PokerStars live events specialist Neil Johnson posted in the 2+2 forum a preview of the changes their team had planned for the upcoming, 10th season of the European Poker Tour. Kicking off on 26 August with the Barcelona stop, EPT 10 features a number of alterations to event structures, the awards as well as the payouts. Of the eight confirmed stops, the Barcelona and London schedules are finalised, with the rest coming up by the beginning of September, the end of it and, for the last three stops, by the beginning of November.
As far as the events themselves are concerned, the list of changes is as follows:
Concerning the EPT Awards, Johnson could not go into much detail but he did write that basically only the Player of the Year contest remains with an increased prize and a changed ranking system. From now on, all the EPT events, even those with the smallest buy-in, count towards the title, regardless of being a national or an EPT event. What remains is that EPT only events in combined festivals do not count towards the national Player of the Year standings (but national events, as mentioned, count towards the EPT title).
About the payouts, a number of changes have been introduced here as well, especially after discussing the inequality of tables with different number of players in the bubble with pros like Steve O’Dwyer, Bryn Kenney and Jonathan Aguiar.
What do you think of the changes?
As far as the events themselves are concerned, the list of changes is as follows:
- Main Event late registration: in the 10th season, players will have the opportunity to register until the start of Day 2 in the Super High Roller, High Roller and Main Events. “If there was one consistent suggestion from our players it was extended late registration, especially for the Main Event. This should hopefully make everyone happier,” Johnson reasoned. Those buying in on Day 2 will start with a stack of 30,000 in chips on Level 9 (100/400/800).
- Side events late registration: all the other events in the EPT stops will now have four levels of late reg. While this has little effect on Turbos and 30 Minute tournaments, which have had 4 levels before, it means an additional level for Super Satellites and double the levels for the Major Side Events (5,000, 2,000, 1,000 buy-ins). This also means that all events, except for the SHR, HR and ME have 4 levels of late reg, making it simpler for players.
- High Roller levels: the High Roller and Super High Roller events are now running for 3 days and have 10 levels per day. This should end debates about when to stop playing and, since the PCA High Roller Final Table will not be televised this year, it does not have to be played down to the final eight by the end of Day 2. “That should make everyone more comfortable and I won’t be accused of false advertising on the High Roller anymore,” Johnson added.
- Non-NLHE games: more non-No Limit Hold’em games can be expected this season, with the aim to have games that do not normally make it to tournament schedules. Some tours will even focus on specific variants; for instance, all IPT stops are planned to feature draw games (a particularly popular type in Italy) with a €1,000 Championship in Sanremo. “I don’t know how all of it will play out, but I want to make sure everyone knows we want to do stuff like this so they know to give me their ideas,” he explained.
Concerning the EPT Awards, Johnson could not go into much detail but he did write that basically only the Player of the Year contest remains with an increased prize and a changed ranking system. From now on, all the EPT events, even those with the smallest buy-in, count towards the title, regardless of being a national or an EPT event. What remains is that EPT only events in combined festivals do not count towards the national Player of the Year standings (but national events, as mentioned, count towards the EPT title).
About the payouts, a number of changes have been introduced here as well, especially after discussing the inequality of tables with different number of players in the bubble with pros like Steve O’Dwyer, Bryn Kenney and Jonathan Aguiar.
- Field payout percentage: from 13% to 15% of the fields will be paid in all events; while Main Events have had 15% for years, Side Events used to pay out around 10%. While the usual winners, that is, the 10% is likely to oppose the decision, the majority should be happy with it.
- Minimum: all events will have a minimum payout of 1.7x the buy-in, after the deduction of the 3% from the prize pool to cover costs. This means that, depending on other factors, it can be more than 1.7x but never less. This is calculated with the 15% payout and, by the time the field reaches the final 10%, it will be in the register of about 2x in most events.
- Odd bubbles: payouts will pay in odd numbers from this season on, in order to create matching tables on the bubbles. “we will jump at 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 20, 23, 27, 31, 39+. So, as in the Deauville example, no more will the bubble play hand-for-hand at 6 and 5, but will do it at 6 and 6,” Johnson wrote.
- Balanced bubbles: for payouts of 31 and above, one person less than full tables will be paid, that is, payouts will be made after the breaking of a table, not before. For example, if the bubble hits at nine 8-handed tables, the payout will be made at 71 places instead of 72, so that all tables are balanced and play the bubble equal handed. “We think this is better both for players and organizers and almost all the players I discussed it with thought it was a great solution,” reads the post.
What do you think of the changes?
