After a massively successful run in 2016 the Unibet Poker live tours pick up again next week in London with the first stop of the 2017 season.

The five-day Unibet Open London Festival will run February 22-26 at The Poker Room above the Grosvenor Victoria Casino and will open the curtain on the 10th season of Unibet Live.

On the schedule are 11 different tournaments including the £900+£90 Main Event, a two-day £2,020 High Roller and plenty of low buy-in side events like the £165 Turbo Bounty tournament, £110 NLH Freezeout and £330 Unibet Open Deepstack.

200 players have already qualified online for the Main Event with prize packages worth €2,000, but there’s still time to get yours.

Blom Back for Battle

Last year British pro David Shallow took home the Unibet Open London crown for £62,000 over 418 entries in total. Expectations for the field are even higher this year with several big names joining in.

Checking in in London.

Principal among them is Swedish high stakes online legend Viktor “Isildur1” Blom who will participate in a special ‘Battle Royale‘ the day before the Main Event.

Two teams of eSport gamers and Unibet Ambassadors will compete in two £10,000 freerolls for the titles of Best Unibet eSport Poker Player and Best Unibet Ambassador.

Also making appearances for the main event are Will Kassouf and Griffin Benger, who you might remember from such hands as the “Check Your Privilege” blockbuster from the 2016 WSOP Main Event.

British pro Ian Simpson, Ireland’s Dara O’Kearney and Twitch streamer Charlotte van Brabander from Belgium are also expected.

Parties, Twitch Streams and More

As has become the standard the Unibet London Festival will have a live Twitch stream for the full five-day festival with commentators Marc Convey and David Vanderheyden calling the action.

Special guests will drop by in the booth and competitions and promotions will run alongside for viewers to earn freeroll tickets, Unibet gear and more.

Much like the Battle of Malta, the Unibet Open is aimed at showing recreational poker players a good time so there will be plenty to do off the felt if you bust out of a tournament.

Welcome Drinks are to be had from 8pm – 1am on Feb. 23 at the Grand Union Bar just a few steps from The Poker Room while the blowout Unibet Players Party goes on Saturday, February 25 from 11pm to 3am at The Loop Bar.

Knows how to keep it flowing.

“We’re thrilled to be returning to London this month,” Nataly Sopacuaperu, Unibet Open’s Head of Events and Sponsorship, says, “with a very exciting festival planned at The Poker Room.

“We look forward to welcoming hundreds of players to the UK capital. Unibet London is a great opportunity for our players to experience high quality poker in a fantastic tourist location, with plenty of culture.”

Brighton, Copenhagen Up Next

If you miss Unibet London your window is far from closed as there are plenty more Unibet stops planned for 2017.

Next up for the bigger Unibet Open series will be the Unibet Open Copenhagen from May 25-28. The dates for 2017 Unibet UK Poker Tour have also now been released with the first event planned for Brighton Mar. 17-19. Check the list of UK Poker Tour stops below:

* Brighton March 17-19
* Glasgow June 2-4
* Nottingham August 25-27
* Brighton October 27-29
* Manchester December 8-10

There are also 10 events scheduled for this year’s Unibet Deepstacks tour including four in France, Marrakech, Lloret de Mar, Malta and Vienna.

If you’d like to hear a bit more about the Unibet Tour and its objective from the people behind it, watch this short documentary below: