The first ever PokerStars Championship at Sochi will kick off on May 20 at the newly-launched Sochi Casino & Resort. The PokerStars Championship Sochi will run for 11 days between May 20 and May 31 and will be the largest poker tournament ever seen in Russia.
The top attraction will be the PokerStars Championship Main Event which will have a guaranteed prize pool of RUB150 million ($2.6 million), which PokerStars said was the largest ever for a Russian tournament. The buy-in for the event is RUB318,000 (around $5,590).
A range of Team PokerStars Pros will be attending the Sochi Championships including Bertrand ElkY Grospellier, Liv Boeree, and Chris Moneymaker.
In a statement, Igor Kurganov, a Team PokerStars Pro said
I’m excited to see PokerStars first ever sponsored live event in Russia and will be competing in the events, of course. I am interested to see the area after the massive investments it has received for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Sochi itself is a summer/ beach destination but I hope to make it out to the gorgeous and very close mountain region of Krasnaya Polyana, too!
The festival kicks off on May 20 with a No Limit Hold’em event with a buy-in of RUB 618,000 ($10,860). Also planned between May 20-25 are PokerStars Cup with a buy-in of RUB19,800 ($350) and the PokerStars National Championship with RUB66,000 ($1,160). Several high roller events are on the schedule as well like the PokerStars Championship Super High Roller with a buy-in of RUB3,000,000 ($52,700), PokerStars National High Roller with RUB$132,000 ($2,320), PokerStars Championship PLO High Roller having RUB618,000 ($10,860) buy-in and finally PokerStars Championship High Roller with RUB618,000 ($10,860).
The closing event is PokerStars Open having a buy-in of RUB13,200 ($230). Additionally there will be over 70 tables of cash games running around-the- clock. PokerStars has already kicked off satellites and qualifiers for the events on its site. Winners of the ongoing $8 buy in Spin & Go tournament will gain entry tickets to the Main Event and the National Championship.
There will be full TV and streaming coverage for the tournament. The property’s hotel is offering a 50 percent discount on standard rooms during the Main Event for tournament attendees.
PokerStars Director of Live Events Edgar Stuchly stated that Sochi was a premier destination for world-class poker tournaments. He pointed out that with along with a new casino, the city offered several five-star hotels, facilities for numerous outdoor activities as well as sunny weather, making it an exciting vacation and gaming spot.
