The European Poker Tour is Europe’s premier televised poker series, and probably the third most significant poker series worldwide, behind only the WPT and the WSOP circuit.
Started in 2004, the EPT is the brainchild of television director and professional poker player John Duthie.
Duthie, a top British television director responsible for many of the UK’s most successful prime time dramas and an equally successful poker player with a £1 million tournament win to his name, teamed up with PokerStars.com to create the EPT just as the poker craze was sweeping uncontrollably across Europe and the world.
Although the poker series began relatively modestly, Duthie used all his experience in television to produce a first class show, with high production values, and stylish looks. The EPT grew rapidly, expanding into one of the biggest poker tournaments in the world, and the recent EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo in March 2006 featured a €900,000 ($1,075,000) first prize and a massive XXXX prize pool.
Format
Although in many ways very similar to the WPT the EPT differs in some crucial aspects. The biggest difference is the buy-in, with EPT main-event buy-ins typically €2000 - €4000, significantly less than the $10,000 - $25,000 buy-ins seen on the WPT. This of course makes for smaller prize pools, which takes some of the glamour away from the competition and means there are less stars on view.
Nevertheless, as the EPT grows in popularity the prize pools are getting bigger, and as mentioned above, the EPT has already seen a first place pay out of over $1 million. It will not be long this becomes a regular occurrence on the EPT.
The other difference between the EPT and the WPT is that EPT final tables feature eight players instead of six. This means viewers see more poker and a bigger range of players.
Present Day
Since its inception the EPT has grown into one of the strongest poker circuits in the world; the main events now have prize pools of over €1 million, while the television show is broadcast in over 40 countries.
The EPT circuit kicks off in Barcelona in September and runs through to march when the EPT Grand Final with a €10,000 is held in Monte Carlo.