EPT Season 12 Makes First Stop in Spain August 18-30

The 12th season of the European Poker Tour (EPT) is less than three weeks away with the first tour stop set for August 18-30 in Barcelona in tandem with the Estrellas Poker Tour.

Large numbers of players are expected for many of the 71 tournaments scheduled, especially considering that over 365 players have already qualified online for the EPT Main Event. More online satellites are yet to be played and tour organizers are anticipating that online qualifiers for the ME will top the 423 players who did so last year.

The Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event already eclipsed 500 online qualifiers, so expect plenty of filled tables in that event as well. This year's EPT also added more cash game tables to accomodate players who like to compete in ring game action when not navigating tournament fields.

“Barcelona has been a fixture on the EPT schedule since the very first season and its popularity is demonstrated by the increase in player numbers each year," said EPT President Edgar Stuchly. "With 71 events planned, this is the second biggest EPT in history after last season’s Grand Final, and we expect this amazing stop to attract even more players this year, and for years to come.”

EPT Season 11 broke records for the number of player entries at almost every stop. In Europe, 60,731 entries resulted in prize pools totaling more than €114 million. That amounted to a €20 million increase in payouts over Season 10.

Last season's EPT Barcelona Poker Festival turned out to be the largest EPT Main Event ever held in Europe. A total of 1,496 players bought in for €5,300. The €1,100 Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event also set records with a field of 2,560.