The PokerStars-sponsored Women’s Winter Festival wrapped in London this week. And according to PokerStars Ambassador Kerryjane Craigie, the festival became the largest women’s poker event outside of Las Vegas.
The series offered women four days of tournaments and activities in London November 21-24, with The Hippodrome Casino hosting the poker. Players flew from around the world to play, and there seemed to be a general consensus that the series was fun, well run, and a must-play for women in poker. And with Craigie’s general announcement, the Women’s Winter Festival may just be the start.
First Women in Poker Ambassador
Kerryjane Craigie is not the first woman to obtain a PokerStars sponsorship, but she is the first to become an ambassador specifically for women in poker. The announcement in the summer of 2024 revealed that Craigie had been playing poker for more than a decade, with the Hippodrome Casino as her starting point and where she now works as Director of Poker.
Craigie not only helped foster a strong collaboration between PokerStars and Hippodrome, she has been involved in women’s poker initiatives. For example, early in her poker journey, she founded the Ladies Club to support women in poker and help them improve at the game. She joined the Women’s Poker Association (WPA) board in 2023 and plans to make it more prominent in Europe.
She celebrated with fellow ambassadors Jen Shahade and Maria Konnikova in Las Vegas during the WSOP. And she got to work to organize the Women’s Winter Festival.
Inaugural Women’s Festival
It was hardly two weeks later when PokerStars announced said festival and its sponsorship of it. The complete schedule appeared in early September, featuring a Main Event with a £400 buy-in and £100K guarantee. There was to be a 50/50 event for pairs of men and women to register together, and several other tournaments alongside events like a shows and poker bootcamps, and even a freeroll. A month later, they added a £1,100 buy-in High Roller event to add to the schedule.
PokerStars hosted women-only freeroll satellites online, complete with prize packages that awarded a Main Event buy-in, accommodations, and travel expenses.
Side Event Results
The £1,100 High Roller kicked things off. Its final numbers were:
- Total entries: 27
- Total prize pool: £25,920
- Paid players: 5
- Winner: Charlie Waters (UK) £10,020
Setting aside the Main Event for a moment, there was a £220 50/50 freezeout with the field split between men and women. It delivered:
- Total entries: 168
- Total prize pool: £32,256
- Paid players: 23
- Winner: Yon Suaterna (Colombia) £7,556
There was a £220 buy-in open No Limit Hold’em event, which resulted in:
- Total entries: 55
- Total prize pool: £10,368
- Paid players: 7
- Winner: Roni Tal (Israel) £3,378
And the closing event – the freeroll – brought in 88 players, with Wendy Watson of the UK winning the $2,500 PokerStars Silver Pass.
Main Event Results
The £400 buy-in Main Event offered three starting days, with one reentry allowed per player per flight. The final tallies were:
- Total entries: 271
- Total prize pool: £100,000
- Paid players: 44
With £346 of each buy-in going to the prize pool, the total came to $93,766, just falling short of the guarantee. PokerStars made up the difference – which is what a guarantee is for! – to bring the prize pool up to an even £100K.
Ultimately, after players like Caitlin Comeskey, Kim Kilroy, and Jennifer Shahade made the money, the final table was a multi-cultural affair, complete with players from the United States, UK, Ireland, France, Lithuania, Belgium, and Argentina. And when it was over, Maria Lampropulos defeated Ann-Roos Callens for the inaugural Women’s Festival title, new trophy, and £20K.
Women Remain in Spotlight
During the recent North American Poker Tour (NAPT) stop in Las Vegas, PokerStars announced that two new poker players became PokerStars Team Pro members. High roller Jason Koon, formerly of GGPoker, was no surprise, but the other signing was Caitlin Comeskey. She has been playing poker for several years but has become more well-known throughout the poker community for her humorous content creation.
Comeskey joins Shahade and Maria Konnikova on Team Pro, with Craigie representing the women’s division.
Meanwhile, Las Vegas is gearing up for numerous women’s tournaments in December. The WPT Ladies Championship event and the Women in Poker Hall of Fame induction ceremony are just two of the events coming up in Vegas.
- December 9: Orleans Winter Open $300 Ladies Championship ($30K GTD)
- December 10: Women in Poker (WIP) Winter Festival $240 Mystery Bounty at Resorts World
- December 10: Holiday Meetup Game at Resorts World
- December 11: Women in Poker Hall of Fame (WiPHoF) luncheon at Plaza Downtown
- December 11: WiPHoF $185 Bounty tournament at Resorts World
- December 12-13: Women in Poker $360 Championship at Resorts World (2 flights / $30K GTD)
- December 14-15: WPT World Championship at Wynn $1K Ladies Championship ($250K GTD)
- December 15: Women in Poker $200 LIPS Toast to 20 at Resorts World
- December 15: Women in Poker $240 ROSE mixed game at Resorts World
