Poker Masters Online to Run April 12-26 With $15M Guaranteed
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Poker Masters, the high-stakes tournament series hosted by Poker Central, will be held online by partypoker in mid-April, according to a Thursday presser.
The event has been held live during the fall each of the past three years and encourages players to grind every event by posting a leaderboard. Winners of the leaderboard claim a ceremonial purple jacket as a prize, usually along with an extra monetary reward.
“We are pleased to be able to give players the chance to continue doing what they love and play the tournament in online format," partypoker's Tom Waters said. “The Poker Masters brand carries significant weight in the poker community and we believe this innovative online format will be appealing for fans and players alike.”
Past purple jacket winners were Steffen Sontheimer in 2017, Ali Imsirovic in 2018 and Sam Soverel in 2019.
Expanded Schedule for Online Series
Poker Masters has usually been composed of about 10 tournaments, but the online version will expand that significantly.
The spring 2020 Poker Masters Online will have 30 individual events, with $15,250,000 in guarantees spread throughout. Most of the events are $10,300 buy-in. A handful of $25,500 events are sprinkled in, with the Main Event priced at $51,000. That one carries a $2 million guarantee.
The points leader will earn $50,000 along with the purple jacket.
The full schedule is below. PokerNews has learned that the events moving online will also mean they're expected to finish in a single day rather than across two days.
Poker Masters Online Schedule
| Date | Time (EDT) | Event | Buy-in |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 12 | 12 p.m. | Poker Masters #01: $1M Gtd [NLH, 8-Max] | $25,500 |
| 1 p.m. | Poker Masters #02: $500K Gtd [PLO, 6-Max] | $10,300 | |
| 2 p.m. | Poker Masters #03: $250K Gtd [NLH, 6-Max] | $10,300 | |
| April 13 | 12 p.m. | Poker Masters #04: $500K Gtd [NLH, 8-Max] | $10,300 |
| 1 p.m. | Poker Masters #05: $250K Gtd [NLH, 6-Max] | $10,300 | |
| April 14 | 12 p.m. | Poker Masters #06: $500K Gtd [PLO, 6-Max] | $10,300 |
| 1 p.m. | Poker Masters #07: $250K Gtd [NLH, 6-Max] | $10,300 | |
| April 15 | 12 p.m. | Poker Masters #08: $500K Gtd [NLH, 8-Max] | $10,300 |
| 1 p.m. | Poker Masters #09: $250K Gtd [NLH, 6-Max] | $10,300 | |
| April 16 | 12 p.m. | Poker Masters #10: $500K Gtd [NLH, 8-Max] | $10,300 |
| 1 p.m. | Poker Masters #11: $250K Gtd [NLH, 6-Max] | $10,300 | |
| April 17 | 12 p.m. | Poker Masters #12: $500K Gtd [PLO, 6-Max] | $10,300 |
| 1 p.m. | Poker Masters #13: $250K Gtd [NLH, 6-Max] | $10,300 | |
| April 18 | 12 p.m. | Poker Masters #14: $500K Gtd [NLH, 8-Max] | $10,300 |
| 1 p.m. | Poker Masters #15: $250K Gtd [NLH, 6-Max] | $10,300 | |
| April 19 | 12 p.m. | Poker Masters #16: $1M Gtd [NLH, 8-Max] | $25,500 |
| 1 p.m. | Poker Masters #17: $500K Gtd [PLO, 6-Max] | $10,300 | |
| 2 p.m. | Poker Masters #18: $250K Gtd [NLH, 6-Max] | $10,300 | |
| April 21 | 12 p.m. | Poker Masters #19: $1M Gtd [NLH, 8-Max] | $25,500 |
| 1 p.m. | Poker Masters #20: $250K Gtd [NLH, 6-Max] | $10,300 | |
| April 22 | 12 p.m. | Poker Masters #21: $1M Gtd [NLH, 8-Max] | $25,500 |
| 1 p.m. | Poker Masters #22: $250K Gtd [NLH, 6-Max] | $10,300 | |
| April 23 | 12 p.m. | Poker Masters #23: $1M Gtd [PLO, 6-Max] | $25,500 |
| 1 p.m. | Poker Masters #24: $250K Gtd [NLH, 6-Max] | $10,300 | |
| April 24 | 12 p.m. | Poker Masters #25: $1M Gtd [NLH, 8-Max] | $25,500 |
| 1 p.m. | Poker Masters #26: $250K Gtd [NLH, 6-Max] | $10,300 | |
| April 25 | 12 p.m. | Poker Masters #27: $1M Gtd [NLH, 8-Max] | $25,500 |
| 1 p.m. | Poker Masters #28: $250K Gtd [NLH, 6-Max] | $10,300 | |
| April 26 | 1 p.m. | Poker Masters #29: $2M Gtd [NLH, 8-Max, MAIN EVENT] | $51,000 |
| 1 p.m. | Poker Masters #30: $250K Gtd [NLH, 6-Max] | $10,500 |
Light on Further Details
With the announced debut of the Poker Masters Online, and the wording in the Poker Central presser that the scheduling is "as a result of the current circumstances," it's safe to say Poker Masters was originally planned to run live as per its usual fall schedule. It's the latest event to do so on partypoker, following the Irish Poker Open.
What does that mean for the U.S. Poker Open, which normally occupies the spring slot on Poker Central's schedule? PokerNews inquired and was told scheduling for that is "TBD," and not affected by Poker Masters Online.
The same apparently goes for Poker Masters in the fall, which is planned to run as normal with dates announced some time in the coming months.
Players will also be playing under screen names rather than real names — the latter an option on partypoker — which raises the question of what sort of coverage, if any, will be provided for poker fans.
As with all Poker Central events, Poker Masters has always been streamed on PokerGO, but single-day events under screen names would seem to make that unfeasible. It's possible something along the lines of the streamed Galfond Challenge could be worked out, where commentators cover the action with cards down, but PokerNews was told no decisions have been made on coverage at this time.
