Players attended the upcoming European Poker Tour (EPT) series in Prague won’t need to show a COVID pass following the easing of restrictions in the Czech Republic.
PokerStars was forced to postpone EPT Prague last year due to COVID-19. An online event took place in December in lieu of a live series which was given a tentative date of March 2022, subject to COVID restrictions.
March 5 was eventually penciled in as the start date and, with less than a month to go, it’s almost certain that the series will take place inside King’s Casino at the Hilton Prague.
What’s more, with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala moving his country closer to a state of normality, players won’t have to show a COVID pass or proof of vaccination to play.
All change in 2022
The change removes the red tape players faced last year when they had to provide a negative test or show they’d been vaccinated to play at the WSOPE.
However, with Omicron proving less severe than previous variants, European leaders are gradually removing national COVID restrictions. In line with this, Prime Minister Fiala announced last week that COVID passes will no longer be a condition of entry for retail and hospitality venues.
King’s Casino followed this with a Facebook post confirming that all players can attend EPT Prague without having to meet any entry conditions. The only test that will be conducted on entry is a temperature scan.
Restriction-free EPT Prague
Prime Minister Fiala also said that facemasks and other restrictions would be lifted in the coming weeks, with a state of almost complete normality expected to resume in March.
The current rules are that they masks must be worn while seated at a table inside King’s Casino. However, this could change as part of the current move towards lifting all COVID restrictions in the Czech Republic.
Finally, there are no quarantine requirements for people entering the Czech Republic if they are fully vaccinated or can show a negative COVID test. Inbound travelers do need to complete a passenger locator form, but, as it stands, entry to the country is almost restriction-free.
EPT Prague gets under on March 5 and there will be 57 tournaments running through until March 16.
As well as the €5,300 ($6,000) main event, EPT Prague will feature a selection of low stakes events costing less than €500 ($570), as well as high rollers with buy-ins up to €50,000 ($57,000).
