Master Classics of Poker Amsterdam Schedule Announced, Big Blind Ante for all Holdem Events
The 2018 Master Classics of Poker (MCOP) takes place at the Holland Casino, Amsterdam between Nov. 21 and Dec. 1 and a big blind ante will be in play during all no-limit hold’em events for the first time ever.
Big blind antes are becoming more common in live poker tournaments with major tours such as the World Series of Poker adopting the concept in some of its events. It was the partypoker LIVE tour that first introduced the button ante, but other tours have opted to make it a big blind ante.
It is a simple concept. Instead of each player having to pay an ante, the big blind pays the antes for all the table. The idea is that this speeds up gameplay significantly because the dealer will not have to prompt players to pay their ante, plus is means time is saved due to fewer small denomination chips being in play.
2018 MCOP Schedule
The MCOP’s organizers have stated all no-limit hold’em events will have the big blind ante format, a first for the popular festival. This means events such as the €25,500 Super High Roller and the €4,300 Main Event will feature this new concept.
| Date | Time (CET) | Event | Total buy-in | Stack | Clock (mins) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 21 Nov | 2:00 p.m. | NLH Single Re-Entry | €550 | 20,000 | 30 |
| 7:00 p.m. | Satellite to Main Event Day 1A Single Re-Entry | €330 | 5,000 | 20 | |
| 9:00 p.m. | NLH Hyper Turbo Freezeout | €2,100 | 10,000 | 15 | |
| Thu 22 Nov | 2:00 p.m. | NLHE Single Re-Entry Day 2 | |||
| 2:00 p.m. | NLH Bounty Freezeout (€200 bounties) | €660 | 10,000 | 30 | |
| 6:00 p.m. | PLO High Roller Single Re-Entry | €3,250 | 20,000 | 40 | |
| 7:00 p.m. | Satellite to Main Event Day 1A Single Re-Entry | €330 | 5,000 | 20 | |
| Fri 23 Nov | 2:00 p.m. | NLH Main Event Day 1A Single Re-Entry | €4,300 | 30,000 | 60 |
| 2:00 p.m. | PLO High Roller Day 2 | ||||
| 6:00 p.m. | Satellite NLH High Roller Single Entry | €2,600 | 10,000 | 20 | |
| 7:00 p.m. | Satellite to Main Event Day 1B Single Re-Entry | €330 | 5,000 | 20 | |
| 9:00 p.m. | Hyper Turbo PLO Freezeout | €1,100 | 10,000 | 15 | |
| Sat 24 Nov | 2:00 p.m. | NLH Prog Bounty (€500 bounties) | €1,600 | 20,000 | 40 |
| 2:00 p.m. | NLH Super High Roller Re-Entry | €25,500 | 30,000 | 60 | |
| 7:00 p.m. | Satellite to Main Event Day 1B Single Re-Entry | €330 | 5,000 | 20 | |
| 9:00 p.m. | NLH Hyper Turbo Freezeout | €550 | 10,000 | 15 | |
| Sun 25 Nov | 2:00 p.m. | NLH Prog Bounty Day 2 | |||
| 2:00 p.m. | NLH Super High Roller Re-Entry Day 2 | ||||
| 3:00 p.m. | Satellite to Main Event Day 1B Single Re-Entry | €330 | 5,000 | 20 | |
| 7:00 p.m. | NLH Single Re-Entry | €1,600 | 25,000 | 40 | |
| Mon 26 Nov | 2:00 p.m. | NLH Single Re-Etry Day 2 | |||
| 4:00 p.m. | PLO Single Re-Entry | €770 | 20,000 | 40 | |
| 7:00 p.m. | Satellite to Main Event Day 1B Single Re-Entry | €330 | 5,000 | 20 | |
| 9:00 p.m. | NLH Hyper Turbo Freezeout | €1,600 | 10,000 | 15 | |
| Tue 27 Nov | 2:00 p.m. | NLH Main Event Day 1B Single Re-Entry | €4,300 | 30,000 | 60 |
| 2:00 p.m. | PLO Single Re-Entry Day 2 | ||||
| 3:00 p.m. | NLH Single Re-Entry Day 3 | ||||
| 6:00 p.m. | NLH €500 Single Re-Entry | €550 | 20,000 | 30 | |
| 9:00 p.m. | NLH Hyper Turbo Freezeout | €1,100 | 10,000 | 15 | |
| Wed 28 Nov | 2:00 p.m. | NLH €500 Single Re-Entry Day 2 | |||
| 2:00 p.m. | NLH Main Event Day 2 | ||||
| 6:00 p.m. | Satellite NLH High Roller Re-Entry | €825 | 10,000 | 20 | |
| 7:00 p.m. | NLH Hyper Turbo Single Re-Entry | €275 | 10,000 | 15 | |
| Thu 29 Nov | 2:00 p.m. | NLH Single Re-Entry | €825 | 25,000 | 40 |
| 2:00 p.m | Main Event Day 3 | ||||
| 6:00 p.m. | NLH High Roller Re-Entry | €10,300 | 30,000 | 60 | |
| 9:00 p.m. | Hyper Turbo PLO Freezeout | €550 | 10,000 | 15 | |
| Fri 30 Nov | 2:00 p.m. | NLH Single Re-Entry Day 2 | |||
| 2:00 p.m. | NLH High Roller Re-Entry Day 2 | ||||
| 2:00 p.m. | NLH Speed Single Re-Entry | €550 | 20,000 | 20 | |
| 3:00 p.m. | Main Event Final | ||||
| 9:00 p.m. | NLH Hyper Turbo Freezeout | €1,100 | 10,000 | 15 | |
| Sat 1 Dec | 2:00 p.m. | NLH Single Re-Entry Day 3 | |||
| 2:00 p.m. | Team Event Single Re-Entry | €440 | 10,000 | 30 | |
| 2:00 p.m. | NLH High Roller Re-Entry Final | ||||
| 6:00 p.m. | NLH Hyper Turbo Freezeout | €275 | 10,000 | 15 |
The MCOP Main Event’s reigning champion is Claas Segebrecht who topped a field of 285 entries to get his hands on the €235,087 first-place prize, the German’s second-largest score behind his $468,594 haul when he finished fourth in the 2014 WSOP Monster Stack.
Segebrecht defeated Belgium’s Bart Lybaert heads-up for the title, leaving Lybaert to collect €157,553 for this runner-up finish. Third-placed Kai Lehto of Finland was the other player who walked away from Amsterdam with a six-figure score to their name.
Stay tuned to PokerNews as we bring you everything you need to know about the upcoming MCOP festival.
