While there have been several significant live tournaments already in the early part of 2010, there have yet to be any big online events to speak of. Full Tilt Poker is stepping up to offer the first big online tournament schedule of 2010 and guaranteeing over $17 million in prizes.
The 15th edition of the Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) begins its 27 event schedule at 9:00pm ET this evening with a huge $1 million guaranteed event. The $200 (plus $16 juice) buy-in event, which will be hosted by eight-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner and Team Full Tilt member Erik Seidel, currently has over 1,200 participants entered, and satellites are continuing to add even more players. The $1 million guaranteed event is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to FTOPS XV.
Looking at the schedule for FTOPS XV, the No Limit Hold’em tournaments have the largest guarantees. The Valentine’s Day $300 buy-in $1.5 million guaranteed event hosted by former World Champion Chris Ferguson, the $1.5 million ($1,000 buy-in) guaranteed tournament on February 15th hosted by Gavin Smith, and the $2 million Ante From the Start tournament (a $2,500 buy in) with Carlos Mortensen serving as host on February 20th are the main highlights. The Main Event of FTOPS XV, the $2.5 million guaranteed tournament with a $500 buy-in, serves as the finale on February 21st with Team Full Tilt member Allen Cunningham at the helm.
The FTOPS schedule is known for the variety of games that are played. While No Limit Hold’em garners the most attention, guaranteed tournaments also touch on other disciplines in the world of poker. “The Big Game” player and “High Stakes Poker” regular Eli Elezra will be the host of a $200 Seven-Game tournament on February 17th that features a guaranteed prize pool of $150,000 and will push poker players’ skills in Texas Hold’em, Omaha Hi and Hi/Lo, Seven Card Stud Hi and Hi/Lo, and Razz. Poker pro Cyndy Violette will also put her sharp Seven Card Stud skills on display when she hosts the $100,000 guaranteed Seven Card Stud ($200 buy-in) on February 18th.
Players who are fortunate enough to make the final table of an FTOPS tournament will be rewarded beyond the financial compensation with a special FTOPS jacket. The winner of each tournament will claim the jacket along with a gold FTOPS jersey and coveted gold avatar for use when they play on Full Tilt Poker.
In addition to the competition on the virtual felts during FTOPS XV, Full Tilt Poker is also offering a prize package for players who participate in the tournaments, but may not reach the brass ring. FTOPS XV will once again be calculating a leaderboard for the entirety of the tournament series, with the eventual champion earning a custom Full Tilt Poker avatar and a special prize package that includes entry to every FTOPS XVI Event except the Main Event, which is worth approximately $8,500.
Full Tilt Poker will offer the affordable MiniFTOPS XV tournaments at the conclusion of the main schedule. The MiniFTOPS, which offers the same tournaments as the regular schedule, but at one-tenth of the price, will kick off on March 10th, well after the conclusion of the FTOPS XV Main Event. There will be $6 million in guaranteed prize pools for the MiniFTOPS and, much like its big brother, it will also feature players from the Full Tilt Poker roster as hosts.
In FTOPS XIV back in November, top poker pros stepped to the virtual tables to take on the best that the online world had to offer. Full Tilt Pros David Pham and Greg “FBT” Mueller were able to win events and 5,471 players stepped up to play in the Main Event, eclipsing the prize pool guarantee of $2.5 million. By the end of the Main Event, “zhivago2” outlasted the field in the two-day event, winning over $418,000 for his efforts.
Satellites are currently running for the FTOPS tournaments throughout the span of the February schedule, offering players the opportunity to get into the events on the cheap.
