Short schedule, as always
As the 2022 winds to a close, it is not just time to look back on the year that was, but also to look ahead at what is to come. To that end, PokerStars has announced the schedule for the upcoming 2023 European Poker Tour (EPT) season.
features some of the most popular events on the poker calendar
Of the major poker tours, the EPT has by far the shortest schedule, but it also features some of the most popular events on the poker calendar. The 2023 schedule has just five stops, spread from February to December. The biggest gap is between the second and third tour stops, about three and a half months, right in the middle of the year. It makes sense, though, as late May to mid-July is effectively reserved for the World Series of Poker, so there is no reason to try to compete with the granddaddy of all poker festivals.
And if the WSOP Europe is late October to mid-November like it was this year, the fourth EPT event serves as a nice lead-in.
“The schedule includes our players’ firm favorites, the first time in the glamorous French capital and another exciting new addition to the tour,” said PokerStars head of global live event operations Cedric Billot. “Cyprus is the perfect location to add to our schedule and we look forward to bringing all that an EPT has to offer to this new location. We will continue to improve player experience both for online qualifications and at our live events.”
Paris, Cyprus welcomed to the party
The 2023 EPT season starts off with one of two new stops, as Billot mentioned above: Paris. Running February 15-26 at the Hyatt Regency Paris Etoile in partnership with Le Club Barrière Paris, EPT Paris will have 39 total events, including France Poker Series tournaments. The €5,300 ($5,580) EPT Paris Main Event will have two starting days and run February 20-26.
The spring tour stop, the one before the break for the WSOP, is EPT Monte-Carlo, April 26 – May 6. The full schedule has not been released, but the €5,300 Main Event has been confirmed for April 30 – May 6. In late summer, it is time for one of the most popular stops on any tour, EPT Barcelona, slated for August 21 – September 3. The EPT Barcelona Main Event begins August 27.
EPT Cyprus is the other new location on the European Poker Tour in 2023. Hosted by the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel & Casino & Spa, EPT Cyprus is scheduled for October 11-22, with the Main Event beginning October 16.
The final stop on the 2023 European Poker Tour is the tried and true EPT Prague, December 4-15. Like the other non-Paris stops, the full schedule is still under construction, but PokerStars has said the Main Event is December 9-15.
EPT Prague still to come next week
Though we are looking ahead to 2023, there is still business left to take care of on the European Poker Tour in 2022. Just like next year’s schedule ends with EPT Prague, this year’s EPT season also concludes in the Czech Republic capital. Hosted by King’s Casino Prague, EPT Prague begins December 7 and runs through December 18.
There are 53 events on the EPT Prague schedule, some of which are part of the Eureka Poker Tour, or simply “Eureka,” as PokerStars now calls it. Eureka is a tour that focuses on Central and Eastern Europe.
The EPT Prague Main Event, which has a €5,300 buy-in like all the others, will be December 12-18. It allows for a single re-entry, two entries maximum across both starting flights.