The PokerStars Canada Cup at Playground Poker Club will feature a $10,400 buy-in High Roller tournament and $2 million guaranteed prize-pool for the Main Event
KAHNAWAKE, March 6, 2014 /CNW/ - Millions of dollars in prize money will be awarded in Montreal from May 16-28, 2014 when Playground Poker Club hosts the PokerStars Canada Cup. The poker festival is expected to draw many of the world's top players for 12 events over 13-days including a $3,300 buy-in Main Event with a $2 million guaranteed prize pool and a $10,400 buy-in High Roller tournament.
"PokerStars is known for hosting the best live events in cities all over the world. Following the poker circuit can require a lot of travel, so it's nice to see a world-class event planned close to home," says Jonathan Duhamel, Team PokerStars Pro and 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion from Boucherville, Quebec. "Many of today's top players are from Canada and it's exciting to see the poker world recognize this and stage an event that caters to our poker community."
Canada - Quebec in particular - has produced a lot of poker talent in recent years. Duhamel made history in 2010 becoming the first Canadian to win the World Series of Poker Main Event. He's still the only Canadian to have claimed the title but a couple others have come close. In fact, Duhamel's win started a series of deep-runs from Quebec players. Marc-André Ladouceur from Montreal, Quebec finished 13th in 2012 and Marc-Etienne Mclaughlin, also from Montreal, made the final table and finished sixth in 2013.
"It really is a great time for poker in Canada and we're producing a lot of talented players. There is a tight-knit poker community in Quebec, which allows us to discuss strategy and improve our skills," says Ladouceur, who in 2013 signed on as a member of Team PokerStars Online Pro. "Prestigious live events like this give people even more reason to get excited about the game of poker."
"This is only the first year that we are holding the Canada Cup, but we have big plans. Our vision is to make it an annual event that gets bigger and better each year," says Geoff Fardy, Canadian Country Manager, PokerStars.net. "PokerStars is known for hosting the best live events all over the world; it's time to host one in Canada. After all, many of the top players in the world are from this country. But - an event with such an enormous guarantee in a great city like Montreal is sure to attract players from outside our borders. The first Canada Cup champ may not be Canadian."
In addition to the Main Event and High Roller tournament, the Canada Cup schedule includes lower buy-in tournaments for players with slightly smaller bankrolls such as a $150 buy-in No Limit Hold'Em event with a $100,000 guarantee
Freeroll your way to the Canada Cup Main Event
Players can qualify for the Canada Cup Main Event for free by playing in free online tournaments that are running daily at 8 p.m. ET. The top nine players from each night advance to online finals on March 29 and May 3 at 8 p.m. ET that each award a seat in the Canada Cup Main Event. The tournaments are in the PokerStars.net client under 'Tourneys' > 'Regional'.
To view the full schedule of events for the inaugural PokerStars Canada Cup at Playground Poker Club, visit: http://www.pokerstars.net/poker/promotions/canada-cup/.
About PokerStars
PokerStars operates the world's most popular online poker sites, serving a global poker community of more than 61 million registered members. Since it launched in 2001, PokerStars has become the first choice of the world's top players, with more daily tournaments than anywhere else and with the best security online. More than 110 billion hands have been dealt on PokerStars, which is more than any other site.
PokerStars is a member of The Rational Group, which operates gaming-related businesses and brands, including PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and the European Poker Tour. Rational Group entities in the UK and Isle of Man were collectively recognized as one of the UK's best workplaces when they were awarded a top 25 position by the Great Place to Work Institute in its UK's Best Workplaces – Large category in both 2012 and 2013.
*World Series of Poker and WSOP are trademarks of Caesars License Company, LLC ("Caesars"). Caesars does not sponsor or endorse, and is not associated or affiliated with PokerStars or its products, services, promotions or tournaments.
SOURCE: PokerStars.net
Sinead Brown, [email protected], 416-413-5193
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