France Poker Series returns for new look fifth season

As one tour winds down another is just getting started. That's usually the case with PokerStars, and that story will be no different this spring.

While Monaco host the finale of the European Poker Tour later this month, it will also mark the start of the news season of the France Poker Series, with details of the new season now confirmed. It promises to offer something familiar, and something unique, to players from across the region.

Let's start by pulling back the curtain on the new schedule.

Monaco: April 29 to May 3, €500k guaranteed
Online: May 17 to 26, €500k guaranteed
Lille: July 22 to 26, €500k guaranteed
Final in Enghien: December 16 to 20, €500k guaranteed

If you're going to kick off a poker tour you can't go wrong with Monaco, which will set the benchmark for the rest of the season, with a €500,000 guaranteed prize pool.

Soon after there will be what can best be described as a virtual interlude, with the next stage of the Series hosted not in a bricks and mortar casino, but online. It'll take place over the same weekend as the SCOOP Main Event on pokerstars.fr, and still have the same guarantee, but you can play it -- and win it -- from the comfort of your own home.

The tour then moves north to Barriere's casino in Lille, about an hour from the three capitals of London, Brussels and Paris, for the third leg of the season in July, before heading back to another Barriere hub on the outskirts of Paris itself - the picturesque town of Enghien Les Bain - where the final of the FPS season will take place in December.

Lille will host the third leg of the new season

In addition to each tournament there will also be a Tournament Leader Board, recording results over the course of the season, with three trophies waiting to be won. Based on GPI ratings, the "Gold" trophy will apply to all tournaments, "silver" to those with a buy-in of $600 or less, and the "Best qualifier" trophy will reward the best performance by online qualifiers.

It promises the best of the live and online worlds, in some great poker destinations. Check out the France Poker Series website for all the details.

See you in Monaco for the start.

Stephen Bartley is a staff writer for the PokerStars Blog.

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