European poker tour - One of the successful poker event

The European Poker Tour will produce and create seven exciting programs, each 90-minutes long, showcasing the most prestigious tournaments across Europe. The series will culminate in a Grand Final Event in the magnificent surroundings of the Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco. This final event will include ten finalists and runners up selected from the six EPT preliminary events. Those players will then compete for the title of EPT Series 6 Grand Champion.

The European Poker Tour was launched following the immense success of the World Poker Tour which was based largely in the United States. Known as the EPT, the series follows the best poker players in the world touring across the major European Tournaments. Just as the World Poker Tour not only contributed, but was also a product of the growth in popularity of Texas Hold’em Poker across the Americas, the European Poker Tour was in part at least a response to the explosion of poker throughout Europe. Successful and talented poker players originating from Europe were becoming more and more visible at major poker events – players including Ram Vaswani and the other Hendon Mob players, Marcel Luske, Bruno Fitoussi and Dave Ulliot to name but a few.

The European Poker Tour allows 8 players at the final table, as opposed to the World Poker Tour which only allows 6. The finalists and runners up from the previous tournaments play against each other in the Grand Final for the title of European Poker Tour Champion, and a first prize in the region of €650,000.

In 2004, a dedicated and innovative team was formed that created and continues to drive the European Poker Tour. This team aimed not only to create a successful television series, but also to promote poker as a recognized sport, not only across Europe, but across the world.

The European Poker Tour still operates on a smaller scale to the World Poker Tour – the buy-ins are on average half the size of the WPT, which in turn means that the prize funds are also smaller. Having said that, the prizes being won are still in the region of $100,000, making the tournament events fully worthwhile for many high ranking players. The events are held in the UK, France, Denmark, Spain, Ireland and Germany, with the series final held in one of the most illustrious gambling capitals in the world – Monte Carlo, Monaco.