The European Poker Tour was launched following the immense success of the World Poker Tour which was based largely in the United States. Known as the EPT, the series follows the best poker players in the world touring across the major European Tournaments. Just as the World Poker Tour not only contributed, but was also a product of the growth in popularity of Texas Hold’em Poker across the Americas, the European Poker Tour was in part at least a response to the explosion of poker throughout Europe. Successful and talented poker players originating from Europe were becoming more and more visible at major poker events – players including Ram Vaswani and the other Hendon Mob players, Marcel Luske, Bruno Fitoussi and Dave Ulliot to name but a few.
The European Poker Tour still operates on a smaller scale to the World Poker Tour – the buy-ins are on average half the size of the WPT, which in turn means that the prize funds are also smaller. Having said that, the prizes being won are still in the region of $100,000, making the tournament events fully worthwhile for many high ranking players. The events are held in the UK, France, Denmark, Spain, Ireland and Germany, with the series final held in one of the most illustrious gambling capitals in the world – Monte Carlo, Monaco. The European Poker Tour allows 8 players at the final table, as opposed to the World Poker Tour which only allows 6. The finalists and runners up from the previous tournaments play against each other in the Grand Final for the title of European Poker Tour Champion, and a first prize in the region of €650,000.
In 2004, a dedicated and innovative team was formed that created and continues to drive the European Poker Tour. This team aimed not only to create a successful television series, but also to promote poker as a recognized sport, not only across Europe, but across the world.
John Duthie is the CEO and Executive Producer of the EPT, and has a strong background in UK television drama, with Silent Witness and the BAFTA winning Clocking Off credited to his name. More than technical experience however, John Duthie is also a passionate poker player, who won the first Ladbrokes Poker Million on live television in 2000, and made it to the final table at the 2005 World Series of Poker $3000 No Limit Hold’em event.
Thomas Kremser is the European Poker Tour Tournament Director. Kremser is the CEO of the International Poker Federation, which once again demonstrates a firm belief that poker deserves full recognition as a respected sport. In addition, Thomas Kremser is also the Tournament Director for Late Night Poker, which is screened on Channel Four in the UK, and which is also hugely popular.
Sunset and Vine are a well renowned sports production company, which is not only responsible for the production of over 2000 hours per year of television, but also distributes and produces the Gillette Sports Magazine Show and handles international advertiser supplied programming.
The final member of the team brings the European Poker Tour the support and backing it needs in the growing domain of the Internet. PokerStars.com officially sponsor the European Poker Tour, and are one of the most innovative and successful online poker rooms around. PokerStars.com continues to drive the popularity of poker forward by giving its online players the chance to win places in live tournaments, having made major stars of Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer, both WSOP champions who won their entries through online tournaments.
