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The European Poker Tour was launched following the immense success
of the World Poker Tour which was based largely in the United
States. Known as the EPT, the series follows the best poker
players in the world touring across the major European Tournaments.
Just as the World Poker Tour not only contributed, but was also
a product of the growth in popularity of Texas Hold’em
Poker across the Americas, the European Poker Tour was in part
at least a response to the explosion of poker throughout Europe.
Successful and talented poker players originating from Europe
were becoming more and more visible at major poker events –
players including Ram Vaswani and the other Hendon Mob players,
Marcel Luske, Bruno Fitoussi and Dave Ulliot to name but a few.
The European Poker Tour still operates on a smaller scale
to the World Poker Tour – the buy-ins are on average
half the size of the WPT, which in turn means that the prize
funds are also smaller. Having said that, the prizes being
won are still in the region of $100,000, making the tournament
events fully worthwhile for many high ranking players. The
events are held in the UK, France, Denmark, Spain, Ireland
and Germany, with the series final held in one of the most
illustrious gambling capitals in the world – Monte Carlo,
Monaco.
The European Poker Tour allows 8 players at the final table,
as opposed to the World Poker Tour which only allows 6. The
finalists and runners up from the previous tournaments play
against each other in the Grand Final for the title of European
Poker Tour Champion, and a first prize in the region of €650,000.
In 2004, a dedicated and innovative team was formed that
created and continues to drive the European Poker Tour. This
team aimed not only to create a successful television series,
but also to promote poker as a recognized sport, not only
across Europe, but across the world.
John Duthie is the CEO and Executive Producer of the EPT,
and has a strong background in UK television drama, with Silent
Witness and the BAFTA winning Clocking Off credited to his
name. More than technical experience however, John Duthie
is also a passionate poker player, who won the first Ladbrokes
Poker Million on live television in 2000, and made it to the
final table at the 2005 World Series of Poker $3000 No Limit
Hold’em event.
Thomas Kremser is the European Poker Tour Tournament Director.
Kremser is the CEO of the International Poker Federation,
which once again demonstrates a firm belief that poker deserves
full recognition as a respected sport. In addition, Thomas
Kremser is also the Tournament Director for Late Night Poker,
which is screened on Channel Four in the UK, and which is
also hugely popular.
Sunset and Vine are a well renowned sports production company,
which is not only responsible for the production of over 2000
hours per year of television, but also distributes and produces
the Gillette Sports Magazine Show and handles international
advertiser supplied programming.
The final member of the team brings the European Poker Tour
the support and backing it needs in the growing domain of
the Internet. PokerStars.com officially sponsor the European
Poker Tour, and are one of the most innovative and successful
online poker rooms around. PokerStars.com continues to drive
the popularity of poker forward by giving its online players
the chance to win places in live tournaments, having made
major stars of Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer, both WSOP
champions who won their entries through online tournaments.
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