European Poker Tour (EPT)
There’s hard to discuss world-renowned live poker tours without mentioning the EPT. EPT or European Poker Tour saw the light of day in 2004 when founder poker entity PokerStars organized for the first time in Barcelona. Since then the EPT has kept on growing bigger and bigger and the tour is still going strong today attracting some of the biggest names in the game. Everyone wants to get their hands on an EPT trophy.
EPT – A Brief History
Presumably, Sweden’s Alexander Stevic didn’t know exactly how big the EPT would become after he secured the maiden EPT title in Barcelona 2004. His €80 000 first place payout looks somewhat pale compared to what an EPT win brings today, with the number being close to €1M.
The EPT was off to a solid start and the following years there were roughly 10 EPT stops per year. The tour grew in popularity and famous poker professionals were eager to snag a title of their own. A lot of big names have won an EPT title in their career, including Patrik Antonius, Jason Mercier, Jens Kyllönen, and many many more.
In 2017, PokerStars rebranded the EPT to PSC (PokerStars Championship). However, this attempt to change things up only lasted a year and the tour returned to its original name in 2018.
In 2020, only two EPT events were played before the COVID-19 pandemic took its toll on society. In conjunction with this, an online edition of the EPT was played on PokerStars and won by the Swede “WhatIfGod”.
Fast forward to 2022, when Giuliano Bendinelli won the EPT Barcelona, which to this date is the biggest EPT ever to be played, proving that the tour has only grown stronger through the years. A whopping 2 294 participants generated a prize pool at roughly €11M and Bendinelli got €1 491 133 for his victory.
When Mike Watson won the EPT Monte Carlo in 2023, he became only the third person to have won two EPT titles. The only other two members in this club is Mikalai Pobal and Victoria Cohen (“Vicky”, who was also the first woman to ever win an EPT title).
Back in the day, when PokerStars first launched the EPT, the event only lasted for two days. Today, the EPT is a much bigger live poker event that runs for a week minimum. It has emerged into a poker festival and The EPT Main Event is no longer the only tournament. High roller tournaments have become an ordinary compliment to the Main Event. In conjunction with all EPT Buy-In tournaments, PokerStars are also arranging tournaments with smaller buy-ins. An example of this is the Eureka Tour which usually features 2-3 events with a somewhat smaller buy-ins compared to the EPT tournaments. This is surely one of the reasons that the EPT has seen such growth during the last couple of years. In Eureka Prague 2023, Austria’s Alexander Tkatschew emerged on top and earned €511 710 for his feat.
In 2023, Paris got to host an EPT for the first time ever. The French capital is also featured in the EPT Paris Schedule 2024. There are many exciting tournaments in each EPT. For example, an EPT Mystery Bounty will be played during the Paris stop, also accompanied by three FPS tournaments.
The last EPT of 2023 was EPT Prague. Irishman Padraig O’Neill won it all and claimed €1 030 000 and the coveted EPT trophy. The EPT Prague schedule featured seven different tournaments (counting three Eureka events) and the event lasted for 12 days. Compared to when the tour first launched back in 2004, it’s amazing to see how far the EPT has come and there’s no doubt that PokerStars has done a great job promoting the tour.
EPT 2024 Schedule
Obviously, the EPT is now stronger than ever and in 2024 the tour has a total four stops planned. As previously mentioned, Paris will once again roll out the red carpet for the EPT and this is the first PokerStars EPT stop of the year running February 14th-25th.
The EPT 2024 adventure will then continue when the tour visits the amazing city of Monte Carlo. This is the seventeenth time an EPT Monte Carlo will be played and with such noble history, you better believe this is a title everyone highly values. The event will be played April 24th-May 4th and four EPT tournaments are accompanied by three FPS tournaments.
Next stop is going to be EPT Barcelona. This is where Bendinelli won the biggest EPT ever in 2022 with the 2023 edition generating quite the prize pool as well. EPT Barcelona 2024 is scheduled August 26th-September 8th. The luxurious Casino Barcelona will act as host for three ESPT tournaments and four tournaments with the EPT emblem.
Last but certainly not least, the EPT 2024 season will culminate in Cyprus. Just like Paris, Cyprus hosted EPT for the first time in 2023 and it was an unforgettable experience at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa. There’s no doubt EPT Cyprus 2024 will be a fitting way to end the season. There are three Eureka and four EPT tournaments to be played at EPT Cyprus 2024.
EPT 2024 – Schedule
| Date | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|
| February 14th-25th | EPT & FPS Paris | Le Palais des Congrès |
| April 24th-May 5th | EPT & FPS Monte Carlo | Sporting Monte Carlo |
| August 26th-September 8th | EPT and ESPT Barcelona | Casino Barcelona |
| October 9th-20th | EPT and Eureka Cyprus | Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa |
Qualify for the EPT
As previously stated, PokerStars is the mastermind behind EPT. Players can qualify to PokerStars EPT through something they call Power Path.
The Power Path concept is simple yet extremely beneficial. You could think of it like a ladder that has four steps and in the final one you’ll have a chance to win either a Bronze– Silver– or a Gold Power Pass.
The first step is a delicate $0.50 Spin & Go. These tournaments are available in an “on demand”-like format. When you take your seat at a Spin & Go table, a spinning wheel will appear that decides what’s at stakes.
Power Path Spin N’ Go Prizes and Probability
| Prize | Odds |
|---|---|
| $10 300 Gold Power Pass | 1 in 1 000 000 |
| $2 500 Silver Power Pass | 10 in 1 000 000 |
| $109 Bronze Power Pass | 500 in 1 000 000 |
| $11 Power Path Step 3 Ticket | 11 500 in 1 000 000 |
| $1 50 Power Path Step 2 Ticket | 351 422 in 1 000 000 |
| $1 Power Path Step 2 Ticket (Sit N’ Go) | 636 567 in 1 000 000 |
So already through the first step you could win a Gold Power Pass, which you can use to finance any EPT stop of your choice.
As can be understood from the table above, the Spin & Go’s will most likely take you to Step 2 in the Power Path EPT. If you win in Step 2, you’ll go through to Step 3 and if you win in Step 3, you’ll get to Step 4. Step 4 is played in the form of a $109 MTT and the player who manages to win the tournament will receive a Gold Power Pass. The runner-ups will have to settle with Silver- and Bronze Power Passes – which is still quite the consolation prize!
It should be mentioned that players can choose to buy-in directly to Step 2 and/or 3. However, in order to participate in Step 4 you’ll need to acquire a ticket through the qualifying steps.
PokerStars Power Pass Descriptions
| Prize | Specification |
|---|---|
| $10 300 Gold Power Pass | Can be used for any EPT stop of your choice. |
| $2 500 Silver Power Pass | Can be used for selected live events or selected PokerStars online tournaments. |
| $109 Bronze Power Pass | Can be used for selected PokerStars online tournaments or Power Path step 4. |
How Do You Buy In for a EPT Tournament?
If you’re feeling like experiencing the thrill of live poker, maybe the EPT is the tour for you. If you don’t manage to qualify through the Power Path you can always just do a standard buy-in to the tournament. When you arrive to the EPT venue, the first thing you must do is to set up a PSLive Account, if you haven’t already done so. Then you can buy in to the tournament using various methods. The EPT Luxon Pay integration allows players to use Luxon Pay when buying in for an EPT tournament. Other means of purchase could be credit-/debit card, casino wire transfer or (in some cases) cash.
Whether or not you are obligated to pay tax on poker winnings depends on a couple of factors. The main one is your country of residence. All live poker players are highly recommended to find out what rules apply regarding this matter in their country.
Previous EPT Main Event Winners
| Event | Winner | Payout | Total Prize Pool | Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPT Prague 2023 |  Padraig O’Neill | €1 030 000 | €6 101 300 | 1 285 |
| EPT Cyprus 2023 |  Gilles Simon | $1 042 000 | $6 402 000 | 896 |
| EPT Barcelona 2023 |  Simon Wiciak | €1 134 375 | €10 282 000 | 1 593 |
| EPT Monte Carlo 2023 |  Mike Watson | €749 425 | €5 325 300 | 775 |
| EPT Paris 2023 |  Razvan Belea | €1 170 000 | €7 708 800 | 1 159 |
| EPT Prague 2022 | Jordan Saccucci | €913 250 | €6 144 950 | 918 |
| EPT London 2022 |  Ian Hamilton | £664 400 | £3 632 650 | 532 |
| EPT Barcelona 2022 |  Giuliano Bendinelli | €1 491 133 | €11 125 900 | 1 686 |
| EPT Monte Carlo 2022 |  Marcelo Simões | €939 840 | €5 204 050 | 747 |
| EPT Prague 2022 |  Grzegorz Glówny | €692 252 | €5 771 500 | 885 |
| EPT Open Sochi 2021 |  Evgeniy Starinkov | ₽16 029 300 | ₽142 296 000 | 739 |
| EPT Sochi 2021 | Artur Martirosian | ₽24 633 000 | ₽131 899 810 | 548 |
| PokerStars EPT Online 2020 |  “WhatIfGod” | $1 019 082 | $6 520 000 | 1 304 |
| EPT Sochi 2020 | Ruslan Bogdanov | ₽15 984 500 | ₽98 722 260 | 428 |
| EPT Prague 2019 | Mikalai Pobal | €1 005 600 | €5 596 900 | 860 |
| EPT Open Sochi 2019 |  Yi Ye | ₽19 306 000 | ₽103 370 400 | 879 |
| EPT Barcelona 2019 | Simon Brändström | €1 290 166 | €9 641 800 | 1 489 |
| EPT Madrid 2019 |  Jakub Grzegorzek | €176 357 | €1 104 960 | 1 151 |
| EPT Monte Carlo 2019 |  Manig Löser | €603 777 | €4 471 700 | 922 |
| EPT Sochi 2019 |  Uri Gilboa | ₽27 475 000 | ₽145 500 000 | 563 |
| EPT Prague 2018 | Paul Michaelis | €840 000 | €2 512 300 | 259 |
| EPT Open Sochi 2018 |  Vyachesav Bondartsev | ₽12 063 300 | ₽75 543 600 | 198 |
| EPT Barcelona 2018 | Piotr Nurzynski | €1 037 109 | €9 365 350 | 1 474 |
| EPT Monte Carlo 2018 | Nicolas Dumont | €712 000 | €3 768 450 | 574 |
| EPT Sochi 2018 | Arsenii Karmatckii | ₽27 300 000 | ₽146 171 460 | 861 |
| PSC Prague 2017 | Kalidou Sow | €675 000 | €4 146 750 | 855 |
| PSC Barcelona 2017 | Sebastian Sorensson | €987 043 | €8 157 700 | 1 682 |
| PSC Sochi 2017 | Pavel Shirshikov | ₽29 100 000 | ₽150 000 000 | 387 |
| PSC Monte Carlo 2017 | Raffaele Sorrentino | €466 714 | €3 635 000 | 727 |
| PSC Macau 2017 | Elliot Smith | HK$ 2 877 500 | HK$20 769 800 | 536 |
| PSC Panama 2017 |  Kenneth Smaron | $293 860 | $1 775 100 | 366 |
| PSC Bahamas 2017 | Christian Harder | $429 664 | $3 376 712 | 738 |
| EPT Prague 2016 | Jasper Meijer van Putten | €699 300 | €5 781 200 | 1 192 |
| EPT Malta 2016 | Aliaksei Boika | €355 700 | €2 340 000 | 468 |
| EPT Barcelona (2016) | Sebastian Malec | €1 122 800 | €8 657 250 | 1 785 |
| EPT Monte Carlo 2016 (Grand Final) |  Jan Bendik | €961 800 | €5 325 300 | 1 098 |
| EPT Dublin 2016 | Dzmitry Urbanovich | €561 900 | €3 025 000 | 605 |
| EPT Prague 2015 |  Hossein Ensan | €754 510 | €5 063 400 | 1 044 |
| EPT Malta 2015 | Niall Farrell | €534 330 | €3 255 000 | 651 |
| EPT Barcelona 2015 |  John Juanda | €1 022 593 | €8 215 900 | 1 694 |
| EPT Monte Carlo 2015 (Grand Final) |  Adrían Mateos | €1 082 000 | €5 640 000 | 564 |
| EPT Malta 2015 (St. Julian’s) | Jean Montury | €687 400 | €4 340 750 | 895 |
| EPT Deauville 2015 |  Ognyan Dimov | €543 700 | €2 841 600 | 592 |
| EPT Prague 2014 | Stephen Graner | €969 000 | €5 368 950 | 1 107 |
| EPT London 2014 | Sebastian Pauli | £499 700 | £2 619 000 | 675 |
| EPT Barcelona 2014 | Andre Lettau | €794 058 | €7 480 000 | 1 496 |
| EPT Monte Carlo 2014 (Grand Final) | Antonio Buonanno | €1 240 000 | €6 500 000 | 650 |
| EPT San Remo 2014 | Victoria Coren | €476 100 | €2 480 872 | 556 |
| EPT Vienna 2014 |  Oleksii Khoroshenin | €578 392 | €4 413 500 | 910 |
| EPT Deauville 2014 |  Sotirios Koutoupas | €614 000 | €3 220 800 | 671 |
| EPT Prague 2013 | Julian Track | €725 700 | €4 883 950 | 1 007 |
| EPT London 2013 | Robin Ylitalo | £560 980 | £2 929 400 | 604 |
| EPT Barcelona 2013 | Tom Middleton | €942 000 | €5 984 900 | 1 234 |
| EPT Monte Carlo 2013 (Grand Final) | Steve O’Dwyer | €1 224 000 | €5 310 000 | 531 |
| EPT Berlin 2013 | Daniel Pidun | €880 000 | €4 423 200 | 912 |
| EPT London 2013 | Ruben Visser | £595 000 | £3 137 950 | 647 |
| EPT Deauville 2013 | Remi Castaignon | €770 000 | €3 753 600 | 782 |
| EPT Prague 2012 | Ramzi Jelassi | €835 000 | €4 190 400 | 864 |
| EPT San Remo 2012 | Ludovic Lacay | €744 910 | €3 865 449 | 797 |
| EPT Barcelona 2012 |  Mikalai Pobal | €1 007 550 | €5 247 700 | 1 082 |
| EPT Monte Carlo 2012 (Grand Final) | Mohsin Charania | €1 350 000 | €6 650 000 | 665 |
| EPT Berlin 2012 | Davidi Kitai | €712 000 | €3 725 000 | 745 |
| EPT Campione 2012 |  Jannick Wrang | €640 000 | €2 764 500 | 570 |
| EPT Madrid 2012 | Frederik Jensen | €495 000 | €2 313 450 | 477 |
| EPT Copenhagen 2012 | Mickey Petersen | DKr2 515 000 | DKr 10 046 400 | 299 |
| EPT Deauville 2012 | Vadim Kursevich | €875 000 | €4 267 200 | 889 |
| EPT Prague 2011 | Martin Finger | €720 000 | €3 501 700 | 711 |
| EPT Loutraki 2011 | Zimnan Ziyard | €347 000 | €1 344 000 | 336 |
| EPT San Remo 2011 | Andrey Pateychuk | €680 000 | €3 734 694 | 837 |
| EPT London 2011 | Benny Spindler | £750 000 | £3 351 350 | 691 |
| EPT Barcelona 2011 | Martin Schleich | €850 000 | €4 055 000 | 811 |
| EPT Tallinn 2011 |  Ronny Kaiser | €275 000 | €1 071 600 | 282 |
| EPT Madrid 2011 (Grand Final) |  Ivan Freitez | €1 500 000 | €6 860 000 | 686 |
| EPT San Remo 2011 | Rupert Elder | €930 000 | €4 786 950 | 987 |
| EPT Berlin 2011 | Ben Wilinofsky | €825 000 | €3 865 000 | 773 |
| EPT Salzburg 2011 | Vladimir Geshkenbein | €390 000 | €1 636 390 | 482 |
| EPT Copenhagen 2011 | Michael Tureniec | DKr3 700 000 | DKr15 086 400 | 449 |
| EPT Deauville 2011 | Lucien Cohen | €880 000 | €4 276 800 | 891 |
| EPT Prague 2010 | Roberto Romanello | €640 000 | €2 730 550 | 563 |
| EPT Barcelona 2010 | Kent Lundmark | €825 000 | €3 790 000 | 758 |
| EPT Vienna 2010 | Michael Eiler | €700 000 | €2 935 000 | 587 |
| EPT London 2010 | David Vamplew | £900 000 | £4 112 800 | 848 |
| EPT Vilamoura 2010 | Toby Lewis | €467 836 | €1 862 400 | 384 |
| EPT Tallinn 2010 |  Kevin Stani | €400 000 | €1 596 000 | 420 |
| EPT Monaco 2010 (Grand Final) |  Nicolas Chouity | €1 700 000 | €8 480 000 | 848 |
| EPT San Remo 2010 | Liv Boeree | €1 250 000 | €6 014 000 | 1 239 |
| EPT Salzburg 2010 | Allan Bække | €445 000 | €1 843 480 | 546 |
| EPT Berlin 2010 | Kevin MacPhee | €1 000 000 | €4 725 000 | 945 |
| EPT Copenhagen 2010 | Anton Wigg | DKr3 675 000 | DKr14 212 800 | 423 |
| EPT Deauville 2010 | Jake Cody | €857 000 | €3 686 400 | 768 |
| EPT Prague 2009 |  Jan Skampa | €682 000 | €2 842 100 | 586 |
| EPT Vilamoura 2009 |  Antonia Matias | €404 793 | €1 561 700 | 322 |
| EPT Warsaw 2009 | Christophe Benzimra | zł 1 493 170 | zł4 770 500 | 203 |
| EPT London 2009 | Aaron Gustavson | £850 000 | £3 540 500 | 730 |
| EPT Barcelona 2009 | Carter Phillips | €850 000 | €3 382 000 | 428 |
| EPT Kiev 2009 | Maxim Lykov | €330 000 | €1 480 000 | 296 |
| EPT Monte Carlo 2009 (Grand Final) | Pieter de Korver | €2 300 000 | €9 350 000 | 935 |
| EPT San Remo 2009 | Constant Rijkenberg | €1 508 000 | €5 713 300 | 1 178 |
| EPT Dortmund 2009 | Sandra Naujoks | €917 000 | €3 335 000 | 667 |
| EPT Copenhagen 2009 |  Jens Kyllönen | DKr6 542 208 | DKr22 176 000 | 462 |
| EPT Deauville 2009 | Moritz Kranich | €851 400 | €3 096 000 | 645 |
| EPT Prague 2008 | Salvatore Bonavena | €774 000 | €2 764 500 | 570 |
| EPT Warsaw 2008 | João Barbosa | €367 140 | €1 172 975 | 217 |
| EPT Budapest 2008 | Will Fry | €595 840 | €2 128 000 | 532 |
| EPT London 2008 | Michael Martin | £1 000 000 | £3 349 200 | 596 |
| EPT Barcelona 2008 | Sebastian Ruthenberg | €1 361 000 | €4 952 000 | 619 |
| EPT Monte Carlo 2008 (Grand Final) | Glen Chorny | €2 020 000 | €8 420 000 | 842 |
| EPT San Remo 2008 | Jason Mercier | €869 000 | €3 195 860 | 701 |
| EPT Warsaw 2008 | Michael Schulze | zł2 153 999 | zł7 180 000 | 359 |
| EPT Copenhagen 2008 | Timothy Vance | DKr6 220 488 | DKr21 086 400 | 460 |
| EPT Dortmund 2008 | Mike McDonald | €933 600 | €3 164 700 | 411 |
| EPT Prague 2007 | Arnaud Mattern | €708 400 | €2 530 240 | 555 |
| EPT Dublin 2007 | Reuben Peters | €532 620 | €1 701 700 | 221 |
| EPT Baden 2007 | Julian Thew | €670 800 | €2 143 200 | 282 |
| EPT London 2007 | Joseph Mouawad | £611 520 | £2 038 400 | 392 |
| EPT Barcelona 2007 | Sander Lylloff | €1 170 700 | €4 181 100 | 543 |
| EPT Monte Carlo 2007 (Grand Final) | Gavin Griffin | €1 825 010 | €6 636 400 | 706 |
| EPT Warsaw 2007 | Peter Jepsen | zł1 226 711 | zł4 007 000 | 284 |
| EPT Dortmund 2007 | Andreas Hoivold | €672 000 | €2 317 100 | 493 |
| EPT Copenhagen 2007 | Magnus Petersson | DKr4 078 080 | DKr13 824 000 | 400 |
| EPT Dublin 2006 | Roland De Wolfe | €554 300 | € 1 847 750 | 389 |
| EPT Baden 2006 | Duc Thang Nguyen | €487 397 | €1 572 397 | 331 |
| EPT London 2006 | Victoria Coren | £500 000 | €1 393 000 | 398 |
| EPT Barcelona 2006 | Bjørn-Erik Glenne | €691 000 | €2 304 000 | 480 |
| EPT Monte Carlo 2006 (Grand Final) | Jeff Williams | €900 000 | €2 801 200 | 298 |
| EPT Deauville 2006 | Mats Iremark | €490 | €1 610 300 | 434 |
| EPT Copenhagen 2006 | Mads Andersen | DKr2 548 040 | DKr1 192 089 86 | 288 |
| EPT Dublin 2005 | Mats Gavatin | €317 000 | €992 000 | 248 |
| EPT Baden 2005 | Patrik Antonius | €288 180 | €720 000 | 180 |
| EPT London 2005 | Mark Teltscher | €280 000 | €708 630 | 242 |
| EPT Barcelona 2005 | Jan Boubli | €426 000 | €1 309 200 | 327 |
| EPT Monte Carlo (Grand Final) 2005 | Rob Hollink | €635 000 | €2 110 000 | 211 |
| EPT Vienna 2005 | Pascal Perrault | €184 500 | €594 000 | 297 |
| EPT Deauville 2005 | Brandon Schaefer | €144 000 | €465 500 | 245 |
| EPT Copenhagen 2005 | Noah Boeken | DKr1 098 340 | DKr502 426 | 156 |
| EPT Dublin 2004 | Ram Vaswani | €93 000 | €244 500 | 163 |
| EPT London 2004 | John Shipley | £200 000 | £763 379 | 175 |
| EPT Barcelona 2004 | Alexander Stevic | €80 000 | €229 000 | 229 |
EPT – FAQ
What is European Poker Tour?
European Poker Tour (EPT) is a series of poker tournaments that are held in Europe. The tour is extremely popular and has been around since 2004.
Where is EPT played?
EPT is played in various places in Europe. Some of the most popular EPT stops throughout the years has been Monte Carlo Barcelona Dublin London Deauville and Prague.
What is the buy-in for the EPT Main Event?
The Buy-In for the EPT Main Event is €5 300. The Buy-In for the EPT Main Event equivalent to €5 300 on all EPT stops.
How can I qualify to European Poker Tour?
Through Power Path on PokerStars players can qualify to the EPT events through online poker satellites. The Power Path is always running on PokerStars.
What is Power Path?
Power Path is PokerStars qualification series to the EPT. Players can win packages including EPT Main Event Buy-In accommodations and travel money through Power Path.
