It's the largest live tourney announcement PokerStars has made in recent memory, and it'll forever change how you have a look at PokerStars live events.

Today, PokerStars announced that beginning in 2017, all of its live events will fall under one in every of two tours, the PokerStars Championship and PokerStars Festival. It is a move that's been within the making because the days the ecu Poker Tour broke out of European borders. Now, the whole PokerStars EPT experience goes worldwide.

This is the large one.

Starting with the primary PokerStars Championship within the Bahamas (known formerly because the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure) January 6-14, 2017, the Championship tour will circle the globe and hit one of the most biggest cities and prestigious casinos. Most stops will last 10-11 days and have as much as 100 tournaments, including a €/$5,000 Main Event and plenty of cash games. Stops within the Bahamas, Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Macau, and Panama are already planned, and more can be announced within the coming months.

The new tour may also mean a brand new Player of the Year contest with a tournament leader board at each stop. The player who tops each individual leaderboard will win a VIP package, including accommodation and PokerStars Championship Main Event buy-in for the primary PokerStars Championship the next year, plus entry right into a special invitational tournament featuring $100,000 winner-takes-all first prize. Additional info on PokerStars Championships are available here.

Looking for something a bit of more cost-effective and fun? The PokerStars Festival events can be your thing. They'll last 6-7 days and be more like a poker holiday with all kinds of events meant for recreational players. Each Festival could have a prime Event with buy-ins starting from $1,000-$1,500. The primary two Festival stops may be in New Jersey and London. Stay tuned for more on other planned ports of call. Additional info on PokerStars Festival events are available here.

"The PokerStars Championship will include top-tier events as a way to visit probably the most exciting and prestigious destinations worldwide, very similar to the much-loved European Poker Tour, while the PokerStars Festival events have a more regional feel, positioned as an action-packed poker vacation," said Edgar Stuchly, PokerStars' Director of Live Events.

This announcement isn't just a question of consolidating tours. As a part of the brand new Championship tour, PokerStars has upgraded its PSLive registration system with a web-based platform for players to register for tournaments previous to events, a brand new mobile app for all PokerStars Championship events, and self-serve terminals to streamline the registration process. What's more, the tour will soon launch a brand new website providing a single stop for everything associated with PokerStars sponsored live events.

"We are always taking into consideration how one can bring the most productive experience to players, in the course of the number of tournaments we sponsor, the convenience of finding information, how we communicate to players and media, and the full experience off and on the felt," Stuchly said . "The PokerStars Championship and PokerStars Festival events are an enhancement of the prevailing PokerStars sponsored live tours, helping to take our vision for live poker to a complete new level."

To kick things off, the first actual PokerStars Festival will happen in New Jersey October 29-November 6. Over the process that week at Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, you'll expect 40 poker tournaments with buy-ins starting from $100 to $5,000.

Here are a couple of highlights from the schedule:

• November 1-5, $1,100 PokerStars Festival Main Event• October 30-31, $340 PokerStars Cup• November 4-5, $2,200 PokerStars Festival High Roller• November 4-6, $230 PokerStars Open

We're expecting to look the likes of Jason Somerville, Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, Jason Mercier, Chris Moneymaker, and Vanessa Selbst through the Festival.

We'll also see so much more.

Along with the poker, there'll be a casino festival with blackjack, video poker, slots, and roulette tourneys. There'll even be a StarsFun skills zone and a RunItUp Day with Team PokerStars Pro and Twitch superstar Jason Somerville. Also, stay tuned for details of a Survivor "Immunity" Tournament featuring Tyson Apostol and "Boston Rob" Mariano.

"We are committed to growing the poker market in New Jersey and a part of this strategy is to assist make New Jersey the poker hub of America in November," Eric Hollreiser, PokerStars' Director of Corporate Communications, said.

So, there it's the. new era of PokerStars live tours is upon us. Can we see you on tour? Tell us on our Twitter account: @PokerStarsBlog.

See you soon!

Brad Willis is the PokerStars Head of Blogging. Follow him on Twitter: @BradWillis.

Read More... [Source: PokerStarsBlog.com :: PokerStars news]