No shocker here, but PokerStars officially postponed their second installment of the PokerStars Players Championship (PSPC). The $25K buy-in 2020 PSPC had been originally scheduled to coincide with the EPT Barcelona at the Barcelona Casino in late August. The PSPC will take place sometime in 2021 in Barcelona with a date yet to be determined. Platinum Passes are valid for the new dates and they will be running 80 additional chances to win one of the 400 passes.
The coronavirus took out the PSPC. At least, the bug pushed back the 2020 PSPC to 2021. PokerStars had been working diligently on the 2020 PokerStars Players Championship and the second installment of the $25,000 buy-in PSPC. But due to the coronavirus outbreak, PokerStars made the difficult decision to postpone the 2020 PSPC.
In addition, PokerStars also cancelled the Road to PSPC Cannes, Road to PSPC Madrid Torrelodones, and the Manilla Super Series 14.
"We realise that this news will come as a disappointment to many, but we know you will understand and appreciate why this is necessary," said Severin Rasset from PokerStars HQ. "Our priority is the safety and good health of all our players and staff, as well as the communities that host such large events. While we cannot provide exact dates at this time, we do know that the PSPC will be back bigger and better in 2021 at Casino Barcelona. Until then, we will focus on creating a life changing and memorable PokerStars experience for when we are safe and together again."
If PokerStars had their way, it would take place at the end of August and coincide with the EPT Barcelona again. But stay tuned for an official announcement about the PSPC.
PokerStars finally moved on from the PCA, which was both a little sat but understandable. The PCA had run its course and Atlantis is no longer the crown jewel of a resort it was when it first opened over 20 years ago.
Even though PokerStars retired the PCA, they moved all-in on the PSPC. The first one had been a huge success, despite the fact that hordes of haters and skeptics expected it to fall flat. Kudos to PokerStars and everyone at the red spade HQ for truly pulling it off. It's no easy feat and they were able to say they hosted the richest 25K tournament in history.
Records are made to be broken. They hoped they could top the inaugural PSPC with the second-version of the 2020 PSPC in Barcelona.
Instead of being stuck in the Bahamas and ruled by "island time", poker players till had the opportunity bask in the sun at the beach and have an entire city of Barcelona to help pass the downtime outside of poker to find booze, parks, food, art, shopping, and other vices.
Now that the 2020 PSPC has been postponed until 2021, they can start running more promos for Platinum Passes. Initially, PokerStars wanted to award 320 Platinum Passes, which were packages to play in the 2020 PSPC that included a free hotel, buy-in, and some cash for plane fare.
PokerStars will award 400 Platinum Passes for the 2021 PSPC, or an additional 80. And there's a chance they even add more than that... but for now, it's an even 400. Not too shabby, eh?
"Rest assured the PSPC will be well worth the wait and we aim to make it another history-making poker event," added Rassert. "Until then everyone, please stay safe, play responsibly and we'll look forward to seeing even more Platinum Pass winners soon!"
Roman Colillas, Spain's Chris Moneymaker, parlayed his Platinum Pass into $5.1 million. Colillas faded a field of 1,039 runners to win the inaugural PSPC event in the Bahamas. The prize pool had topped $26.5 million. Of course, 320 of those entries were via Platinum Passes.
For more info, check out the FAQ over at PokerStars Blog.
