Weekend Preview: Online Poker Festivals Start With a Bang
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The weekend is upon us and that means many PokerNews readers are making plans to get their grind on in some online poker tournaments. With the $75 million guaranteed Spring Championship Of Online Poker (SCOOP) kicking off at PokerStars and the rake-free WPT Global Spring Festival shuffling up and dealing for the first time on May 5, where better to play some prestigious events than at these two sites?
SCOOP 04-L: $109 NLHE Progressive KO Sunday Million
The PokerStars Sunday Million may have recently celebrated its 18th anniversary, but it is still the online poker tournament everyone wants to win. The Sunday Million has a magical aura surrounding it, which is amplified during major festivals like SCOOP.
Kicking off at 5:30 p.m. BST on May 5, the SCOOP edition of the Sunday Million costs $109 to enter and boasts a $1 million guarantee on its prize pool. Half of the prize pool will be awarded like in a traditional tournament, with the remaining 50% going on each entrant's head in the form of a progressive bounty. Bust an opponent and you will win at least $25 instantly, although the bounties towards the business end of the tournament often swell into high four-figures and more.
"ChavesVila" of Brazil won last weekend's Sunday Million PKO, and saw his PokerStars account increase by $83,166, with more than $30,000 of that princely sum stemming from bounties!
If you're looking for a cheap way into the SCOOP opening weekend's Sunday Million, satellites start at $5.50. At 4:15 p.m. BST on May 5, there is an $11 buy-in satellite with 175x $109 seats guaranteed, which could be your best shot at securing a cut-price seat.
Don't forget that you can use a Power Path Bronze Pass to enter the $109 Sunday Million, too. Every PokerStars player receives a $0.50 Step 1 ticket just for playing at the site each day, so grab yours, head up the Power Path, and see if you can become a SCOOP champion on Day 1 of the series.
SCOOP 04-M: $1,050 NLHE Progressive KO Sunday High Roller
The $1,050 NLHE Progressive KO Sunday High Roller begins at the same time as the Sunday Million, at 5:30 p.m. BST on May 5. To enter this huge event, which has $1 million guaranteed, you'll need $1,050 in your PokerStars account, have won a ticket via a satellite, or redeemed a Power Path Pass for a SCOOP or online tickets bundle.
This event has the potential to provide massive value to those entering it. The $1,050 Sunday High Roller is a regular feature at PokerStars each weekend, although it usually has a $100,000 guarantee on its prize pool. However, the May 5 edition has been given the SCOOP treatment, and PokerStars has increased the guarantee to a whopping $1 million! For comparison, last week saw 122 players buy into the Sunday High Roller PKO; the SCOOP version needs 1,000 players to hit the guarantee!
Satellites from $55 are available right now in the PokerStars tournament lobby. The $55 buy-in satellite at 4:05 p.m. BST on May 5 boasts 30x $1,050 seats in its prize pool. An hour later, 40 seats are guaranteed in a $109 buy-in satellite. Good luck!
Head to WPT Global for the Mini, Sunday, and Grand Slam Events
The $7 million WPT Global Spring Festival gets underway on May 5, the start of 22 days of non-stop poker action. The Spring Festival has hit the headlines for offering 100% rakeback via special freerolls and leaderboards in addition to its value-packed tournaments.
A trio of such tournaments take place on the first day of the WPT Global Spring Festival on May 5. At 4:00 p.m. ET, the $110 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed Sunday Slam commences. Ten minutes later, at 4:10 p.m. ET, the Grand Slam kicks off. The Grand Slam commands a $330 buy-in and features a $70,000 guaranteed prize pool. Complete the trio of slams is the $11 buy-in Mini Slam with its $16,500 guarantee.
WPT Global runs a plethora of satellites into the Mini, Sunday, and Grand Slam, while new depositing customers can get their hands on free Sunday Slam tickets just for making a $300 deposit; check out the WPT Global welcome offer below:
| New or Existing Players | Deposit Number | Min Deposit | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| New only | 1st | $20 | 2x $5 WPT Global Spins tickets, 2x $5 WPT Passport satellite tickets |
| New and existing | 2nd | $20 | 1x $10 WPT Global Spins tickets, 2x $5 WPT Passport satellite tickets |
| New and existing | Deposit of $300+ | $300 | All of the above plus $110 Sunday Slam ticket, 2x $10 WPT Global Spins tickets |
| New and existing | Deposit of $1,200+ | $1,200 | All of the above plus $110 Sunday Slam ticket, 2x $50 WPT Global Spins tickets, 1x $25 WPT Global Spins ticket |
