ONLINE POKER WEEK: Your Guide to This Week’s Tournament Action for May 18-24

The online poker tournament locomotive rumbles on this week with record numbers of players continuing. All major operators – GGPokerPokerStars, partypoker, 888poker, and Unibet – have big series running this week.

That includes the nosebleed stakes Super High Roller Bowl Online getting started at partypoker and SCOOP getting a massive extension. Here’s a look at all the big events and promotions for May 18-24.

  • GGPoker – WSOP Super Series Main Event, Colossus, PLO championship flights underway
  • Partypoker –  WPT Online Series Main Event reaches Day 2, Super High Roller Bowl Online kicks off this week
  • PokerStars – 132 more SCOOP events added with $135 in total guarantees
  • 888poker – XL Inferno has three Main Events set for Sunday; The Dragon runs throughout May
  • Unibet – €1 million guaranteed Online Series 8 wraps up this week

GG Poker

Big guarantees await with Main Event, Colossus, PLO starting flights in WSOP Super Circuit Online Series

GGPoker’s WSOP Super Circuit Online Series runs though May 31 with plenty of tournaments on the schedule remaining. The series is the richest tournament series in online history with $100 million guaranteed.

Buy-ins begin at $50 and run as high as $25,000 for the High Roller Championship. The action is highlighted by 18 WSOP Circuit championship ring events. Players can qualify for events in satellites throughout the series.

The Super Circuit also offers a chance to qualify for the $1 million guaranteed WSOP Global Casino Championship. Winners of the Main Event and player of the series leaderboard earn free entries into the popular bracelet event.

Here’s a look at the remaining schedule:

WSOP Super Circuit Online Series 2020

For a complete GG Poker review including an exclusive new player bonus of 200% up to $1,000, click here.

PokerStars

SCOOOP expands, now with $135 million guaranteed

PokerStars SCOOP players now have even more action. The series has now been extended through May 31 with 132 additional events. The expansion also brings the guarantee from the original $85 million to a hefty $135 million.

Along with a full slate of tournaments, PokerStars offers some other opportunities during the series. Some of those promotions include: 

  • $5,000 Second Chance Freerolls – These run daily and are given to any player who busts a SCOOP tournament for the first time that day.
  • Special SCOOP Spin & Go’s – These offer Main Event tickets worth $10,300 from as little as $4.
  • Sunday Storm Anniversary Promotion – The first 50,000 players who bust in the Sunday Storm anniversary receive a SCOOP Freeroll ticket.  Tickets to the Medium Main Event will be up for grabs.
  • Player of the Series Leaderboard – Player leaderboards have been altered a bit this year. For the first half, there will be a leaderboard based on player participation and success with winners receiving SCOOP tickets. In the second half, cash prizes will be up for grabs. The overall Player of the Series earns a $20,000 cash prize and SCOOP Trophy.

Mike “SirWatts” Watson made some news by reaching two heads-up matches on Saturday. The first saw him win Event 66-H: $2,100 NLHE for $80,642 for his fifth career SCOOP title and second of this series.

He then came close to his sixth title in Event 65-H: $1,050 8-Game, facing off against Noah “Exclusive” Boeken. The Dutch player eventually took the title for $38,494, with Watson taking $29,098.

Here’s a look at the remaining schedule including the additional events: 

2020 SCOOP

New cycling game rolls on

Players can now bring a bit of the Tour de France to their own poker game as part of the PokerStars Grand Tour. The series brings the worlds of poker and cycling together in a unique new format.

Events feature rich graphics and buy-ins from as little as $1. Players can sprint along the race track eliminating opponents in dynamic tournaments that combine progressive knockout, sit and go, and shootout formats.

Players can win more than $100,000 in prizes and bounties in a race toward the Grand Tour finish line.

Grand Tour is now available on the .COM platform and will launch on real money soon. The game is expected to launch on .EU and .UK soon. Here are some features and how to play:

  • Buy-ins range from $1 to $60. The higher the buy-in, the closer to the finish line players start.
  • Players at the same buy-in level compete in “sprints.” These are four-player progressive knockout sit and go tournaments that last about five minutes.
  • As players knock each other out, their own bounty values increase. They then move to the next sprint, where they will be matched with players of similar bounty values.
  • When someone is eliminated, his value is split two ways. A percentage is added to the winner’s value and a percentage is awarded as cash directly into his account.
  • This cash prize can be multiplied, meaning players could win more than $100,000 at higher stakes.
  • Eliminated players keep any winnings from knockouts.
  • When a player wins a sprint, they can jump right into the next one or save it for later. Every completed sprint gets players closer to the finish line, where they can be crowned a Grand Tour champion.

For a complete PokerStars review including an exclusive deposit bonus up to $500, click here.

Partypoker

Super High Roller Bowl Online debuts on Saturday

More high-stakes action gets underway this week at partypoker. The inaugural Super High Roller Bowl Online Series, in partnership with Poker Central, runs May 23 – June 1 with $20 million in guarantees.

The series features 28 high-roller events with buy-ins ranging from $10,000 to $100,000. All tournaments will be two-day events, kicking off with a $25,500 Eight-Max event on May 23 with a guarantee of $1 million. There will be several more events with seven-figure guarantees next week as well.

The player collecting the most points in the first 27 events will be declared the series champion. That earns him a free entry to the $102,000 Super High Roller Bowl Online championship. This series capper is a two-day freezeout with a minimum guarantee of $3 million.

“In this time of increased caution, partypoker’s goal is to help fans and players in the poker industry continue to partake in the excitement of the game,” partypoker managing director Tom Waters said.

“The Super High Roller Bowl has consistently grown in popularity while expanding to international territories, and our online format will provide the perfect place for fans and players from all over the world to continue to gather for this tournament.”

Here’s a look at the complete schedule:

2020 partypoker Super High Roller Bowl Online

WPT Online Series reaches Main Event Day 2, final three days of action wrap up this week

The big action rolls on this week in the inaugural WPT Online Series. The event continues with $30 million guaranteed in 65 events through May 20.

Buy-ins range from $50 to $25,000 with a mix of No Limit Hold’Em and Pot Limit Omaha tournaments.

The $3,200 WPT Online Championship begins May 10 and comes with  a $5 million guarantee. The main event features four starting flights and the final three days of action begin on May 18.

Like a live WPT event, the champion will also be rewarded with a $15,000 entry to the tour’s Tournament of Champions (presented by Baccarat Crystal).

The WPT and partypoker have teamed up for the new WPT Online Series.

Other highlights include:

  • WPT500 – Another tour level on the schedule with a $2 million guarantee and a $500 buy-in. 
  • WPT High Roller – $1 million guaranteed for this $5,000 buy-in.
  • Hardware – Trophies and tour merchandise will be awarded to flagship event champions. Winners also receive a souvenir frame with their winning hand. The Online Championship winner will also receive a replica of the WPT Champions Cup and have his or her name engraved on the main trophy. Winners of the WPT500 and WPTDeepStacks events will also receive trophies.

Champions Club member James Dempsey will provide live commentaries of events streamed on partypokerTV. The events covered on the site’s Twitch channel include the final stages of:

  • WPT500
  • High Roller
  • Super High Roller
  • Online Championship.

On top of the cash prizes, partypoker is awarding more than $50,000 to the top 15 leaderboard performers. Here’s a look at events remaining on the schedule:

2020 partypoker WPT Online Series

Defection Party rewarding $2 million during May

Partypoker is giving back to players through June 4 with more than $2 million up for grabs. In the new Defection Party promotion, players can win daily prizes no matter a player’s game of choice or skill level.

By simply logging in every day, players can reveal a new prize. These daily rewards can include freeroll tickets to a $500 daily Hyper Turbo tournament running through the day. Other prizes could include free bonuses credited to a player’s account.

Completing daily challenges also allows players to receive a ticket to a daily $5,000 Hyper Turbo freeroll. These also run every day during the promotion.

Partypoker is also offering another free cash opportunity. Players can boost earnings at the tables by taking advantage of a 20% extra cash back offer through June 4.

Players can opt in  and start earning boosted cash back. The cash will land directly in players’ accounts within 24 hours of the promotional period closing. 

The popular Cash Game Leaderboards also offer daily rewards and the promotion has been extended through May. Three types of leaderboards offer players more than $1.3 million in cash and include:

  • Daily Spin Leaderboards
  • Daily SNG Leaderboards
  • Weekly Cash Leaderboards

For a complete partypoker review including an exclusive deposit bonus up to $1,000, click here.

888poker

Action gets hot this week at 888poker with XL Inferno

The annual XL Inferno kicks off this week at 888poker with more than $1.5 million guaranteed. This year’s series includes 34 events highlighted by the $250 Main Event on May 24 with $500,000 guaranteed.

Other highlights on the schedule include:

  • $109 Opening Event with $75,000 guaranteed – May 14
  • $109 Tune Up with $150,000 guaranteed – May 17
  • $320 High Roller with $100,000 guaranteed – May 19

Buy-ins start at only $5.50 and run as high as $320. Satellites run throughout the series for as little as 1 cent and even feature some free opportunities. Daily qualifiers have already begun and here’s a look at the complete series:

Slay the Dragon or Mini-Dragon in May

The Dragon and Mini Dragon series return to 888poker in May. These events feature Day 1 starting flights playing out all week with Day 2 on Saturday.

The series runs weekly with two Main Events. The $55 Dragon features $50,000 guaranteed and the $12 Mini Dragon comes with $30,000 guaranteed.

The events proved popular in April and now they return for more dragon-slaying action.

Blast off with Galaxy of Freeroll

Everyone enjoys free money and 888poker is giving players plenty of opportunities. The site’s Galaxy of Freerolls promotion runs through June 7 and features more than $500,000 in guaranteed giveaways.

888 offers two daily $2,000 Venus Freerolls Monday through Saturday. On Sunday, a $10,000 Neptune Freeroll will be run with one happy astronaut/champion.

The final freeroll on June 7, aka the Super-Saturn Freeroll, will feature a $100,000 prize pool. Additional surprises, rewards, bonuses, and exclusive freerolls will also be on tap during the Galaxy of Freerolls.

Those looking to earn tickets in the $2,000 Venus need to complete “Space Missions.” Some of those challenges include:

  • The Tournament Voyager – Simply play tournaments with buy-ins of $3 and earn a pair of tickets.
  • Ace-King Apollo Landing – Win a hand holding Ace-King in a cash game and earn two tickets.
  • Casino and Sports Atlantis Orbiter – Place bets totalling $5 or more on any casino game or sports bet and claim but two tickets.

Those hoping to land in a $10,000 Neptune need to complete two or more Space Missions in one week. Players can complete one Space Mission per day and will need at least one more during the week.

How do you play in the $100,000 Super-Saturn Freeroll on June 7? Simply become an 888 astronaut by completing 14 or more Space Missions.

Players can also enjoy a “Daily Spin” to win a ticket to a $1,000 Space BLAST Freeroll.

For a complete 888poker review including an exclusive new player bonus of $88, click here.

Unibet

One more week remains in Online Series 8

The Unibet Online Series 8 (UOS8) has reached the halfway mark and continues through May 24 with an overall €1 million guarantee. Because Unibet had to cancel its 2020 live tournaments, live package winners have been able to play the events online as well.

The final for the “Unibet UK Tour” was held online on Sunday and Monday, producing a prize pool of €78,020. Two other upcoming events that replace live tournaments include: 

  • €3,000 Main Event – €30,000 guaranteed (May 15)
  • €1,100 High Roller – €100,000 guaranteed (May 24)

Qualifiers for these events are running on a daily basis. Unibet also runs daily super-qualifiers for all events above a €25 buy-in.

Along with plenty of tournaments during UOS8, players can battle for a spot among several leaderboards. There will be an extra €30,000 up for grabs for the best overall performances over the series. Here’s a look at the complete remaining schedule:

2020 Unibet Online Series 8

For a complete Unibet review including an exclusive deposit bonus of $30 and playthrough bonus of up to $1,000, click here.

*** Those playing online poker in the US can find a complete list of online poker sites and events for the week of May 18-24 by clicking here. ***