The month of August is stacked with high roller poker tournaments around the world, including a huge one in Europe — the $250,000 buy-in Super High Roller Bowl August 30.
By month's end, we'll likely have a solid idea as to who the favorite is to win the first ever PokerGO Tour, and also the 2021 Global Poker Index Player of the Year award. As it stands, Ali Imsirovic leads both races due to his incredible start to the year with eight high roller tournament titles. But there are a number of talented pros who could catch up, including Alex Foxen, the two-time defending GPI Player of the Year winner.
Kicking things off in Vegas
The high-stakes circuit in August begins in, you guessed it, Las Vegas, home to a large chunk of the biggest poker events in the world each year. From August 12-15, the Venetian will host its second high roller series of the year, this one a four-event series.
On August 12 and 13, the Las Vegas Strip resort will host $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold'em tournaments and then $25,000 buy-in NLH events the following two days. Each tournament starts at 2 pm local time, and those who register before the first card is dealt will play rake-free poker.
Heading across the pond
Since the pandemic began in 2020, Europe hasn't played host to many major poker events. But that's about to change later this month when the Merit Hotel Casino Resort and Spa in North Cyprus launches a nine-tournament series from August 23-31, headlined by the $250,000 buy-in Super High Roller Bowl (August 30), the only freezeout of the series. All other events will permit players to re-buy as many times as they'd like.
The series kicks off with the $25,000 Short Deck No-Limit Hold'em event, a popular form of poker outside the United States. Buy-ins range from $25,000 to $250,000, with a pair of $100,000 buy-in events August 28 and 29 (no-limit hold'em and short deck). Play will conclude with the $50,000 No-Limit Hold'em August 31.
The Super High Roller Bowl, a PokerGO staple event, is back for the first time since 2019. Last year's six-figure buy-in tournament was canceled due to COVID-19.
PokerGO Tour update
The first ever PokerGO Tour is currently being dominated by Ali Imsirovic, who already has eight high roller titles, 20 cashes, and over $3 million in earnings this year. He leads the race with 2,394 points and has a sizable lead over Sean Perry, who is in second place with 1,667. Sam Soverel is in a distant third place (1,305), and is followed closely by Sean Winter (1,303) and Andrew Moreno (1,200), who won the $10 million guaranteed Wynn Millions in Las Vegas last month for $1.4 million.
Although Imsirovic appears to be the frontrunner for the PokerGO Tour crown, and he also leads in the Global Poker Index Player of the Year race, his lead is far from insurmountable at this point. But with a strong month of August in the aforementioned high roller events, he could pull away to a point where it would be nearly impossible for anyone else to catch him before the end of the year. Or, he could falter and lose his spot at the top of the standings.
In the GPI POY race, he leads the way with 3,095 points, but Alex Foxen, who won the award in 2018 and 2019, is closing fast at 2,674 points.
Featured image source: PokerGO app
