At long last, the 2019 WSOP Europe schedule has been finalized. King’s Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic will again host the series which includes 10 gold bracelet events and €14 million in total prize pool money.
The series kicks off October 13 and runs until November 4. To clear up some confusion among those who are unsure, yes, the European events do count towards the 2019 World Series Player of the Year race.
The Schedule
The 2019 WSOP Europe series begins October 13 with the €350 “Opener,” a €220,000 guaranteed no-limit hold’em tournament. Players can re-enter twice in each of the two Day One starting flights.
On October 15, the first pot-limit Omaha event of the series begins (€550 8-Handed with a €100,000 guarantee). Two additional PLO events are on the schedule. The first is a €1,650 PLO/No-Limit Hold’em Mixed tournament on October 19. And the second is a €2,200 PLO-only event on October 21.
Much like the 50th annual WSOP in Las Vegas this summer, the European version is hosting its first Mini Main Event, which is a cheaper Main Event. That one costs €1,350 to enter and starts on October 16. The real €10,350 Main Event kicks off on the 25th and guarantees at least €5 million in prize money.
There are two high rollers on the schedule. The first is the €25,500 Platinum High Roller with a $1 million guarantee on the 20th, three days prior to the €100,000 Diamond High Roller, the second €5 million guaranteed tournament of the series.
On October 17, a cheaper tournament takes place: €1,100 Turbo Bounty. And the series concludes with the €550 Colossus, which features nine Day One starting flights and a €1 million guarantee.
Player of the Year Implications
Each year, WSOP Europe factors into the Player of the Year race. Last year, Shaun Deeb took a big lead following the Las Vegas series over to Rozvadov in the fall and picked up four additional cashes to run away with the title.
As it turned out, he didn’t need those additional points. What he accomplished in Las Vegas was enough. But the same can’t be said for the 2017 winner, Chris Ferguson. “Jesus” needed the six cashes including a bracelet in the €1,650 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8-or-Better to hold onto a close lead.
WSOP Europe is sort of like an overtime period for the POY race. Many sneak up and steal the POY title with impressive performances in Europe while others lose it by not attending the series or running bad. Expect much of the same in 2019.
