With the summer tournament season fast approaching, GGPoker is getting into the spirit with a new series offering a record-breaking $150 million guarantee.
The GG Online Championship kicked off on Thursday with two tournaments guaranteeing $1 million and $500K, respectively. More than 100 more MTTs are scheduled to follow, including a $1,500 main event with an $8 million guarantee.
When the final events come to an end on May 31, the GG Online Championship (GGOC) will have paid out at least $150 million. That’s the largest guaranteed prize pool in the history of online poker.
GG Online Championship sets new record
To ensure maximum participation, each event will be available at up to four buy-in levels. Low tournaments start at $3, while medium and high buy-in events start at $10 and $108, respectively.
At the top end, super high rollers can ante up in MTTs costing between $10,300 and $25,500.
GG Online Championship Highlights
- May 8: $50 Millions Mini Main Event – $1 Million GTD
- May 8: $50 Omaholic Millions – $250K GTD
- May 15: $400 GGOC Spring Classic – $2 Million GTD
- May 15: GGOC $10,300 Super Millions Main Event – $10 Million GTD
- May 15: $1,500 GGOC Main Event – $8 Million GTD
In addition to more than 100 MTTs and a record-breaking guarantee, GGPoker is giving away $500K to the top performers. The Player of the Series prize pool will be spread across three categories, Low, Medium, and High, with 300 players in each winning some bonus cash.
GGPoker’s Daniel Negreanu, unsurprisingly, described his sponsor’s series as the “biggest and best ever” in a press release. Despite the PR slant to Negreanu’s quote, he has a point. The GG Online Championship trumps anything that’s gone before it.
GGPoker events keep getting bigger
The site’s precedent for pushing boundaries started in 2020. With most of the world in lockdown mode due to COVID-19, action moved online and GGPoker seized the opportunity to start offering guarantees in excess of $50 million.
PokerStars responded in kind and, before long, it guaranteed $100 million for WCOOP 2021. That series went on to pay out $122 million which, although impressive, wasn’t enough to surpass the $150 million GGPoker paid out during the 2020 WSOP Online Series.
The GG Online Championship continues the trend of ever-increasing guarantees and keeps GGPoker one step ahead of PokerStars. However, even with a precedent set and four buy-in levels, GGPoker meeting its ambitious guarantee isn’t certain. The site’s 2021 WSOP Online Main Event fell short of its $20 million guarantee by $563K. Although not a huge amount, it may be a sign that interest in online events can only grow so much in a short space of time.
Regardless of whether or not GGPoker covers its lofty guarantee or not, the announced $150 million prize pool is already a record-breaker.
