PokerStars Festival
 | |
| Sport | Texas Hold 'em |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2016 |
| Ceased | 2018 |
| Official website | [1] |
The PokerStars Festival was a series of global poker tournaments which began in 2016. The formation of the series was announced in August 2016, when PokerStars revealed that the European Poker Tour and other poker tours were being rebranded.[1] Thirteen tournament festivals were played in the inaugural season, in the North America, Europe, South America and Asia. PokerStars also announced another series of tournaments, PokerStars Championship, which features higher buy-in events. The series was discontinued after the second season.
PSF Main Event winners[edit]
Season 1[edit]
| Date | Event / City | Players | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1–5 November 2016 |  PSF New Jersey US$1,100Resorts Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, USA |
208
|
$201,760 | Jason Acosta[2]
|
$38,220 | [2] |
| 25–29 January 2017 |  PSF London £990 (~US$1,237)PokerStars at The Hippodrome Casino, London, UK |
944
|
£824,112 (~US$1,030,037) |
Rehman Kassam[3]
|
£89,320 (~US$111,638) |
[3] |
| 9–13 March 2017 |  PSF Rozvadov €1,100 (~US$1,161)King's Casino, Rozvadov, Czech Republic |
1,126
|
€1,089,310 (~US$1,150,080) |
Petr Svoboda[4]
|
€124,346 (~US$131,283) |
[4] |
| 23–27 May 2017 |  PSF Chile US$1,650 Viña del Mar Casino, Viña del Mar, Chile |
329
|
US$500,000 | Christopher Franco[5]
|
US$97,360 | [5] |
| 21–25 June 2017 |  PSF Marbella €1,100 (~US$1,226)Casino Marbella, Marbella, Spain |
949
|
€911,040 (~US$1,015,358) |
Ignacio De Maturana[6]
|
€152,000 (~US$169,404) |
[6] |
| 20–23 July 2017 |  PSF Lille €1,100 (~US$1,268)Hotel Casino Barrière de Lille, France |
800
|
€768,000 (~US$885,343) |
Philippe Le-Touche[7]
|
€143,000 (~US$164,849) |
[7] |
| 20–24 July 2017 |  PSF Korea ₩1,650,000 (~US$1,468)Paradise Hotel & Resort, Incheon, South Korea |
285
|
₩414,675,000 (~US$368,902) |
Tae Hoon Han[8]
|
₩83,130,000 (~US$73,954) |
[8] |
| 2–6 August 2017 |  PSF Bucharest €1,100 (~US$1,299)JW Marriott Grand Hotel, Bucharest, Romania |
736
|
€706,560 (~US$834,763) |
Sam Grafton[9]
|
€117,707 (~US$139,050) |
[9] |
| 3–7 August 2017 |  PSF Manila ₱55,000 (~US$1,090)City of Dreams, Manila, Philippines |
594
|
₱28,809,000 (~US$571,420) |
 Uday Bansal[10]
|
₱4,676,000 (~US$92,747) |
[10] |
| 19–23 September 2017 |  PSF Uruguay US$1,650 Enjoy Punta del Este, Punta del Este, Uruguay |
261
|
US$379,755 |  Julio Belluscio[11]
|
US$66,748 | [11] |
| 28 September–1 October 2017 |  PSF Dublin €1,100 (~US$1,293)Regency Airport Hotel, Dublin, Ireland |
544
|
€679,000 (~US$798,204) |
Gary McGinty[12]
|
€91,808 (~US$107,925) |
[12] |
| 19–22 October 2017 |  PSF Sochi ₽66,000 (~US$1,150)Sochi Casino and Resort, Sochi, Russia |
699
|
₽40,681,800 (~US$798,204) |
Aleksandr Merzhvinskii[13]
|
₽7,700,000 (~US$134,163) |
[13] |
| 22–26 November 2017 |  PSF Hamburg €1,100 (~US$1,291)Spielbank Schenefeld, Hamburg, Germany |
567
|
€549,990 (~US$645,445) |
Ulrich Pauls[14]
|
€105,850 (~US$124,221) |
[14] |
Season 2[edit]
| Date | Event / City | Players | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24–28 January 2018 | PSF London £990 (~US$1,384) PokerStars at The Hippodrome Casino, London, UK |
852
|
£743,796 (~US$1,039,576) |
Kalidou Sow[15]
|
£121,803 (~US$170,239) |
[15] |
| 6–10 June 2018 | PSF Marbella €1,100 (~US$1,286) Casino Marbella, Marbella, Spain |
1,047
|
€985,920 (~US$1,153,204) |
Omar Del Pino[16]
|
€179,000 (~US$209,371) |
[16] |
| 19–22 July 2018 | PSF Lille €1,100 (~US$1,280) Hotel Casino Barrière de Lille, France |
859
|
€824,640 (~US$959,799) |
Alexandre de Zutter[17]
|
€143,000 (~US$164,849) |
[17] |
Season 1 Results[edit]
PSF New Jersey[edit]
- Venue: Resorts Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, USA
- Buy-in: $1,100
- 5-Day Event: 1–5 November 2016
- Number of buy-ins: 208
- Total Prize Pool: $201,760
- Number of Payouts: 39
| Final table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Place | Name | Prize |
| 1st | Jason Acosta |
$38,220 |
| 2nd | Michael Gagliano |
$28,116 |
| 3rd | Eli Kim |
$20,683 |
| 4th | David Johnston |
$15,215 |
| 5th | Matthew Affleck |
$11,193 |
| 6th | Sridhar Sangannagari |
$8,234 |
| 7th | Rocco Dicondina |
$6,057 |
| 8th | Peter Smyth |
$4,455 |
PSF London[edit]
- Venue: PokerStars at The Hippodrome Casino, London, UK
- Buy-in: £990 (~US$1,237)
- 5-Day Event: 25–29 January 2017
- Number of buy-ins: 944
- Total Prize Pool: £824,112 (~US$1,030,037)
- Number of Payouts: 183
| Final table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Place | Name | Prize |
| 1st | Rehman Kassam |
£89,320* (~US$111,638) |
| 2nd | Daniel Harwood |
£95,000* (~US$$118,738) |
| 3rd |  Eric Cech |
£70,000* (~US$87,491) |
| 4th | Yuriy Boyko |
£43,370 (~US$54,207) |
| 5th | Clément Tripodi |
£31,510 (~US$31,510) |
| 6th |  Ludovic Geilich |
£22,950 (~US$28,684) |
| 7th | Alexis Fleur |
£16,702 (~US$20,875) |
| 8th | Lam Van Trinh |
£12,150 (~US$15,185) |
* Deal between the final three players.
PSF Rozvadov[edit]
- Venue: King's Casino, Rozvadov, Czech Republic
- Buy-in: €1,100 (~US$1,161)
- 5-Day Event: 9–13 March 2017
- Number of buy-ins: 1,126
- Guaranteed Prize Pool: €500,000 (~US$527,894)
- Total Prize Pool: €1,089,310 (~US$1,150,080)
- Number of Payouts: 215
| Final table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Place | Name | Prize |
| 1st | Petr Svoboda |
€124,346 (~US$131,283) |
| 2nd |  Michal Lubas |
€91,000 (~US$96,077) |
| 3rd |  Stanislav Koleno |
€87,444 (~US$92,322) |
| 4th | Michael Rohde |
€78,966 (~US$83,371) |
| 5th |  Cenk Oguz |
€39,078 (~US$41,258) |
| 6th | Marian Flesar |
€28,086 (~US$29,653) |
| 7th |  Péter Kamarás |
€20,186 (~US$21,312) |
| 8th | Jan Stariat |
€14,508 (~US$15,317) |
PSF Chile[edit]
- Venue: Viña del Mar Casino, Viña del Mar, Chile
- Buy-in: $1,650
- 5-Day Event: 23–27 May 2017
- Number of buy-ins: 329
- Guaranteed Prize Pool: $500,000
- Total Prize Pool: $500,000
- Number of Payouts: 47
| Final table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Place | Name | Prize |
| 1st | Christopher Franco |
$97,360 |
| 2nd |  Juan Giraldo |
$61,900 |
| 3rd | Sergio Tello |
$46,400 |
| 4th | Andrés Vega |
$37,560 |
| 5th | Amos Ben Haim |
$29,600 |
| 6th | Rodrigo Zambra |
$22,600 |
| 7th | Oscar Tolosa |
$16,600 |
| 8th | Diego Lizana |
$12,200 |
PSF Marbella[edit]
- Venue: Casino Marbella, Marbella, Spain
- Buy-in: €1,100 (~US$1,226)
- 5-Day Event: 21–25 June 2017
- Number of buy-ins: 949
- Total Prize Pool: €911,040 (~US$1,015,358)
- Number of Payouts: 135
| Final table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Place | Name | Prize |
| 1st | Ignacio De Maturana |
€152.000* (~US$169,404) |
| 2nd | Íñigo Naveiro |
€95.500* (~US$106,434) |
| 3rd | Leo Margets |
€95.500* (~US$106,434) |
| 4th | Fernando Gonzalez |
€54,100 (~US$60,295) |
| 5th | Ignacio Barcenas Romera |
€42,100 (~US$46,921) |
| 6th | Jose Fibla |
€31,200 (~US$34,773) |
| 7th | Fabrizio Privitera |
€22,300 (~US$24,853) |
| 8th |  Marco Lander |
€15,900 (~US$17,721) |
* Deal between the final three players.
PSF Lille[edit]
- Venue: Hotel Casino Barrière de Lille, France
- Buy-in: €1,100 (~US$1,268)
- 4-Day Event: 20–23 July 2017
- Number of buy-ins: 800
- Total Prize Pool: €768,000 (~US$885,343)
- Number of Payouts: 119
| Final table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Place | Name | Prize |
| 1st | Philippe Le-Touche |
€143,000 (~US$164,849) |
| 2nd | Kim Amanton |
€88,000 (~US$101,445) |
| 3rd | Jonathan Amasse |
€62,200 (~US$71,703) |
| 4th | Jean-Marie Piette |
€46,390 (~US$53,477) |
| 5th | Paul Bahbout |
€36,590 (~US$42,180) |
| 6th |  Oystein Nordli |
€27,460 (~US$31,655) |
| 7th | Fabrice Halleux |
€19,550 (~US$22,537) |
| 8th | Florent Lusardi |
€13,600 (~US$15,677) |
PSF Korea[edit]
- Venue: Paradise Hotel & Resort, Incheon, South Korea
- Buy-in: ₩1,650,000 (~US$1,468)
- 5-Day Event: 20–24 July 2017
- Number of buy-ins: 285
- Total Prize Pool: ₩414,675,000 (~US$368,902)
- Number of Payouts: 39
| Final table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Place | Name | Prize |
| 1st | Tae Hoon Han |
₩83,130,000 (~US$73,954) |
| 2nd |  Yuki Ko |
₩55,280,000 (~US$49,178) |
| 3rd |  Wei Kuo Hsiao |
₩40,430,000 (~US$35,967) |
| 4th | Sano Mitsuru |
₩32,635,000 (~US$29,033) |
| 5th | Kojima Harunobu |
₩25,600,000 (~US$22,774) |
| 6th | Scott Janik |
₩19,400,000 (~US$17,259) |
| 7th |  Jwah Kim |
₩14,220,000 (~US$12,650) |
| 8th | Dmitrii Kovalevskii |
₩10,450,000 (~US$9,296) |
PSF Bucharest[edit]
- Venue: JW Marriott Grand Hotel, Bucharest, Romania
- Buy-in: €1,100 (~US$1,299)
- 5-Day Event: 2–6 August 2017
- Number of buy-ins: 736
- Guaranteed Prize Pool: €500,000 (~US$590,723)
- Total Prize Pool: €706,560 (~US$834,763)
- Number of Payouts: 111
| Final table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Place | Name | Prize |
| 1st | Sam Grafton |
€117,707 (~US$139,050) |
| 2nd |  Anil Ozdemir |
€96,993 (~US$114,592) |
| 3rd | Daniel Nietrzebka |
€57,600 (~US$68,051) |
| 4th |  Fahredin Mustafov |
€43,500 (~US$51,392) |
| 5th | Patrick Bueno |
€34,400 (~US$40,641) |
| 6th | Johann Eclapier |
€26,091 (~US$30,825) |
| 7th | Traian Bostan |
€18,720 (~US$22,116) |
| 8th |  Yuri Kudrinsky |
€12,790 (~US$15,110) |
PSF Manila[edit]
- Venue: City of Dreams, Manila, Philippines
- Buy-in: ₱55,000 (~US$1,090)
- 5-Day Event: 3–7 August 2017
- Number of buy-ins: 594
- Guaranteed Prize Pool: ₱20,000,000 (~US$396,695)
- Total Prize Pool: ₱28,809,000 (~US$571,420)
- Number of Payouts: 87
| Final table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Place | Name | Prize |
| 1st | Uday Bansal |
₱4,676,000 (~US$92,747) |
| 2nd |  Antti Halme |
₱4,273,000 (~US$84,753) |
| 3rd |  Michael Falcon |
₱2,456,000 (~US$48,714) |
| 4th | Mike Takayama |
₱1,900,000 (~US$37,686) |
| 5th | Jaehyun Lim |
₱1,500,000 (~US$29,752) |
| 6th | Sam Razavi |
₱1,170,000 (~US$23,206) |
| 7th | Kenneth Buck |
₱870,000 (~US$17,256) |
| 8th |  Hoa Nguyen |
₱596,000 (~US$11,821) |
PSF Uruguay[edit]
- Venue: Enjoy Punta del Este, Punta del Este, Uruguay
- Buy-in: $1,650
- 5-Day Event: 19–23 September 2017
- Number of buy-ins: 261
- Total Prize Pool: $379,755
- Number of Payouts: 39
| Final table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Place | Name | Prize |
| 1st | Julio Belluscio |
$66,748* |
| 2nd | Julio Arocena |
$60,027* |
| 3rd | Hector Barua |
$37,020 |
| 4th | Ernesto Panno |
$29,880 |
| 5th |  Osvaldo Naves |
$23,440 |
| 6th | Juan Perez |
$17,740 |
| 7th | Alejandro García |
$13,020 |
| 8th | Renan Toniolo |
$9,560 |
* Deal between the final two players.
PSF Dublin[edit]
- Venue: Regency Airport Hotel, Dublin, Ireland
- Buy-in: €1,100 (~US$1,293)
- 5-Day Event: 28 September - 1 October 2017
- Number of buy-ins: 544
- Guaranteed Prize Pool: €700,000 (~US$822,890)
- Total Prize Pool: €679,000 (~US$798,204)
- Number of Payouts: 79
| Final table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Place | Name | Prize |
| 1st | Gary McGinty |
€91,808* (~US$107,925) |
| 2nd | James O'Callaghan |
€74,797* (~US$87,928) |
| 3rd |  Antonio Merone |
€78,554* (~US$92,344) |
| 4th | Sean Prendiville |
€71,161* (~US$83,653) |
| 5th | Ivan Tononi |
€35,780 (~US$42,061) |
| 6th | Declan Connolly |
€28,110 (~US$33,044) |
| 7th | Michael Graydon |
€20,980 (~US$24,663) |
| 8th | Alexander Bretherton |
€14,530 (~US$17,080) |
* Deal between the final four players.
PSF Sochi[edit]
- Venue: Sochi Casino and Resort, Sochi, Russia
- Buy-in: ₽66,000 (~US$1,150)
- 5-Day Event: 19–22 October 2017
- Number of buy-ins: 699
- Guaranteed Prize Pool: ₽30,000,000 (~US$522,714)
- Total Prize Pool: ₽40,681,800 (~US$708,831)
- Number of Payouts: 103
| Final table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Place | Name | Prize |
| 1st | Aleksandr Merzhvinskii |
₽7,700,000 (~US$134,163) |
| 2nd | Alexander Denisov |
₽4,700,000 (~US$81,892) |
| 3rd |  Nikita Myshkin |
₽3,350,000 (~US$58,370) |
| 4th | Alexander Shlyakhov |
₽2,600,000 (~US$45,302) |
| 5th | Valentin Zolotilov |
₽2,000,000 (~US$34,848) |
| 6th | Andrey Kotelnikov |
₽1,560,000 (~US$27,181) |
| 7th | Mikhail Zamyatin |
₽1,101,800 (~US$19,198) |
| 8th | Kirill Denisenko |
₽770,000 (~US$13,416) |
PSF Hamburg[edit]
- Venue: Spielbank Schenefeld, Hamburg, Germany
- Buy-in: €1,100 (~US$1,291)
- 5-Day Event: 22–26 November 2017
- Number of buy-ins: 567
- Guaranteed Prize Pool: €500,000 (~US$586,779)
- Total Prize Pool: €549,990 (~US$645,445)
- Number of Payouts: 79
| Final table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Place | Name | Prize |
| 1st | Ulrich Pauls |
€105,850 (~US$124,221) |
| 2nd | Michal Lubas |
€66,220 (~US$77,713) |
| 3rd | Jan Sigel |
€47,410 (~US$55,638) |
| 4th | Behzad Zarnegar |
€36,960 (~US$43,375) |
| 5th |  Stefan Rundstrom |
€28,980 (~US$34,010) |
| 6th | Andrei Nodea |
€22,770 (~US$26,722) |
| 7th |  Karolis Domarkas |
€16,990 (~US$19,939) |
| 8th | Marcin Horecki |
€11,770 (~US$13,813) |
Season 2 Results[edit]
PSF London[edit]
- Venue: PokerStars at The Hippodrome Casino, London, UK
- Buy-in: £990 (~US$1,384)
- 5-Day Event: 24–28 January 2018
- Number of buy-ins: 852
- Total Prize Pool: £743,796 (~US$1,039,576)
- Number of Payouts: 127
| Final table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Place | Name | Prize |
| 1st | Kalidou Sow |
£121,803* (~US$170,239) |
| 2nd | Paul Dando |
£103,197* (~US$$144,234) |
| 3rd | David Mander |
£60,000 (~US$83,859) |
| 4th | Tom Winstone |
£45,000 (~US$62,894) |
| 5th | Waheed Ashraf |
£35,500 (~US$49,617) |
| 6th | Attila Farkas |
£26,600 (~US$37,177) |
| 7th | Thomas Harbrecht-Parker |
£18,500 (~US$25,856) |
| 8th | Tsz Ho |
£13,000 (~US$18,169) |
* Deal between the final two players.
PSF Marbella[edit]
- Venue: Casino Marbella, Marbella, Spain
- Buy-in: €1,100 (~US$1,286)
- 5-Day Event: 6–10 June 2018
- Number of buy-ins: 1,047
- Total Prize Pool: €985,920 (~US$1,153,204)
- Number of Payouts: 154
| Final table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Place | Name | Prize |
| 1st | Cesar Omar Del Pino Hanouadi |
€179,000 (~US$209,371) |
| 2nd | Romain Feriolo |
€107,500 (~US$125,739) |
| 3rd | Ole Hansen |
€76,000 (~US$88,895) |
| 4th | Iñigo Naveiro |
€57,000 (~US$66,671) |
| 5th | Thomas Saltonas |
€44,000 (~US$51,465) |
| 6th |  Zhong Chen |
€32,000 (~US$37,429) |
| 7th | Teunis Kooij |
€23,500 (~US$27,487) |
| 8th | Paul van Oort |
€17,000 (~US$19,884) |
PSF Lille[edit]
- Venue: Hotel Casino Barrière de Lille, France
- Buy-in: €1,100 (~US$1,280)
- 4-Day Event: 19–22 July 2018
- Number of buy-ins: 859
- Total Prize Pool: €824,640 (~US$959,799)
- Number of Payouts: 127
| Final table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Place | Name | Prize |
| 1st | Alexandre de Zutter |
€154,000 (~US$179,240) |
| 2nd | Yannick Ansenne |
€93,480 (~US$108,801) |
| 3rd | Ugo Faggioli |
€65,950 (~US$76,759) |
| 4th |  Alex Peck |
€49,440 (~US$57,543) |
| 5th | Tom De Boom |
€38,980 (~US$45,368) |
| 6th | Samir Akhoullou |
€29,160 (~US$33,939) |
| 7th | Gino Cardenia |
€20,540 (~US$23,906) |
| 8th | Pierre Antona |
€14,430 (~US$16,795) |
Future[edit]
On December 15, 2017, PokerStars announced that it will bring back regional tour brands in 2018. These include the European Poker Tour, Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT), and Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT).[18] Therefore, the PokerStars Festival label will no longer be used.
References[edit]
- ^ CardPlayer - "PokerStars Announces Rebranding Of Live Tournaments Starting In 2017". cardplayer.com. August 24, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
- ^ PokerNews - Nuwwarah, Mo (November 5, 2016). "Jason Acosta Wins the Inaugural PokerStars Festival New Jersey Main Event". pokernews.com. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
- ^ PokerNews - "Rehman Kassam Wins the Record-Breaking 2017 PokerStars Festival London Main Event (£89,320)". pokernews.com. January 30, 2017. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
- ^ PokerNews - Epskamp, Yori (March 14, 2017). "Petr Svoboda Wins €1,100 PokerStars Festival Main Event Rozvadov". pokernews.com. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
- ^ Poker Guru - "Christopher Franco Wins PokerStars Festival Chile Main Event For $97,360". pokerguru.in. May 28, 2017. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
- ^ Poker-Red - "Ignacio López de Maturana se lleva el picón del PokerStars Festival Marbella" (in Spanish). poker-red.com. June 26, 2017. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
- ^ ClubPoker - "PHILIPPE LE TOUCHE VAINQUEUR DU POKERSTARS FESTIVAL LILLE" (in French). clubpoker.net. July 24, 2017. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
- ^ PokerNews - Nuwwarah, Mo (July 24, 2017). "Taehoon Han Wins PokerStars Festival Korea Main Event (₩83,130,000)". pokernews.com. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
- ^ PokerNews - Epskamp, Yori (August 6, 2017). "Sam Grafton Wins PokerStars Festival Bucharest Main Event for €117,707". pokernews.com. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
- ^ PokerNews - Zetzsche, Christian (August 7, 2017). "Uday Bansal Wins 2017 PokerStars Festival Manila Main Event". pokernews.com. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
- ^ PokerNews - "Julio Belluscio Wins PokerStars Festival Uruguay Main Event ($66,748)". pokernews.com. September 22, 2017. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
- ^ PokerNews - Shillibier, Will (October 1, 2017). "Gary McGinty Wins PokerStars Festival Dublin Main Event for €91,808". pokernews.com. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
- ^ CardsChat - Holloway, Chad (October 25, 2017). "Russia, Russia, Belarus: Aleksandr Merzhvinskiy and Kiryl Radzivonau Deliver at PokerStars Festival Sochi". cardschat.com. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
- ^ PokerNews - Zetzsche, Christian (November 26, 2017). "Ulrich Pauls Keeps Trophy and Title at Home; Wins 2017 PokerStars Festival Hamburg €1,100 Main Event (€105,850)". pokernews.com. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
- ^ PokerNews - Pitt, Matthew (January 29, 2018). "Kalidou Sow wins PokerStars Festival London Main Event". pokernews.com. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
- ^ PokerStars - "OMAR DEL PINO WINS POKERSTARS FESTIVAL MARBELLA MAIN EVENT, €179,000 AND A PSPC PLATINUM PASS" (in Spanish). pokerstars.com. June 10, 2018. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
- ^ PokerNews France - "PSF Lille : Alexandre de Zutter encaisse 154.000€ et un Platinum Pass" (in French). fr.pokernews.com. July 23, 2018. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
- ^ Nuwwarah, Mo (December 15, 2017). "European Poker Tour Brand to Return in 2018". PokerNews.com. Retrieved December 17, 2017.