The European Poker Tour has announced an expanded calendar for 2026, featuring 12 stops across the continent in what will be the most ambitious schedule in the tour’s two-decade history. The announcement, made by PokerStars at a media event in London, confirms that the EPT is not only returning to its traditional strongholds but pushing into three new cities that have never hosted a tour stop.
EPT President and PokerStars Live VP Sarne Lightman called the expansion a direct response to surging demand across the European live poker scene. “We had record participation at nearly every stop in 2025,” Lightman said. “Players told us they wanted more opportunities, and we are delivering on that with the most comprehensive EPT season ever assembled.”
The Complete 2026 EPT Calendar
The 12-stop schedule spans from February through December, with each festival running between five and twelve days depending on the stop’s scale. Here is the full calendar with confirmed dates, cities, and Main Event guarantees:
- EPT Monte Carlo - February 18-28 | Casino de Monte-Carlo, Monaco | Main Event: €5,300 buy-in, €5M guaranteed
- EPT Dublin - March 18-28 | The Convention Centre Dublin, Ireland | Main Event: €3,300 buy-in, €2M guaranteed (NEW)
- EPT London - April 8-19 | The Hippodrome Casino, England | Main Event: £4,400 buy-in, £3M guaranteed
- EPT Madrid - May 6-16 | Casino Gran Madrid, Spain | Main Event: €3,300 buy-in, €2.5M guaranteed (NEW)
- EPT Paris - June 3-14 | Aviation Club de France, France | Main Event: €5,300 buy-in, €4M guaranteed
- EPT Barcelona - July 8-20 | Casino Barcelona, Spain | Main Event: €5,300 buy-in, €10M guaranteed
- EPT Vienna - August 12-22 | Montesino Card Casino, Austria | Main Event: €3,300 buy-in, €2M guaranteed (NEW)
- EPT Cyprus - September 10-21 | Merit Royal Hotel, North Cyprus | Main Event: €3,300 buy-in, €3M guaranteed
- EPT Malta - October 7-17 | Portomaso Casino, Malta | Main Event: €3,300 buy-in, €2M guaranteed
- EPT Deauville - October 28 - November 8 | Barrière Casino, France | Main Event: €3,300 buy-in, €2M guaranteed
- EPT Prague - November 25 - December 6 | Hilton Prague Hotel, Czech Republic | Main Event: €5,300 buy-in, €5M guaranteed
- EPT Barcelona Grand Final - December 16-23 | Casino Barcelona, Spain | Main Event: €10,300 buy-in, €8M guaranteed
The combined Main Event guarantees across all 12 stops total €48.5 million, a 35% increase over the 2025 season’s combined guarantees of €36 million. Including side events, the total guaranteed prize money across the full EPT 2026 season exceeds €120 million.
New Destinations: Dublin, Madrid, and Vienna
Three cities join the EPT rotation for the first time in 2026, each selected after extensive evaluation of venue quality, local regulatory support, and player demand.
Dublin has long been considered a glaring omission from the EPT calendar given Ireland’s passionate poker culture. The Convention Centre Dublin provides a modern, purpose-built space that can accommodate over 200 tables, and the city’s international airport with extensive European connections makes it highly accessible. The March dates were chosen to capitalize on the vibrant atmosphere surrounding St. Patrick’s Day, which is expected to boost attendance from recreational players combining poker with tourism.
Madrid enters the schedule with Casino Gran Madrid as its host venue, located in the Torrelodones complex northwest of the city center. Spain’s regulated poker market and shared European liquidity pool with France and Portugal have created a robust player base that deserves a dedicated EPT stop beyond the Barcelona festivals. The May timing avoids conflict with the city’s intense summer heat while aligning with several Spanish public holidays.
Vienna fills the late summer slot with Montesino Card Casino, one of the largest dedicated poker venues in Central Europe with 50 permanent poker tables. Austria’s central location makes it an ideal hub for players from Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and the broader Central European region. The Austrian capital’s cultural offerings and relatively affordable accommodation compared to cities like Monaco and London are expected to attract a mix of serious players and poker tourists.
Barcelona: The Flagship Returns Twice
In an unprecedented move, Barcelona will host two EPT festivals in 2026. The traditional summer stop in July carries the established €5,300 Main Event with a €10 million guarantee, making it the single largest guaranteed EPT Main Event of the season.
The second Barcelona visit in December serves as the season-ending Grand Final, featuring a €10,300 buy-in and an €8 million guarantee. The Grand Final will also include a €25,000 High Roller, a €50,000 Super High Roller, and a special invitational event for EPT Player of the Year contenders.
Casino Barcelona has committed to expanding its temporary poker room setup for the July festival, with plans for 300 tables across multiple floors of the venue and adjacent conference space. The EPT Barcelona tournament page has full details on the summer festival’s schedule and structure.
Historical EPT Context
The European Poker Tour launched in 2004 with just one event in Barcelona and has grown into the most prestigious live poker circuit in Europe. The tour has undergone several transformations since PokerStars acquired it, including a brief rebranding as the PokerStars Championship in 2017 before reverting to the EPT name in 2018 due to overwhelming player and fan preference.
The 2026 expansion to 12 stops surpasses the previous record of 13 stops set during the EPT’s peak in Season 8 (2011-2012), though several of those stops were smaller in scale than the minimum festival size planned for 2026. In terms of total guaranteed prize money, the 2026 season dwarfs any previous year by a significant margin.
The EPT has produced some of poker’s most iconic moments over its two decades, from the early days of online qualifier Mercier winning the Grand Final to more recent dominance by GTO-era professionals. The player rankings page tracks career earnings and performance for many EPT regulars.
Player Qualification Paths
PokerStars will offer an extensive satellite program across its online platform, with weekly feeders starting as low as $5 that lead into direct qualifiers for each EPT Main Event. The online qualification program begins four months before each stop, with the Monte Carlo satellites already underway.
Each EPT stop will also feature live Day 1 mega satellites at the venue, typically with buy-ins of €330 and €550, awarding Main Event seats. In 2025, approximately 18% of all EPT Main Event fields consisted of satellite qualifiers, and PokerStars aims to increase that figure to 22% in 2026 through expanded satellite offerings and new satellite formats.
A new “Road to EPT” promotion will launch on PokerStars in April, allowing online players to compete in a year-long leaderboard for packages to multiple EPT stops. The top 50 leaderboard finishers will receive packages including Main Event buy-in, accommodation, and travel expenses for the stop of their choice.
PokerStars Partnership and Broadcast Coverage
PokerStars’ sponsorship of the EPT remains the cornerstone partnership of the tour, with the operator investing what industry sources describe as its largest-ever commitment to live poker operations in 2026. The expanded calendar requires significant logistical scaling, including additional tournament staff, portable equipment sets, and production crews.
Broadcast coverage will expand in 2026 with PokerStars partnering with streaming platform PokerGO International for live coverage of every Main Event final table across all 12 stops. Feature tables will stream with 30-minute delay showing hole cards during the late stages of each Main Event, as well as during all High Roller events.
A new EPT documentary series is also in production, following a group of aspiring professionals as they attempt to qualify and compete across the full 2026 season.
Travel Logistics and Planning
For players planning to attend multiple stops, the EPT has partnered with a travel booking platform to offer discounted packages for each festival. Multi-stop bundles are available for players committed to attending four or more events, with savings of up to 25% on accommodation compared to individual bookings.
Each host venue’s website will publish detailed travel guides including airport transfer options, recommended hotels at various price points, and local poker room information for early arrivals. The EPT’s social media channels will also feature city guides highlighting restaurants, attractions, and off-felt activities at each destination.
For the full list of EPT stops and other major live events, visit our tournament coverage page, which will be updated throughout the season with schedules, results, and reporting from every stop on the circuit.
Looking Ahead
The 2026 EPT season represents a bold bet by PokerStars that the European live poker market can sustain a 12-stop calendar at premium guarantee levels. Based on 2025 attendance figures and the strength of the new destinations, that bet appears well-founded. With more accessible buy-in levels at the newer stops, expanded satellite programs, and comprehensive broadcast coverage, the EPT is positioned to reach a wider audience than ever before. The Monte Carlo opener on February 18 is just weeks away, and anticipation across the European poker community is building steadily.
