After a year of hiatus in 2017, the ETP, often billed as the world’s most iconic poker tournament, is finally back. In a break with its usual schedule, the 2018 tour will run from the end of March (kicked off by the Sochi tournament from 23-29 March) until mid-December (with the Prague tournament from 11-18th December).
There’s no doubt that the return of the tournament registered no small amount of excitement with any poker enthusiast around the globe.
So far, we’ve seen plenty of action to keep the excitement levels high, and that spells good things to come for the rest of the tournament. The first-ever Sochi event was a rousing success and appropriately saw home-grown Russian player Arsenii Karmatckii take home the European Poker Tour (EPT) Sochi Main Event trophy. He rose to the top spot in a field of 861 players to win the RUB 27,300,000 (£331,746.98) grand prize.
Congratulations are in order for French diving instructor Nicholas Dumont who managed to beat a field of 777 to win €712,000 (£629,898.26). Apparently, Dumont was not even meant to play in the tournament but took the place of his friend Julien Perouse who had to step down at the last minute.
Now, the ETP is finally returning to its most legendary of arenas, the Casino Barcelona. The event will take off with the ETP National running from the 22nd-26th of August (€1,100/£973 buy-in). The ETP Super High Roller will take place between the 25th and 27th (€50,000/£44,234.43 buy-in) and the EPT High Roller between the 31st and the 2nd of September (€10,300/£9,112.29 buy-in).
The ETP Main Event will start on August 27th and conclude on September 2nd with a buy-in of €5,300 (£4,688.85). We have no reason to expect anything but twists and turns as well as surprising outcomes at this storied venue.
The tour will bow out with the final tournament taking place at the Casino Atrium Prague from the 8th to the 18th of December.
