Sunday, November 10, 2024

European Poker Tour (EPT)’s 20th Anniversary: Looking Back at the First Ten Years

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The PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) is celebrating its 20th anniversary at the upcoming EPT Barcelona stop. Since its inception, the EPT has awarded over €575 million in prize money while visiting 24 cities in 19 countries.

Fittingly, the EPT celebrates its 20th birthday at the venue that kicked off one of live poker’s most prestigious tours. With that in mind, let’s take a trip down memory lane and look at the first ten years of this incredible tour.

Season 1

Rob Hollink
Rob Hollink (in 2024)

Dates Event Main Event Champion Prize
Sep. 18-19, 2004 EPT Barcelona Open Alexander Stevic €80,000
Oct. 9-10, 2004 EPT London John Shipley £200,000
Oct. 23-24, 2004 EPT Dublin Ram Vaswani €93,000
Jan. 29-30, 2005 EPT Scandinavian Open Noah Boeken DKr1,098,340
Feb. 15-19, 2005 EPT French Open Brandon Schaefer €144,000
Mar. 10-11, 2005 EPT Vienna Pascal Perrault €184,500
Mar. 15-19, 2005 EPT Grand Final Monte Carlo Rob Hollink €635,000

The inaugural EPT took place at Casino Barcelona between September 14-19, 2004. Five side events ran alongside the €1,100 Main Event, a far cry from today’s bustling schedules. A field of 229 entrants created a €229,000 prize pool, with Sweden’s Alexander Stevic claiming the first-ever EPT Main Event title and €80,000.

It didn’t take long for the EPT to award its first six-figure top prize because EPT London, a month after the opening leg of the fledgling tour, paid champion John Shipley £200,000.

Stops in Dublin, Copenhagen, Deauville, and Vienna followed before Dutchman Rob Hollink triumphed in the first €10,000 EPT Grand Final Main Event, defeating Brandon Schaefer heads-up to secured €635,000, a prize unheard of outside the United States.

Season 2

Patrik Antonius
Patrik Antonius (in 2024)

Dates Event Main Event Champion Prize
Sep. 16-17, 2005 EPT Barcelona Open Jan Boubli €426,000
Sep. 30-Oct. 2, 2005 EPT London Mark Teltscher £280,000
Oct. 4-6, 2005 EPT Baden Classic Patrik Antonius €288,180
Oct. 29-30, 2005 EPT Dublin Mats Gavatin €317,000
Jan. 19-22, 2006 EPT Scandinavian Open Mads Andersen DKr2,548,040
Feb. 8-11, 2006 EPT French Open Mats Iremark €480,000
Mar. 7-11, 2006 EPT Grand Final Monte Carlo Jeff Williams €900,000

By the EPT’s second season, word had spread about the fantastic structures and player-centric nature of the tour. Season 2 started well, with Jan Boubli claiming the €426,000 top prize at EPT Barcelona, the largest prize paid in a non-Grand Final Main Event.

A certain Patrik Antonius became an EPT champion three legs into Season 2, taking down the EPT Baden Classic in Austria for €288,180.

As was becoming the norm, the season ended with the €10,000 Grand Final in Monte Carlo. Nineteen-year-old American Jeff “yellowsub86” Williams won the Grand Final in Season 2, becoming the youngest-ever EPT champion and raking in the tour’s largest top prize of €900,000.

Season 3

Victoria Coren Mitchell
Victoria Coren Mitchell

Dates Event Main Event Champion Prize
Sep. 13-16, 2006 EPT Barcelona Open Bjorn-Erik Glenne €691,000
Sep. 21-24, 2006 EPT London Victoria Coren-Mitchell £500,000
Oct. 7-10, 2006 EPT Baden Classic Duc Thang Nguyen €487,397
Oct. 16-29 EPT Dublin Roland De Wolfe €554,300
Jan. 17-20, 2007 EPT Scandinavian Open Magnus Petersson DKr4,078,080
Mar. 8-11, 2007 EPT German Open Andreas Hoivold €672,000
Mar. 14-17, 2007 EPT Warsaw Open Peter Jepsen zl1,226,711
Mar. 28—Apr. 2, 2007 EPT Grand Final Monte Carlo Gavin Griffin €1,825,010

Season 3 was full of firsts for the EPT. Two stops in, at EPT London, Victoria Coren-Mitchell (Victoria Coren back then) became the tour’s first female champion. Two stops later, at EPT Dublin, Roland De Wolfe became the first poker player in history to win a World Poker |Tour (WPT) Main Event and an EPT. De Wolfe would later capture poker’s Triple Crown by winning a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet.

March 2007 was the first time the EPT stopped in Germany, with Dortmund hosting the EPT German Open. Norway’s Andreas Hoivold took that event down for €672,000.

Illinois’ Gavin Griffin triumphed in the Grand Final and took home €1,825,010, the tour’s first seven-figure top prize and the largest single prize by far. Like De Wolfe, Griffin later became a Triple Crown winner.

Complete Guide to EPT Barcelona 2024 – Everything You Need to Know

Season 4

Mike McDonald
Mike McDonald

Dates Event Main Event Champion Prize
Aug. 28-Sep. 1, 2007 EPT Barcelona Open Sander Lyloff €1,170,700
Sep. 25-29, 2007 EPT London Joseph Mowawad £611,520
Oct. 7-10, 2007 EPT Baden Classic Julian Thew €670,800
Oct. 30-Nov. 3, 2007 EPT Dublin Reuben Peters €532,620
Dec. 10-14, 2007 EPT Prague Arnaud Mattern €708,400
Jan. 5-10, 2008 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Bertrand Grospellier $2,000,000
Jan. 29-Feb. 2, 2008 EPT German Open Mike McDonald €933,600
Feb. 19-23, 2008 EPT Scandinavian Open Tim Vance DKr6,220,488
Mar. 11-15, 2008 EPT Warsaw Open Michael Schulze zl2,153,999
Apr. 1-5, 2008 EPT Sanremo Jason Mercier €869,000
Apr. 12-17, 2008 EPT Grand Final Monte Carlo Glen Chorny €2,020,000

Just as the poker community thought the EPT couldn’t improve, PokerStars added four new stops to the schedule. Frenchman Arnaud Mattern helped himself to the inaugural EPT Prague’s €708,400 top prize, Michael Schulze became the first EPT Warsaw Open winner, and a then-22-year-old Jason Mercier won his first live tournament, choosing EPT Sanremo (€1,508,000) to do so!

The other new stop was the first edition of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) in early January 2009. Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier was the Main Event’s champion, adding a $2,000,000 prize to his impressive resume.

Season 4 also saw Mike “Timex” McDonald became the youngest-ever EPT Main Event champion after he was victorious in Dortmund (€933,600), while Glen Chorny‘s victory in the Grand Final in Monte Carlo earned him €2,020,000, breaking the record for the tour’s largest payout.

Season 5

Pieter de Korver
Pieter de Korver

Dates Event Main Event Champion Prize
Sep. 10-14, 2008 EPT Barcelona Open Sebastian Ruthenberg €1,361,000
Oct. 1-5, 2008 EPT London Michael Martin £1,000,000
Oct. 28-Nov. 1, 2008 EPT Warsaw Open Joao Barbosa €367,140
Dec. 9-13 EPT Prague Salvatore Bonavena €774,000
Jan. 5-10, 2009 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Poorya Nazari $3,000,000
Jan 20-24, 2009 EPT French Open Moritz Kranich €851,400
Feb. 17-21, 2009 EPT Scandinavian open Jens Kyllonen DKr6,542,208
Mar. 10-14, 2009 EPT German Open Sandra Noujoks €917,000
Apr. 18-23, 2009 EPT Sanremo Constant Rijkenberg €1,508,000
Apr. 28-May. 3, 2009 EPT Grand Final Monye Carlo Pieter de Korver €2,300,000

The EPT was going from strength to strength with each passing season, and in Season 5, there were at least five top prizes of $1,000,000.

Sebastian Ruthenberg won €1,361,000 for his EPT Barcelona win, Michael Martin scooped £1,000,000 for his EPT London victory, while Poorya Nazari got his hands on an incredible $3,000,000 after coming out on top in the PCA Main Event.

Toward the end of the season, Constant Rijkenberg won EPT Sanremo for €1,508,000, and Pieter de Korver claimed the €2,300,000 Grand Final’s top prize.

Sandwiched between those eye-popping sums of money was Sandra Naujoks becoming only the second female EPT Main Event champion after she won in Dortmund for €917,000.

Season 6

Liv Boeree
Liv Boeree (in 2024)

Dates Event Main Event Champion Prize
Aug. 18-23, 2009 EPT Kiev Maxim Lykov €330,000
Sep. 4-9, 2009 EPT Barcelona Carter Phillips €850,000
Oct. 2-7, 2009 EPT London Aaron Gustavson £850,000
Oct. 20-25, 2009 EPT Warsaw Christophe Benzimra zl1,493,170
Nov. 17-22, 2009 EPT Vilamoura Antonio Matias €404,793
Dec. 1-6, 2009 EPT Prague Jan Skampa €682,000
Jan. 5-11, 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Harrison Gimbel $2,200,000
Jan 20-25, 2010 EPT Deauville Jake Cody €847,000
Feb. 16-21, 2010 EPT Copenhagen Anton Wigg DKr3,675,000
Mar. 2-7, 2010 EPT Berlin Kevin MacPhee €1,000,000
Mar. 21-26, 2010 EPT Snowfest Allan Baekke €445,000
Apr. 15-21, 2010 EPT Sanremo Liv Boeree €1,250,000
Apr. 25-30, 2010 EPT Grand Final Monte Carlo Nicolas Chouity €1,700,000

The sixth EPT season saw the tour and the masses of players head to three new destinations. The tour kicked off with a trip to Kiev, Ukraine, where Maxim Lykov won the Main Event’s €330,000 first-place prize.

Portugal hosted an EPT for the first time in November 2009, with EPT Vilamoura. Antonio Matias won the inaugural event there, returning home with €404,793.

The first EPT Snowfest took place in Austria in late March. Players mixed skiing on the slopes with grinding at the tables, with Allan Baekke writing his name in the EPT’s history books under the heading Main Event Champion, a result worth €445,000.

British pro Jake Cody won the first leg of his Triple Crown in Deauville, while Liv Boeree became the third female EPT Main Event champion in Sanremo.

Perhaps the biggest story of Season 6 was not a massive score enjoyed by a champion but the fact there was an armed robbery at EPT Berlin! Four masked men, armed with knives and at least one gun, robbed the EPT Berlin Main Event and escaped with €242,000. Thankfully, nobody was seriously injured, and police caught the robbers a few days later; they were later convicted and sentenced to three years in prison.

Season 7

Roberto Romanello
Roberto Romanello

Dates Event Main Event Champion Prize
Aug. 11-16, 2010 EPT Tallinn Kevin Stani €400,000
Aug. 28-Sep. 2, 2010 EPT Vilamoura Toby Lewis €467,836
Sep. 29-Oct. 4, 2010 EPT London David Vamplew £900,000
Oct. 26-31, 2010 EPT Vienna Michael Eiler €700,000
Nov. 22-27, 2010 EPT Barcelona Kent Lundmark €825,000
Dec. 13-18, 2010 EPT Prague Roberto Romanello €640,000
Jan. 8-15, 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Galen Hall $2,300,000
Jan. 25-31, 2011 EPT Deauville Lucien Cohen €880,000
Feb. 21-26, 2011 EPT Copenhagen Michael Tureniec DKr3,700,000
Mar. 20-25, 2011 EPT Snowfest Vladimir Geshkenbein €390,000
Apr. 5-10, 2011 EPT Berlin Ben Wilinofsky €825,000
Spr. 27-May. 3, 2011 EPT Sanremo Rupert Elder €930,000
May 7-12, 2011 EPT Grand Final Madrid Ivan Freitez €1,500,000

Season 7 of the EPT is my personal favorite because it is when I became a live reporter for PokerNews! After Kevin Stani won the first EPT Tallinn for €400,000, Toby “810ofclubs” Lewis won EPT Vilamoura and David Vamplew defeated seasoned pro John Juanda heads-up at EPT London.

EPT Barcelona again took place, my first live reporting gig for PokerNews, and Kent Lundmark of Sweden emerged victoriously, lifting the trophy and banking €825,000.

An emotional Roberto Romanello triumphed in Prague for the first part of his Triple Crown, Galen Hall secured a $2,300,000 payday in the PCA Main Event, with Vladimir Geshkenbein won the last EPT Snowfest while sporting the patches of the now-defunct online poker site PKR.

The angle shooting Ivan Freitez won that season’s Grand Final for €1,500,000.

Season 8

Davidi Kitai
Davidi Kitai

Dates Event Main Event Champion Prize
Aug. 2-7, 2011 EPT Tallinn Ronny Kaiser €275,000
Aug. 27-Sep.1, 2011 EPT Barcelona Martin Schleich €850,000
Sep. 20-Oct. 6, 2011 EPT London Benny Spindler £750,000
Oct. 21-27, 2011 EPT Sanremo Andrey Pateychuk €680,000
Nov. 15-20, 2011 EPT Liutraki Zimnan Ziyard €347,000
Dec. 5-10, 2011 EPT Prague Martin Finger €720,000
Jan. 7-13, 2012 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure John Dibella $1,175,000
Jan. 31-Feb. 6 EPT Deauville Vadim Kursevich €875,000
Feb. 20-25, 2012 EPT Copenhagen Mickey Petersen DKr2,515,000
Mar. 12-17, 2012 EPT Madrid Frederk Jensen €495,000
Mar. 26-31, 2012 EPT Campione Jannick Wrang €640,000
Apr. 16-21, 2012 EPT Berlin Davidi Kitai €712,000
Apr. 25-30, 2012 EPT Grand Final Monte Carlo Mohsin Charania €1,350,000

The champions of the EPT Season 8 Main Events read like a who’s who of the poker world. Ronnie Kaiser, Benny Spindler, Andrey Pateychuk, and Martin Finger all reeled in titles before the year’s end.

Mickey Petersen won the battle of youth vs. experience when he defeated Pierre Neuville heads-up at EPT Copenhagen, with Belgian Davidi Kitai making a superb hero call when heads-up against Andrew Chen at EPT Berlin before taking down the tournament and becoming only the fifth player in history to complete poker’s Triple Crown.

Season 9

Steve O'Dwyer
Steve O’Dwyer

Dates Event Main Event Champion Prize
Aug. 15-25, 2012 EPT Barcelona Mikalai Pobal €1,007,550
Oct. 5-11, 2012 EPT Sanremo Ludovic Lacay €744,910
Dec. 9-15, 2012 EPT Prague Ramzi Jelassi €835,000
Jan. 7-13, 2013 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Dimitar Danchev $1,859,000
Feb. 3-9, 2013 EPT Deauville Remi Castaignon €770,000
Mar. 10-16, 2013 EPT London Ruben Visser £595,000
Apr. 21-27, 2013 EPT Berlin Daniel Pidun €880,000
May 6-12, 2013 EPT Grand Final Monte Carlo Steve O’Dwyer €1,224,000

Belarus celebrated its first EPT Main Event champion when Mikalai Pobal raked in the €1,007,550 top prize at EPT Barcelona to kick off Season 9. There were also wins for seasoned pros Ludovic Lacay, Ramzi Jelassi, and Dimitar Danchev, the latter winning the PCA Main Event.

Steve O’Dwyer enjoyed his first $1M+ score after being awarded €1,224,000 for winning the Grand Final in Monte Carlo. O’Dwyer overcame a stacked final table housing Freddy Deeb, Jason Mercier, Noah Schwartz, Jake Cody, Daniel Negreanu, Johnny Lodden, and Andrew Pantling.

Season 10

Victoria Coren Mitchell
Victoria Coren Mitchell

Dates Event Main Event Champion Prize
Aug. 26-Sep.7, 2013 EPT Barcelona Tom Middleton €924,000
Oct. 2-12, 2013 EPT London Robin Ylitalo £560,980
Dec. 12-18 EPT Prague Julian Track €725,700
Jan. 7-13, 2014 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Dominik Panka $1,423,096
Jan. 26-Feb. 1, 2014 EPT Deauville Sotirios Koutoupas €614,000
Mar. 23-29, 2014 EPT Vienna Oleksii Khoroshenin €578,392
Apr. 14-20, 2014 EPT Sanremo Victoria Coren-Mitchell €476,100
Apr. 26-May. 2, 2014 EPT Grand Final Monte Carlo Antonio Buonanno €1,240,000

Season 10 rounded off the first decade of the EPT, and saw another host of household names become EPT champions. Tom Middleton, and Dominik Panka won the largest sums, namely €924,000 in Barcelona and $1,423,096 at the PCA before something special happened in the penultimate leg in Sanremo.

Until this event, each EPT stop had crowned a fresh Main Event champion; nobody had managed to win two. That all changed when Victoria Coren-Mitchell beat Giacomo Fundaro heads-up, adding her second EPT Main Event title to her impressive resume.

The tenth season ended with Antonio Buonanno become the EPT Grand Final champion. The Italian and Jack Salter locked horns for heads-up at a final table lasting 18 hours before Buonanno finally concluded the tournament.

Stay tuned to PokerNews for Part 2 of our looking back at the EPT glistening history, for live and exclusive coverage of the 2024 edition of EPT Barcelona, and more.

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