Its first event less than forty days away, Federated Sports and Gaming (FS&G) has finally come up with a name for its new professional poker league. After what must have been countless brainstorming sessions, “Epic Poker League” was selected as the name of choice.
“This is no ordinary tournament league,” said FS&G Chief Operating Office Jeffrey Grosman in a press release. “Our fields will be some of the toughest in poker history and we expect the competition to be nothing less than epic. In selecting a name that could live up to the players’ incredible skill and talent, epic was a natural fit.”
In its inaugural season, the Epic Poker League will consist of four $20,000 buy-in Main Events, all rake free and with $400,000 in added prize money, plus one $1,000,000 Championship. At each of the first four stops, the Main Event will be preceded by a Pro/Am and a Charity event. The first Main Event will be held August 9-12 at the Palms in Las Vegas. The entire Epic Poker League schedule is as follows:
Event 1: Pro-Am – August 5-8, 2011; Charity Tournament – August 8, 2011; Main Event – August 9-12, 2011
Event 2: Pro-Am – September 2-5, 2011; Charity Tournament – September 4, 2011; Main Event – September 6-9, 2011
Event 3: Pro-Am – December 9-12, 2011; Charity Tournament – December 11, 2011; Main Event – December 14-18, 2011
Event 4: Pro-Am – January 27-30, 2012; Charity Tournament – January 29, 2012; Main Event – February 9-12, 2012
Championship: February 13-14, 2012 (No Pro-Am or Charity Tournament)
The players competing in the Championship will be 27 league members with the highest earnings during the Epic Poker League season.
The Heartland Poker Tour, which FS&G announced it bought last week, will televise the first Pro/Am tournament. The top nine finishers in the $1,500 buy-in event will earn seats in the August 9 Main Event. Satellites into the Pro/Am will be held every Saturday and Sunday at the Palms through July 31.
Aside from winning a seat via the Pro/Am, the only way to play in the Main Event is to qualify to be a member of the Epic Poker League. The qualification criteria are purely objective; nobody is hand picked by anybody. When the list of 218 qualifying players was released in May, league Commissioner Annie Duke said, “Our goal in setting the objective qualifying criteria was to capture the best live tournament players – not a certain set of personalities. Keeping the league membership small not only ensures the highest quality of tournament play, but also allows FS&G to provide a superior playing experience and outstanding service levels to our members.”
Below are the different membership levels.
5-Year Card
At least $4 million in adjusted lifetime tournament earnings, with a maximum of $2 million counting from any single tournament.
At least three major lifetime titles.
At least nine cashes since January 1, 2008 for a total of least $600,000.
3-Year Card
At least $2.5 million in adjusted lifetime tournament earnings, with a maximum of $1.5 million counting from any single tournament.
At least one major lifetime title.
At least nine cashes since January 1, 2008 for a total of least $500,000.
2-Year Card Category A
At least $2 million in adjusted lifetime tournament earnings, with a maximum of $1 million counting from any single tournament.
At least one major lifetime title.
At least six cashes since January 1, 2008 for a total of least $300,000.
2-Year Card Category B
At least $1.25 million in adjusted lifetime tournament earnings, with a maximum of $750,000 counting from any single tournament.
At least nine cashes since January 1, 2008 for a total of least $600,000.
The complete criteria and player list can be found at epicpoker.com.
