It’s Friday, the weekend is almost upon us and that means we’re just a day away from the start of the EPT Barcelona Main Event.
For those of us calling the Spanish city home for the week, it’s time to get your game face on and prepare for this big field, big money €5,300 tournament. And for the rest of us things aren’t much different. Why? Because there’s a great prize to be won, wherever you are.
That prize is a free €8K package to play the EPT Prague Main Event this December — including buy-in, flights and accommodation — and it could be won by you.
Because the PokerOrg Pick 3 contest is back.
Build a team of three players in the big one in Barcelona, win points for each €1 they win, and if you top the leaderboard you’ll be on your way to Prague in December.
Get more info here:
The EPT Barcelona Main Event is one of the highlights of the live poker calendar, so is sure to attract many of the world’s best players.
Ahead of the first hand being dealt on Saturday, August 22, let’s take a look at why this tournament is so special.
It’s the EPT’s ‘OG’ main event
Barcelona was the host city of the very first European Poker Tour stop in 2004, in a season one which also took in the capital cities London, Copenhagen, Dublin and Vienna, as well as Monte Carlo and — for reasons that weren’t always clear — the French seaside resort of Deauville.
The reasons behind choosing Barcelona were more obvious; a bustling, cosmopolitan city with character to spare — not to mention a casino capable of seating the thousands of players who turn up every year chasing action, huge prizes and history.
Speaking of which…
The big dogs are in town
The WSOP in Las Vegas is traditionally the spot to see poker’s biggest names in tournament action. But once that’s done and dusted — and folks have had a chance to recuperate — Barcelona provides the next big opportunity to get your post-WSOP game back on track.
Take Han Feng. The American finished 5th in the WSOP Main Event earlier this month, and promptly spent a small portion of his $2.25M prize money on a ticket to Spain and a seat at the EPT.
At the time of writing, he’s currently leading the PokerStars Open Main Event. If he wins it, is he likely to sit out the EPT Main Event? If your answer is ‘yes’, you haven’t been paying attention.
The Barcelona Main Event is a can’t miss for so many players that this tournament occupies the top 7 spots on the list of the biggest EPT main events of all time. As well as the biggest players in the game, expect thousands more.
A structure that works
The European Poker Tour is known for continually refining its tournament structures in partnership with its players, and after 22 years has arrived at a place where everyone knows just what to expect.
But if you’re not one of them, here’s how it works.
- Two starting flights, with a 30K starting stack providing 300 big blinds at level one (100/100).
- Registration stays open until the start of Day 2, when your buy-in gets you a stack of 20bb (1,000/1,500).
- Levels last 60 minutes throughout Day 1, but lengthen to 90 minutes from Day 2 until the final table.
- The end point of Day 2 is announced at the start of play, but usually play will run for five or six levels.
- When the tournament reaches the final two tables, levels generally no longer adhere to set times but instead consist of a set number of hands. This works to minimize stalling for payjumps.
EPT Tournament Director Toby Stone explained the process behind making these decisions in an interview last year, making clear that nailing the perfect structure is a target that’s always moving.
Timing is everything
Making the right move in poker can be tricky, but it's something you can study and improve at. Making it at the right time, however, is even more complicated than that.
Luckily, with the Pick 3 for EPT Barcelona contest things are a little simpler. We know that Day 1A of the Main Event takes place on Saturday and Day 1B on Sunday, with Day 2 scheduled for Monday.
That means players have until Monday to register, bust, or use one or both or their two permitted re-entries.
And you have until 12pm CEST on Monday to finalize your Pick 3 team.
You may have your favorites, your dark horses or a gut feeling about a player who is ‘due’. That’s great, but check the field before Day 2 begins — you may find your horses are already out, or that a player you were on the fence about is leading the entire field!
Head here to create your team — you can edit and save it as many times as you like before the 12pm CEST deadline on August 24.
Additional images courtesy of Rational Intellectual Holdings Ltd.
