All eyes might be on the WSOP Main Event right now, but the tournament action will continue long after a world champion is crowned thanks to PokerStars.
As the final echoes of riffling chips leave Bally’s and Paris, players with access to PokerStars’ international network will be able to ante up in this year’s MicroMillions.
The first of 208 low-stakes MTTs will begin on July 17, with the entire series running for 15 days and featuring a $4.3 million guarantee.
MicroMillions features multiple six-figure prize pools
Among the tournaments on offer between July 17 and 31 will be a $22 main event, as well as four, weekend specials costing $11 each.
PokerStars hosted its first MicroMillions in 2012 and it quickly became the go-to series for novices wanting a shot at larger than normal prize pools. That dynamic remains intact today. Buy-ins for MicroMillions 2022 events start at $1.10 and go up to $55 for the $200K guaranteed high roller. Qualifiers costing less than $1 are currently available, and a press release from PokerStars confirmed $20K in value will be added to the satellite schedule.
| PokerStars MicroMillions 2022 Highlights | |||
| Date | Event | Buy-In | Guarantee |
| July 17 | MicroMillions Sunday Special | $11 | $100K |
| July 23 | MicroMillions Saturday Special | $11 | $100K |
| July 24 | MicroMillions Sunday Special | $11 | $100K |
| July 30 | MicroMillions Saturday Special | $11 | $100K |
| July 31 | MicroMillions Main Event | $22 | $500K |
| July 31 | MicroMillions High Roller | $55 | $200K |
PokerStars, GGPoker battling for small-stakes supremacy
What’s interesting about the latest MicroMillions is that it follows GGPoker’s low-stakes series. Also called MicroMillion$ (but with a stylized S), GGPoker’s series had a bigger overall guarantee of $5 million.
It also featured a $5 MTT with a $250K guarantee, and two marquee events with seven-figure prize pools:
- $25 MicroMillion$ Main Event – $1M GTD
- $10.50 Mystery Bounty Million$ – $1M GTD
For comparison, PokerStars’ MicroMillions main event costs $22 to enter and has a guaranteed prize pool of $500K. By this comparison alone, GGPoker is winning the small-stakes war.
However, the total guarantee for PokerStars’ MicroMillions is $4.3 million. That means it’s not too far behind its rival in terms of overall value. What’s more, PokerStars has an established record for breaking its guarantees. If history repeats itself, the $5 million mark could be broken. If not, GGPoker will have outplayed its closest competitor.
The good news for PokerStars is that it has plenty more events to fall back on. The latest one to be announced is the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP). Although this week’s announcement didn’t contain any information about the line-up of events, we know WCOOP 2022 will take place between Sept. 4 and 28.
