The European Poker Tour, better known as the EPT, was established back in 2004 not only to parallel the World Poker Tour in the US, but also to provide the world with access to poker via television. Each year the buy-in and size of this international tournament has grown, and now in its fifth season, the EPT is now an equal match to the WPT.
Sponsored by PokerStars, this major tournament grew out of a world-wide fascination with Texas Hold ‘em, and has helped make the PokerStars brand a world-wide name. The EPT was created by John Duthie, a well-known director for many popular British television dramas and high-stakes poker player. Duthie placed first in the 2000 Poker Million, winning £1 million live on television, bringing poker into the mainstream in the UK, much like Chris Moneymaker did for poker in the US when he won the WSOP. Duthie is also a commentator for the televised shows that cover the best moments from the EPT.
The final tables at the EPT live events are sprinkled with US players, like Phil Ivey, who won second place in the 2006 Barcelona Open in the third season. However, for the most part, the players in these events are generally non-US players, who are generally unknown in the poker realm. That is of course, until some of them end up on TV, as the EPT show is televised in more than 40 countries worldwide. Much of the circuit can be viewed at PokerStars.tv, where videos of the seasons are logged along with video blogs.
The EPT is known for its satellites on PokerStars that award seats for a few dollars. These prize packages include accommodations for winning players and even come with some extra spending cash. These qualifiers will become more and more popular as the buy-ins increase. Last season saw more than 1600 players from the PokerStars satellites. With the age limit set at 18 and over, these tournaments are often populated by young players waiting to become legal in the US. The youngest winner of the EPT is Mike McDonald, who won in 2008 at the age of 18 after playing poker for only six months.
Starting out the fifth season in Barcelona, Spain back in September 2008 and culminating in April/May 2009 at the Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco, it promises to be an exciting and lucrative tour for many poker players. There are nine scheduled events for the season, all of which are freezeout tournaments featuring Texas Hold ‘em as the game of play. The fifth season will visit London, England; Warsaw, Poland; Prague, Czech Republic; Deauville, France; Copenhagen, Denmark; Dortmund, Germany; and San Remo, Italy.
On the eve of the fifth season opener in Barcelona, a new tradition was started, as the EPT Awards honored poker players like Luca Pagano as Player of the Year and Mike McDonald as Best Overseas Player and People’s Choice, which was decided upon by an online vote. The swanky event, held at the Opium Bar, was hosted by Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu and Gloria Balding, PokerNews reporter.