PokerStars Players Championship Makes History as Richest and Biggest-ever $25,000 Poker Tournament

Onchan, Isle Of Man (ots/PRNewswire) -

Ground-breaking PokerStars event generates record-breaking
$26,455,500 prize pool including life-changing $5.1 million top
prize

PokerStars, the flagship poker brand of The Stars Group, has
shattered live poker records as 1,039 players entered to compete in
the PokerStars Players No Limit Hold'em Championship (PSPC)
(http://www.pokerstarslive.com/pspc/), generating the largest-ever
prize pool for a $25,000 buy-in poker tournament. The PSPC
(http://www.pokerstarslive.com/pspc/) will award more than
$26,455,500 to 181 players, including $5.1 million for the winner,
who will be crowned when the tournament concludes later this week.
The final table alone will produce a total of six millionaires.

"Passion and interest in poker is alive and well in 2019, and this
tournament highlights the global excitement for the game," said Eric
Hollreiser, PokerStars Director of Poker Marketing. "Tens of
thousands of players participated in a year of unique promotions
leading up to the event and that enthusiasm delivered one of the most
exciting events in poker history."

Players descended upon the Atlantis Resort & Casino on January 6
and 7 and were registering up to the very last minute to participate
in the historic event. The massive field is comprised of diverse
players from all over the world and a spectrum of experience from
some of the game's best professionals to novices who won entry
through one of the dozens of low buy-in and free-to-play competitions
and giveaways PokerStars held in 2018. Over the past 13 months,
PokerStars awarded 320 Platinum Pass packages, each worth $30,000,
covering the player's buy-in, travel and accommodation.

"This tournament has been in the works for over a year and it's
been super exciting to follow the journey of the many Platinum Pass
winners," said Daniel Negreanu, PokerStars Ambassador. "I had a
chance to meet many of them, and their excitement for this event is
truly what poker is all about. The turnout was simply unbelievable!
Over 1,000 players in a $25k buy-in. PokerStars did a fantastic job
making this event happen, and the players themselves had input into
everything from the blind structures to the payouts. It's truly been
the No-Limit Holdem Players Championship."

The tournament broke records without counting the 320 Platinum
Pass winners, smashing the previous attendance record for a $25,000
buy-in event, which was 639 entries, and the previous highest prize
pool of $15,495,000.

The PSPC has brought together a mix of players who would not
normally be found seated alongside each other in an event of this
level of buy-in. Highly regarded players from online and live poker
communities around the world took their seats alongside some of the
finest and most familiar names in the game such as Patrick Antonius,
Phil Hellmuth and Erik Seidel, not to mention PokerStars Ambassadors
Chris Moneymaker, Daniel Negreanu, Jason Somerville, Randy Lew,
Jennifer Shahade and Lex Veldhuis, as well as Twitch streamers, poker
vloggers, and an abundance of recreational, and even new, players.

Adding some extra sparkle to the first event of its kind are some
faces (and voices) well known outside of the poker tables such as the
voice of the UFC Octagon Bruce Buffer, who kicked off the tournament
by announcing 'Shuffle Up and Deal', former NBA star and ESPN analyst
Paul Pierce, pro skateboarder Tony Hawk, and comedian, actor and
writer Norm Macdonald. Golf pro Sergio Garcia also joined the event,
although was among the casualties in day 1.

Many colourful, and often emotional, stories have arisen along the
way, including those of Jacki Burkhart, Oliver Biles, and Nikhil
Segel who all won their ticket to the Bahamas via the Platinum Pass
Adventure. Shaun Lennon from Ireland and Dominique Lamy from France
were also nominated to represent their country by their fellow
countrymen.

Entry to the tournament is now closed. To keep up to date with all
live reports from the PSPC visit the PokerStars Blog
(https://www.pokerstars.com/en/blog/pspc/) or watch the live stream
daily from 12:30 ET at PokerStars.TV
(http://www.pokerstars.tv/en/tv/live/).

For further information, please contact press@pokerstarslive.com

About PokerStars

PokerStars operates the world's most popular online poker sites,
serving the global poker community. Since it launched in 2001,
PokerStars has become the first choice of players all over the world,
with more daily tournaments than anywhere else and with the best
online security. More than 182 billion hands have been dealt on
PokerStars, which is more than any other site.

The Stars Group owns or licenses gaming and related consumer
businesses and brands, including PokerStars, PokerStars Casino,
BetStars, Full Tilt, Sky Bet, Sky Vegas, Sky Casino, Sky Bingo, Sky
Poker and BetEasy as well as live poker tour and event brands,
including the PokerStars Players No Limit Hold'em Championship,
European Poker Tour, PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, Latin American
Poker Tour, Asia Pacific Poker Tour, PokerStars Festival and
PokerStars MEGASTACK. The Stars Group is one of the world's most
licensed online gaming operators with its subsidiaries collectively
holding licenses or approvals in 21 jurisdictions throughout the
world, including in Europe, Australia, and the Americas.

Play Responsibly! For more information on responsible gaming
please visit our website at
http://www.pokerstars.com/about/responsible-gaming/

ots Originaltext: PokerStars.com
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

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Original-Content von: PokerStars.com, übermittelt durch news aktuell