When Partypoker announced the launch of their Diamond Club Elite VIP program at the end of January, it was all but certain that some players would put in the time and effort to reach the site’s highest loyalty tier. The real surprise was just how fast the first player managed to reach that level.
Russian player “sp0ubledy” became the first player to accomplish the feat, doing so on March 29 after two months of grinding Spins games in order to reach his lofty goal.
Spins All Day, Every Day
In order to reach Diamond Club Elite, players must generate $200,000 in rake. In sp0ubledy’s case, this was done by grinding 12 Spins tables for up to 16 hours a day in order to race to become the first player to reach the top of the Partypoker rewards program.
“Being the first Diamond Club Elite member feels like a gift of fate,” sp0ubledy told the Partypoker blog. “I just appeared at the right time, in the right place, and with suitable skills.”
He also had a fair amount of motivation to beat the competition and be the first player to reach the top of the program. As the first player do get to Diamond Club Elite through Spins tables, he will receive 100 percent cashback until Jan. 31, 2020. The same prize will go to the first player to hit the $200,000 rake total through cash games.
Rakeback, Cash Rewards Among Diamond Club Elite Benefits
Other players who reach the Diamond Club Elite tier will also get some generous benefits, though they won’t be getting all of their rake back.
Instead, they’ll start at 40 percent cash back each week, with the potential for that to rise to as much as 60 percent based on hitting various targets. All Diamond Club Elite members also receive a VIP package to the Caribbean Poker Party in November, as well as a $10,300 ticket to the Millions tournament in December.
Other rewards include $10,000 cash when players hit $100,000 in rake paid, and an additional $20,000 when a player hits the $200,000 milestone.
Winning the race to be the first Diamond Club Elite player will likely be an accomplishment that sp0ubledy never forgets, as he said the challenge allowed him to discover his potential as a poker player. That said, he probably won’t keep up his incredible pace now that he’s clinched the rewards that come with being first.
“I will keep playing Spins for sure, but I will play less tables because grinding 10-16 hours per day at 12 tables doesn’t give me much time to study and improve at poker,” he told the Partypoker blog.
The Diamond Club Elite level is reminiscent of Supernova Elite, which was for many years the highest VIP tier available to players on PokerStars and only available to those who generated 1 million VPPs in a calendar year. However, PokerStars phased out the Supernova Elite tier starting in late 2015, much to the chagrin of high volume players who had become accustomed to the rewards that came with reaching that level, which were estimated to be worth more than $100,000.
