PokerStars Festival explained

PokerStars Festival
Pixels:	220px
Sport:	Texas Hold 'em
Founded:	2016
Folded:	2018
Website:	https://www.pokerstarslive.com/festival/events/

The PokerStars Festival was a series of global poker tournaments which began in 2016. The formation of the series was announced in August 2016, when PokerStars revealed that the European Poker Tour and other poker tours were being rebranded.^[1] Thirteen tournament festivals were played in the inaugural season, in the North America, Europe, South America and Asia. PokerStars also announced another series of tournaments, PokerStars Championship, which features higher buy-in events. The series was discontinued after the second season.

PSF Main Event winners

Season 1

Date	Event / City	Prize Pool	Winner	Prize	Results
1–5 November 2016	PSF New Jersey US$1,100 Resorts Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, USA	$201,760	Jason Acosta^[2]	$38,220	https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/event.php?a=r&n=398941
25–29 January 2017	PSF London £990 (~US$1,237) PokerStars at The Hippodrome Casino, London, UK	£824,112 (~US$1,030,037)	Rehman Kassam^[3]	£89,320 (~US$111,638)	https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/event.php?a=r&n=425683
9–13 March 2017	PSF Rozvadov €1,100 (~US$1,161) King's Casino, Rozvadov, Czech Republic	€1,089,310 (~US$1,150,080)	Petr Svoboda^[4]	€124,346 (~US$131,283)	https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/event.php?a=r&n=415723
23–27 May 2017	PSF Chile US$1,650 Viña del Mar Casino, Viña del Mar, Chile	US$500,000	Christopher Franco^[5]	US$97,360	https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/event.php?a=r&n=431018
21–25 June 2017	PSF Marbella €1,100 (~US$1,226) Casino Marbella, Marbella, Spain	€911,040 (~US$1,015,358)	Ignacio De Maturana^[6]	€152,000 (~US$169,404)	https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/event.php?a=r&n=431078
20–23 July 2017	PSF Lille €1,100 (~US$1,268) Hotel Casino Barrière de Lille, France	€768,000 (~US$885,343)	Philippe Le-Touche^[7]	€143,000 (~US$164,849)	https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/event.php?a=r&n=450481
20–24 July 2017	PSF Korea ₩1,650,000 (~US$1,468) Paradise Hotel & Resort, Incheon, South Korea	₩414,675,000 (~US$368,902)	Tae Hoon Han^[8]	₩83,130,000 (~US$73,954)	https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/event.php?a=r&n=450528
2–6 August 2017	PSF Bucharest €1,100 (~US$1,299) JW Marriott Grand Hotel, Bucharest, Romania	€706,560 (~US$834,763)	Sam Grafton^[9]	€117,707 (~US$139,050)	https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/event.php?a=r&n=456278
3–7 August 2017	PSF Manila ₱55,000 (~US$1,090) City of Dreams, Manila, Philippines	₱28,809,000 (~US$571,420)	Uday Bansal^[10]	₱4,676,000 (~US$92,747)	https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/event.php?a=r&n=452311
19–23 September 2017	PSF Uruguay US$1,650 Enjoy Punta del Este, Punta del Este, Uruguay	US$379,755	Julio Belluscio^[11]	US$66,748	https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/event.php?a=r&n=431118
28 September–1 October 2017	PSF Dublin €1,100 (~US$1,293) Regency Airport Hotel, Dublin, Ireland	€679,000 (~US$798,204)	Gary McGinty^[12]	€91,808 (~US$107,925)	https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/event.php?a=r&n=461594
19–22 October 2017	PSF Sochi ₽66,000 (~US$1,150) Sochi Casino and Resort, Sochi, Russia	₽40,681,800 (~US$798,204)	Aleksandr Merzhvinskii^[13]	₽7,700,000 (~US$134,163)	https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/event.php?a=r&n=466038
22–26 November 2017	PSF Hamburg €1,100 (~US$1,291) Spielbank Schenefeld, Hamburg, Germany	€549,990 (~US$645,445)	Ulrich Pauls^[14]	€105,850 (~US$124,221)	https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/event.php?a=r&n=462167

Season 2

Date	Event / City	Prize Pool	Winner	Prize	Results
24–28 January 2018	PSF London £990 (~US$1,384) PokerStars at The Hippodrome Casino, London, UK	£743,796 (~US$1,039,576)	Kalidou Sow^[15]	£121,803 (~US$170,239)	https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/event.php?a=r&n=473805
6–10 June 2018	PSF Marbella €1,100 (~US$1,286) Casino Marbella, Marbella, Spain	€985,920 (~US$1,153,204)	Omar Del Pino^[16]	€179,000 (~US$209,371)	https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/event.php?a=r&n=492175
19–22 July 2018	PSF Lille €1,100 (~US$1,280) Hotel Casino Barrière de Lille, France	€824,640 (~US$959,799)	Alexandre de Zutter^[17]	€143,000 (~US$164,849)	https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/event.php?a=r&n=504442

Season 1 Results

PSF New Jersey

Venue: Resorts Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, USA
Buy-in: $1,100
5-Day Event: 1–5 November 2016
Number of buy-ins: 208
Total Prize Pool: $201,760
Number of Payouts: 39

Final table
Place	Name	Prize
1st	Jason Acosta	$38,220
2nd	Michael Gagliano	$28,116
3rd	Eli Kim	$20,683
4th	David Johnston	$15,215
5th	Matthew Affleck	$11,193
6th	Sridhar Sangannagari	$8,234
7th	Rocco Dicondina	$6,057
8th	Peter Smyth	$4,455

PSF London

Venue: PokerStars at The Hippodrome Casino, London, UK
Buy-in: £990 (~US$1,237)

5-Day Event: 25–29 January 2017

Number of buy-ins: 944

Total Prize Pool: £824,112 (~US$1,030,037)

Number of Payouts: 183

Final table
Place	Name	Prize
1st	Rehman Kassam	£89,320* (~US$111,638)
2nd	Daniel Harwood	£95,000* (~US$$118,738)
3rd	Eric Cech	£70,000* (~US$87,491)
4th	Yuriy Boyko	£43,370 (~US$54,207)
5th	Clément Tripodi	£31,510 (~US$31,510)
6th	Ludovic Geilich	£22,950 (~US$28,684)
7th	Alexis Fleur	£16,702 (~US$20,875)
8th	Lam Van Trinh	£12,150 (~US$15,185)

Deal between the final three players.

PSF Rozvadov

Venue: King's Casino, Rozvadov, Czech Republic
Buy-in: €1,100 (~US$1,161)

5-Day Event: 9–13 March 2017

Number of buy-ins: 1,126

Guaranteed Prize Pool: €500,000 (~US$527,894)

Total Prize Pool: €1,089,310 (~US$1,150,080)

Number of Payouts: 215

Final table
Place	Name	Prize
1st	Petr Svoboda	€124,346 (~US$131,283)
2nd	Michal Lubas	€91,000 (~US$96,077)
3rd	Stanislav Koleno	€87,444 (~US$92,322)
4th	Michael Rohde	€78,966 (~US$83,371)
5th	Cenk Oguz	€39,078 (~US$41,258)
6th	Marian Flesar	€28,086 (~US$29,653)
7th	Péter Kamarás	€20,186 (~US$21,312)
8th	Jan Stariat	€14,508 (~US$15,317)

PSF Chile

Venue: Viña del Mar Casino, Viña del Mar, Chile
Buy-in: $1,650
5-Day Event: 23–27 May 2017
Number of buy-ins: 329
Guaranteed Prize Pool: $500,000
Total Prize Pool: $500,000
Number of Payouts: 47

Final table
Place	Name	Prize
1st	Christopher Franco	$97,360
2nd	Juan Giraldo	$61,900
3rd	Sergio Tello	$46,400
4th	Andrés Vega	$37,560
5th	Amos Ben Haim	$29,600
6th	Rodrigo Zambra	$22,600
7th	Oscar Tolosa	$16,600
8th	Diego Lizana	$12,200

PSF Marbella

Venue: Casino Marbella, Marbella, Spain
Buy-in: €1,100 (~US$1,226)

5-Day Event: 21–25 June 2017

Number of buy-ins: 949

Total Prize Pool: €911,040 (~US$1,015,358)

Number of Payouts: 135

Final table
Place	Name	Prize
1st	Ignacio De Maturana	€152.000* (~US$169,404)
2nd	Íñigo Naveiro	€95.500* (~US$106,434)
3rd	Leo Margets	€95.500* (~US$106,434)
4th	Fernando Gonzalez	€54,100 (~US$60,295)
5th	Ignacio Barcenas Romera	€42,100 (~US$46,921)
6th	Jose Fibla	€31,200 (~US$34,773)
7th	Fabrizio Privitera	€22,300 (~US$24,853)
8th	Marco Lander	€15,900 (~US$17,721)

Deal between the final three players.

PSF Lille

Venue: Hotel Casino Barrière de Lille, France
Buy-in: €1,100 (~US$1,268)

4-Day Event: 20–23 July 2017

Number of buy-ins: 800

Total Prize Pool: €768,000 (~US$885,343)

Number of Payouts: 119

Final table
Place	Name	Prize
1st	Philippe Le-Touche	€143,000 (~US$164,849)
2nd	Kim Amanton	€88,000 (~US$101,445)
3rd	Jonathan Amasse	€62,200 (~US$71,703)
4th	Jean-Marie Piette	€46,390 (~US$53,477)
5th	Paul Bahbout	€36,590 (~US$42,180)
6th	Oystein Nordli	€27,460 (~US$31,655)
7th	Fabrice Halleux	€19,550 (~US$22,537)
8th	Florent Lusardi	€13,600 (~US$15,677)

PSF Korea

Venue: Paradise Hotel & Resort, Incheon, South Korea
Buy-in: ₩1,650,000 (~US$1,468)

5-Day Event: 20–24 July 2017

Number of buy-ins: 285

Total Prize Pool: ₩414,675,000 (~US$368,902)

Number of Payouts: 39

Final table
Place	Name	Prize
1st	Tae Hoon Han	₩83,130,000 (~US$73,954)
2nd	Yuki Ko	₩55,280,000 (~US$49,178)
3rd	Wei Kuo Hsiao	₩40,430,000 (~US$35,967)
4th	Sano Mitsuru	₩32,635,000 (~US$29,033)
5th	Kojima Harunobu	₩25,600,000 (~US$22,774)
6th	Scott Janik	₩19,400,000 (~US$17,259)
7th	Jwah Kim	₩14,220,000 (~US$12,650)
8th	Dmitrii Kovalevskii	₩10,450,000 (~US$9,296)

PSF Bucharest

Venue: JW Marriott Grand Hotel, Bucharest, Romania
Buy-in: €1,100 (~US$1,299)

5-Day Event: 2–6 August 2017

Number of buy-ins: 736

Guaranteed Prize Pool: €500,000 (~US$590,723)

Total Prize Pool: €706,560 (~US$834,763)

Number of Payouts: 111

Final table
Place	Name	Prize
1st	Sam Grafton	€117,707 (~US$139,050)
2nd	Anil Ozdemir	€96,993 (~US$114,592)
3rd	Daniel Nietrzebka	€57,600 (~US$68,051)
4th	Fahredin Mustafov	€43,500 (~US$51,392)
5th	Patrick Bueno	€34,400 (~US$40,641)
6th	Johann Eclapier	€26,091 (~US$30,825)
7th	Traian Bostan	€18,720 (~US$22,116)
8th	Yuri Kudrinsky	€12,790 (~US$15,110)

PSF Manila

Venue: City of Dreams, Manila, Philippines
Buy-in: ₱55,000 (~US$1,090)

5-Day Event: 3–7 August 2017

Number of buy-ins: 594

Guaranteed Prize Pool: ₱20,000,000 (~US$396,695)

Total Prize Pool: ₱28,809,000 (~US$571,420)

Number of Payouts: 87

Final table
Place	Name	Prize
1st	Uday Bansal	₱4,676,000 (~US$92,747)
2nd	Antti Halme	₱4,273,000 (~US$84,753)
3rd	Michael Falcon	₱2,456,000 (~US$48,714)
4th	Mike Takayama	₱1,900,000 (~US$37,686)
5th	Jaehyun Lim	₱1,500,000 (~US$29,752)
6th		₱1,170,000 (~US$23,206)
7th	Kenneth Buck	₱870,000 (~US$17,256)
8th	Hoa Nguyen	₱596,000 (~US$11,821)

PSF Uruguay

Venue: Enjoy Punta del Este, Punta del Este, Uruguay
Buy-in: $1,650
5-Day Event: 19–23 September 2017
Number of buy-ins: 261
Total Prize Pool: $379,755
Number of Payouts: 39

Final table
Place	Name	Prize
1st	Julio Belluscio	$66,748*
2nd	Julio Arocena	$60,027*
3rd	Hector Barua	$37,020
4th	Ernesto Panno	$29,880
5th	Osvaldo Naves	$23,440
6th	Juan Perez	$17,740
7th	Alejandro García	$13,020
8th	Renan Toniolo	$9,560

Deal between the final two players.

PSF Dublin

Venue: Regency Airport Hotel, Dublin, Ireland
Buy-in: €1,100 (~US$1,293)

5-Day Event: 28 September - 1 October 2017

Number of buy-ins: 544

Guaranteed Prize Pool: €700,000 (~US$822,890)

Total Prize Pool: €679,000 (~US$798,204)

Number of Payouts: 79

Final table
Place	Name	Prize
1st	Gary McGinty	€91,808* (~US$107,925)
2nd	James O'Callaghan	€74,797* (~US$87,928)
3rd	Antonio Merone	€78,554* (~US$92,344)
4th	Sean Prendiville	€71,161* (~US$83,653)
5th	Ivan Tononi	€35,780 (~US$42,061)
6th	Declan Connolly	€28,110 (~US$33,044)
7th	Michael Graydon	€20,980 (~US$24,663)
8th	Alexander Bretherton	€14,530 (~US$17,080)

Deal between the final four players.

PSF Sochi

Venue: Sochi Casino and Resort, Sochi, Russia
Buy-in: ₽66,000 (~US$1,150)

5-Day Event: 19–22 October 2017

Number of buy-ins: 699

Guaranteed Prize Pool: ₽30,000,000 (~US$522,714)

Total Prize Pool: ₽40,681,800 (~US$708,831)

Number of Payouts: 103

Final table
Place	Name	Prize
1st	Aleksandr Merzhvinskii	₽7,700,000 (~US$134,163)
2nd	Alexander Denisov	₽4,700,000 (~US$81,892)
3rd	Nikita Myshkin	₽3,350,000 (~US$58,370)
4th	Alexander Shlyakhov	₽2,600,000 (~US$45,302)
5th	Valentin Zolotilov	₽2,000,000 (~US$34,848)
6th	Andrey Kotelnikov	₽1,560,000 (~US$27,181)
7th	Mikhail Zamyatin	₽1,101,800 (~US$19,198)
8th	Kirill Denisenko	₽770,000 (~US$13,416)

PSF Hamburg

Venue: Spielbank Schenefeld, Hamburg, Germany
Buy-in: €1,100 (~US$1,291)

5-Day Event: 22–26 November 2017

Number of buy-ins: 567

Guaranteed Prize Pool: €500,000 (~US$586,779)

Total Prize Pool: €549,990 (~US$645,445)

Number of Payouts: 79

Final table
Place	Name	Prize
1st	Ulrich Pauls	€105,850 (~US$124,221)
2nd	Michal Lubas	€66,220 (~US$77,713)
3rd	Jan Sigel	€47,410 (~US$55,638)
4th	Behzad Zarnegar	€36,960 (~US$43,375)
5th	Stefan Rundstrom	€28,980 (~US$34,010)
6th	Andrei Nodea	€22,770 (~US$26,722)
7th	Karolis Domarkas	€16,990 (~US$19,939)
8th	Marcin Horecki	€11,770 (~US$13,813)

Season 2 Results

PSF London

Venue: PokerStars at The Hippodrome Casino, London, UK
Buy-in: £990 (~US$1,384)

5-Day Event: 24–28 January 2018

Number of buy-ins: 852

Total Prize Pool: £743,796 (~US$1,039,576)

Number of Payouts: 127

Final table
Place	Name	Prize
1st	Kalidou Sow	£121,803* (~US$170,239)
2nd	Paul Dando	£103,197* (~US$$144,234)
3rd	David Mander	£60,000 (~US$83,859)
4th	Tom Winstone	£45,000 (~US$62,894)
5th	Waheed Ashraf	£35,500 (~US$49,617)
6th	Attila Farkas	£26,600 (~US$37,177)
7th	Thomas Harbrecht-Parker	£18,500 (~US$25,856)
8th	Tsz Ho	£13,000 (~US$18,169)

Deal between the final two players.

PSF Marbella

Venue: Casino Marbella, Marbella, Spain
Buy-in: €1,100 (~US$1,286)

5-Day Event: 6–10 June 2018

Number of buy-ins: 1,047

Total Prize Pool: €985,920 (~US$1,153,204)

Number of Payouts: 154

Final table
Place	Name	Prize
1st	Cesar Omar Del Pino Hanouadi	€179,000 (~US$209,371)
2nd	Romain Feriolo	€107,500 (~US$125,739)
3rd	Ole Hansen	€76,000 (~US$88,895)
4th	Iñigo Naveiro	€57,000 (~US$66,671)
5th	Thomas Saltonas	€44,000 (~US$51,465)
6th	Zhong Chen	€32,000 (~US$37,429)
7th	Teunis Kooij	€23,500 (~US$27,487)
8th	Paul van Oort	€17,000 (~US$19,884)

PSF Lille

Venue: Hotel Casino Barrière de Lille, France
Buy-in: €1,100 (~US$1,280)

4-Day Event: 19–22 July 2018

Number of buy-ins: 859

Total Prize Pool: €824,640 (~US$959,799)

Number of Payouts: 127

Final table
Place	Name	Prize
1st	Alexandre de Zutter	€154,000 (~US$179,240)
2nd	Yannick Ansenne	€93,480 (~US$108,801)
3rd	Ugo Faggioli	€65,950 (~US$76,759)
4th	Alex Peck	€49,440 (~US$57,543)
5th	Tom De Boom	€38,980 (~US$45,368)
6th	Samir Akhoullou	€29,160 (~US$33,939)
7th	Gino Cardenia	€20,540 (~US$23,906)
8th	Pierre Antona	€14,430 (~US$16,795)

Future

On December 15, 2017, PokerStars announced that it will bring back regional tour brands in 2018. These include the European Poker Tour, Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT), and Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT).^[18] Therefore, the PokerStars Festival label will no longer be used.

External links

Official site

Notes and References

CardPlayer - Web site: PokerStars Announces Rebranding Of Live Tournaments Starting In 2017. cardplayer.com. August 24, 2016. January 14, 2024.
PokerNews - Web site: Nuwwarah. Mo. Jason Acosta Wins the Inaugural PokerStars Festival New Jersey Main Event. pokernews.com. November 5, 2016. en. January 14, 2024.
PokerNews - Web site: Rehman Kassam Wins the Record-Breaking 2017 PokerStars Festival London Main Event (£89,320). pokernews.com. January 30, 2017. en. January 14, 2024.
PokerNews - Web site: Epskamp. Yori. Petr Svoboda Wins €1,100 PokerStars Festival Main Event Rozvadov. pokernews.com. March 14, 2017. en. January 14, 2024.
Poker Guru - Web site: Christopher Franco Wins PokerStars Festival Chile Main Event For $97,360. pokerguru.in. May 28, 2017. en. January 14, 2024.
Poker-Red - Web site: Ignacio López de Maturana se lleva el picón del PokerStars Festival Marbella. poker-red.com. June 26, 2017. es. January 14, 2024.
ClubPoker - Web site: PHILIPPE LE TOUCHE VAINQUEUR DU POKERSTARS FESTIVAL LILLE. clubpoker.net. July 24, 2017. fr. January 14, 2024.
PokerNews - Web site: Nuwwarah. Mo. Taehoon Han Wins PokerStars Festival Korea Main Event (₩83,130,000). pokernews.com. July 24, 2017. en. January 14, 2024.
PokerNews - Web site: Epskamp. Yori. Sam Grafton Wins PokerStars Festival Bucharest Main Event for €117,707. pokernews.com. August 6, 2017. en. January 14, 2024.
PokerNews - Web site: Zetzsche. Christian. Uday Bansal Wins 2017 PokerStars Festival Manila Main Event. pokernews.com. August 7, 2017. en. January 14, 2024.
PokerNews - Web site: Julio Belluscio Wins PokerStars Festival Uruguay Main Event ($66,748). pokernews.com. September 22, 2017. en. January 14, 2024.
PokerNews - Web site: Shillibier. Will. Gary McGinty Wins PokerStars Festival Dublin Main Event for €91,808. pokernews.com. October 1, 2017. en. January 14, 2024.
CardsChat - Web site: Holloway. Chad. Russia, Russia, Belarus: Aleksandr Merzhvinskiy and Kiryl Radzivonau Deliver at PokerStars Festival Sochi. cardschat.com. October 25, 2017. en. January 14, 2024.
PokerNews - Web site: Zetzsche. Christian. Ulrich Pauls Keeps Trophy and Title at Home; Wins 2017 PokerStars Festival Hamburg €1,100 Main Event (€105,850). pokernews.com. November 26, 2017. en. January 14, 2024.
PokerNews - Web site: Pitt. Matthew. Kalidou Sow wins PokerStars Festival London Main Event. pokernews.com. January 29, 2018. en. January 14, 2024.
PokerStars - Web site: OMAR DEL PINO WINS POKERSTARS FESTIVAL MARBELLA MAIN EVENT, €179,000 AND A PSPC PLATINUM PASS. pokerstars.com. June 10, 2018. es. January 14, 2024.
PokerNews France - Web site: PSF Lille : Alexandre de Zutter encaisse 154.000€ et un Platinum Pass. fr.pokernews.com. July 23, 2018. fr. January 14, 2024.
Web site: Nuwwarah. Mo. European Poker Tour Brand to Return in 2018. PokerNews.com. December 15, 2017. December 17, 2017.