In breaking news from PokerStars, the inaugural European Poker Tour (EPT) event in Moscow, Russia has been canceled. In its place, the EPT will travel to Kiev, Ukraine for a €5,000 buy-in tournament on August 18th, the beginning of EPT Season 6.
EPT Kiev marks the first stop of Season 6 of the roving tournament series. In a statement released by PokerStars on Friday, the world’s most popular online poker site revealed why Moscow will no longer serve as the kickoff city: “That event has been canceled because our ability to run the event was placed in doubt due to the recent closure of all casinos in Russia.” The Moscow festivities were scheduled to take place at the Radisson SAS Slavyanskaya. The statement continues, “Euro Poker Tour Ltd. sincerely apologizes to all players who were intending to attend the Moscow event, but unfortunately these circumstances were beyond our control.”
Players who qualified for an EPT Moscow travel package from PokerStars will be able to exchange it for buy-in and hotel for the Kiev event. Alternately, players may receive a credit for a future EPT event or elect to collect cash. While visiting Russia required visas for PokerStars players from around the world, heading to the Ukraine for fewer than 90 days does not require documents for Americans, Canadians, and Europeans. The Sports Palace Kiev will serve as the host venue in the Ukrainian city and the €5,000 buy-in Main Event will be preceded by a welcome party.
All EPT Season 6 events employ the same tournament structure. Players begin with a stack of 30,000 chips and blinds start at 50-100. On Day 1, the price of poker increases every 60 minutes. On Day 2 and beyond, blinds go up every 75 minutes. Antes kick in at Level 5, when blinds are 150-300.
Here is the revised schedule for EPT Season 6 reflecting the cancellation of the Moscow event:
EPT Kiev (Ukraine): August 18th to 23rd
Buy-In: €5,000
Capacity: 600
Venue: Sports Palace Kiev
EPT Barcelona (Spain): September 4th to 9th
Buy-In: €8,300
Capacity: 700
Venue: Casino Barcelona
EPT London (United Kingdom): October 2nd to 7th
Buy-In: ₤5,250
Capacity: 800
Venue: Hilton London Metropole
EPT Warsaw (Poland): October 20th to 25th
Buy-In: 25,000K PLN
Capacity: 400
Venue: Casinos Poland
EPT Vilamoura (Portugal): November 17th to 22nd
Buy-In: €5,300
Capacity: 600
Venue: Vilamoura Casino
EPT Prague (Czech Republic): December 1st to 6th
Buy-In: €5,250
Capacity: 600
Venue: Golden Prague Poker
PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (Bahamas): January 4th to 14th
Buy-In: $10,600
Capacity: 1,600
Venue: Atlantis Hotel and Casino
PokerStars officials are expecting that the new Kiev event will be the “largest poker tournament ever held in the Ukraine.” The event will mark the first time the EPT has traveled to Ukrainian soil. Similarly, EPT Vilamoura will be the first EPT event held in Portugal. PokerStars has not yet released the second half of the EPT Season 6 schedule, which is expected to culminate once again in the Monte Carlo Grand Final, held annually in April in Monaco.
Other changes to the EPT schedule for Season 6 include the London festivities moving from the Grosvenor Victoria Casino to the Hilton London Metropole. The new digs will provide more space for the annual gala in the historic European city. Players gravitated to EPT events in large numbers last season. A total prize pool of €55 million was up for grabs during Season 5, battled for by 7,980 players from a whopping 97 countries. According to PokerStars, the four richest tournaments outside of the United States last year were EPT events: the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure ($12.7 million), Monte Carlo Grand Final ($12.3 million), EPT San Remo ($7.5 million), and EPT Barcelona ($7 million).
Stay tuned for more EPT news right here on Poker News Daily.
