).

To ensure the very best players in the game flock to the Bahamas to compete in the event, PokerStars promise to send 300+ players to the event for free, in the form of Platinum Passes worth $30k. That’s $8m of added value, and they went one step further by adding $1m on top of the first prize, whatever that may be.

The first two passes went to Mihai Manole and Andrzej Siemieniak, who bubbled the PokerStars Championship Prague Main Event. A further 19 will end up in the hands of punters playing online and live throughout January. You can read all about it right here.

Take that partypoker.

Kapow!

The poker community didn’t have time to digest that significant morsel when partypoker parried and clubbed.

Bosh!

Buoyed by the success of the inaugural partypoker MILLIONS Online, the pretenders to the PokerStars crown promised to guarantee $20m for the second MILLIONS Online event due to take place in December 2018.

Two of the biggest online and live tournaments in the history of the sport announced in a week.

Other partypoker and PokerStars News 

In other partypoker and PokerStars related news, party slapped their name on the Eurasian Poker Tour (EAPT) Prague Festival this week. Jerome Sgorrano defeated 825 entrants to win the €126,500 first prize in the Main Event, Andrey Novak beat 109 entrants to win the €140,000 first prize in the €5,300 High Roller and Johannes Becker won €500,000 after beating 71 entrants in the €25k buy-in Super High Roller.

PokerStars ended their 2018 live campaign with the PokerStars Championship Prague. Kalidou Sow beat 855 entrants to win the Main Event title and €675,000. Danny Tang defeated 256 entrants to win the €381,000 first prize in the €10k High Roller after cutting a deal with Sergio Aido (who received €449,000). And Igor Kurganov rose to the top of a 52-entrant €25k buy-in Super High Roller to bank €371,250.

Elsewhere, the French gaming regulator, ARJEL, handed PokerStars the first license to do battle in the soon to be formed shared liquidity player pool. PokerStars is the only entity with bases in France, Italy, Portugal and Spain.

World Series of Poker Sydney Results 

The World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) Sydney was a resounding success. Michael Kanaan won the $394,837 first prize after beating 1,067 entrants in the Main Event. Andy Lee won the $206,581 first prize after defeating 36 entrants in the $15k High Roller. And Timothy Ulmer won two rings after taking down the $1,200 NLHE Six-Max event for $70,428, and the A$660 NLHE Bounty Event for $27,724.

Bits and Bobs 

The world went a little crazy this week when the owners of the Poker.com domain name put it up for sale for $20m, Alex Dreyfus announced a partnership with Kwan Entertainment for his initial foray into India with the Global Poker League (GPL). Fedor Holz invested in the esports outfit Team Envy, and I wrote a book review of He Played For His Wife, without reading it, and shared my thoughts that poker players overestimate their abilities Why Players Smelling of Lemon Juice May Suffer The Dunning-Kruger Effect.

Time ladies & gentlemen.

Someone has just called the clock.