PokerStars Players Championship to Return in 2020 at EPT Barcelona

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In January, the much anticipated inaugural PokerStars Players No-Limit Hold’em Championship played to a conclusion with Ramon Colillas defeating a field of over 1,000 players to win $5 million.

The event proved so successful that the event is returning in 2020, but this time at a new venue. PokerStars issued a press release on Tuesday announcing the return of the PSPC. The event will play out at the EPT Barcelona from August 20 through 24, 2020 at the Casino Barcelona.

Like last time, PokerStars will be giving away a slew of Platinum Passes with many being awarded through various competitions and challenges.

2020 PSPC to Be Held at EPT Barcelona

PokerStars revealed on Tuesday that the PokerStars Players No-Limit Hold’em Championship will return in 2020. Next year, the event will move from the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure to the EPT Barcelona.

The PSPC will run from August 20-24, 2020 at the Casino Barcelona and once again feature a buy-in of €22,500. PokerStars revealed the dates of next year’s event at the EPT Barcelona on Tuesday and surprised the five finalists in their ‘Chase Your Dream – Play Against Your Heroes’ competition with a Platinum Pass to next year’s event.

According to Severin Rasset, PokerStars’ Managing Director & Commercial Officer for Poker, “The inaugural PSPC was an amazing success and featured hundreds of Platinum Pass winners who dared to dream of playing in an exclusive high-roller event.

The PSPC demonstrates our commitment to cultivating and growing the game, not only by creating opportunities for poker fans of all levels to win life-changing sums of money but also by showcasing poker and the entertainment it provides.”

Platinum Passes to Be Given Away Up Until Next Year’s Event

Five players received a Platinum Pass on Tuesday and that was just the first of what is surely hundreds of passes that will be awarded before next August. A Platinum Pass to the PSPC is worth €26,466 and includes the buy-in for the PSCP along with a flight to Barcelona and a six-night stay in Barcelona.

According to the press release, there will be ten Platinum Passes awarded in a Stars Rewards Mystery Chest promotion that will kick off on August 28, 2019. Additional passes will be rewarded all the way until the event kicks off on August 20, 2020.

Last year, there were 320 Platinum Passes awarded to the PSPC. Many assumed that one or two Platinum Pass winners might make it deep in the event, but nobody expected one to win. Ramon Colillas defied the odds and topped the 1,000 player field to win the event and the biggest payday of his career at $5 million.

Second Running Will Help to Show True Popularity of the Event

We all expected the first PSPC to be successful because PokerStars went all-in on promotion and the poker world was enamored with the concept. Now that it is heading into its second year, it will be interesting to see whether the poker community buys into the event like they did last year.

With the event being played at EPT Barcelona as opposed to the PCA, it will also be interesting to see whether the pros will flock to this event like they did earlier this year. The PCA is the first major poker tournament event of the year and many pros like going to the Bahamas at that time of year. The same cannot be said about Barcelona and one wonders if the change in venue will hurt overall attendance.

Looking into our crystal ball for the future, we predict that the numbers for next year’s PSPC will drop due to the change of venue, but should still be respectable enough to continue the event for another year. If we are wrong and the attendance drops by 30% or more, then next year may be the last time we see the event.