Worldwide poker tournaments are big business. The World Series of Poker (WSOP®) draws thousands of players every year with events regularly posted huge prize pools with players looking for the ultimate – a WSOP bracelet. Come every May/June/July the world of poker cast its gaze towards Vegas for the annual jamboree and for last week’s poll we decided to look the other way.
To better understand what the rest of the non WSOP-obsessed world does we asked our readers: After the WSOP, which tournament/series if the best? This is how they voted. Bringing up the rear with 0 votes and 0 percent was the French-facing Partouche Poker Tour and Macau Poker Tour. Better luck next time. With 1 percent was the popular Other poker series. If you’ve got any more details on this don’t hesitate to get in touch. We literally haven’t the foggiest how this got on the list in the first place!
- The popular Grosvenor UK Poker Tour garnered 7 percent of the votes.
- Some of you obviously enjoyed the sunny climbs of the Punta Cana Poker Tour as 3 percent though it the best after the WSOP.
- Bronze went to the popular new kid on the block…The Asian Poker Tour with 19 percent.
- A couple of the elder statesmen took the top two spots with the European Poker Tour coming up short with 22 percent.
- That means top spot belongs to the World Poker Tour with 37 percent of voters.
The importance of tournament organizations cannot be understated in the frenetic world of poker because without these bodies, players don’t get the kind of order and structure that allows them to enter and enjoy main event tourneys to go with a smorgasbord of side events, mini tournaments, and cash games. And in a sport that offers plenty of tourney choices, the question of which poker tournament organization is the best netted a variety of answers from different players. Our very own Tatjana Pasalic sought out a number of these pros and asked them the question a lot of us are curious to find out: what is your favorite poker tournament organization?
As expected, the answers varied depending on who Tatjana asked. Some, including Jennifer Harman and Galen Hall, answered the World Poker Tour, with the latter explaining that he liked the structure of the WPT “in terms of main events.”
Yevgeniy Timonshenko also answered the WPT, albeit for a slightly different reason. “I won my biggest tournament here,” he said with a cheeky grin.
Meanwhile, Tom Marchese answered the European Poker Tour in large part because of the festival-type atmosphere those events usually exude. Though he admitted that the WPT has a better structure, Marchese points out that the EPT is where you can enjoy yourself more outside the poker table. “The EPT is kind of more fun,” he said. “The parties are cool; the locations are better; and it kind of feels more like a party and a festival.”
In addition to the WPT and the EPT, a handful of pros also answered the World Series of Poker®, most notably Sorel Mizzi, who explained that the duration and the status of the WSOP as home to the biggest tournament in the world – the WSOP Main Event – is what makes it such a huge tournament for a lot of pliers. “I would say the World Series of Poker because of the prestige behind it and the fact that you’re just there for two months and [playing poker] is all you’re doing.”
Outside of the three answers, Timonshenko also gave some love to Matt Savage, saying that all the tournaments run by, without question, the best poker tournament director in the planet today are must-attend events. The 24-year old Seattle native said: “Definitely, any event run by Matt Savage are typically well-run.”
