Another successful year of PokerStars Live events ended with record-shattering European Poker Tour (EPT) and Eureka Poker Tour events in Prague, which was a fantastic way for the operator to wrap up 2024.
Just days ago, PokerStars announced the launch of a brand new European tour dubbed PokerStars Open, which will act as a replacement to a number of mid-major poker tours organized by the operator in recent years.
The new PokerStars Open tour will start in 2025, with the first season already having eight confirmed stops across seven different European countries.
The announcement of PokerStars Open comes in the wake of EPT Paris being canceled, an unfortunate turn of events that came as a result of regulatory changes in France.
Despite EPT Paris being cancelled, PokerStars is clearly showing no signs of backing out of the live tournament game, and is instead doubling down by launching a new brand of poker tournaments that will appeal to newcomers and experienced poker players alike.
PokerStars Open Unites a Number of Existing Tours
The launch of PokerStars Open was announced on December 20, following the end of another successful PokerStars EPT festival in Prague.
According to the announcement, PokerStars Open will be taking the place of several popular mid-major poker tours, including Eureka, FPS, UKIPT, and Estrellas.
These regional tours have been offering exciting events to players on a local level, and have mainly been marketed on national levels as well.
With the launch of PokerStars Open in 2025, each event will be offered as an international affair, prompting players to travel to each stop and compete across the tour as a whole.
PokerStars Associate Director of Live Events Operations Cedric Billot commented: “PokerStars is delighted to bring a series of new events to the European poker calendar. Our PokerStars Open stops are going to provide players with incredible experiences, with each location having its own unique feel that will come together as a European series that both ladders up to the European Poker Tour and stand up in their own right.”
The new PokerStars tour will offer an €1,100 Main Event with a €1,000,000 guarantee at each stop, which will make PokerStars Open truly attractive to all brands of poker players.
Of course, each Main Event will come with a series of side events and satellites associated with it, creating a true poker festival in each of the host cities.
Full PokerStars Open Schedule for 2025 Revealed
While poker tour festivals are often revealed in increments, PokerStars decided to give us the full breakdown of the first PokerStars Open season ahead of time.
According to the announcement, the first season of PokerStars Open will feature a total of eight events scattered throughout the year.
The tour will feature stops in Italy, Ireland, Belgium, France, Spain, England, and Monaco, making it one of the most comprehensive poker tours in all of Europe.
While some events will still be played alongside EPT festivals, PokerStars Open will be mainly a standalone tour, with several completely new stops added to the PokerStars Live schedule for 2025.
Here is a full breakdown of the PokerStars Open events you can play in 2025, along with their dates and locations:
| Dates | Location | Buyin | Guarantee |
| March 10 – 16 | Casino di Campione, Campione, Italy | €1,100 | €1,000,000 |
| April 10 – 21 | Royal Dublin Society, Dublin, Ireland | €1,150 | €2,500,000 |
| April 30 – May 4 | Sporting Monte Carlo, Monte Carlo, Monaco | €1,100 | €1,000,000 |
| May 28 – June 9 | Circus Casino Resort, Namur, Belgium | €1,100 | €1,000,000 |
| June 16 – 22 | Gran Madrid Casino Torrequebrada, Malaga, Spain | €1,100 | €1,000,000 |
| August 18 – 24 | Casino Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain | €1,100 | €1,000,000 |
| October 20 – 26 | Casino Manchester235, Manchester, England | €1,100 | €1,000,000 |
| December 8 – 14 | Casino Barriere Le Croisette, Cannes, France | €1,100 | €1,000,000 |
Qualify for the First Season of PokerStars Open Online
The inaugural season of PokerStars Open is upon us, and PokerStars has already deployed online satellites for the first stops of the season in Campione and Dublin.
Throughout 2025, players will have a chance to qualify for PokerStars Open events, with satellite buyins starting as low as $0.10, and freeroll options available as well.
Direct satellites for the initial events of the season are offered at the $109 buyin level, with winners receiving both Main Event tickets and extra cash to cover travel and accommodations.
In addition to the direct qualifiers, a variety of feeder satellites are available as well, allowing players to build their way up to the €1,100 buyin for each PokerStars Open tournament.
PokerStars Open will also be available to all Power Path Silver Pass holders, as these passes can also be used to enter a PokerStars Open event of your choice.
Head over to PokerStars now to start grinding the satellites for next year’s PokerStars Open events and win your tickets ahead of time for a guaranteed seat at some of the most exciting poker tournaments in Europe in 2025.
