The PSPC: The Greatest Tournament in Need of a Comeback

Platinum Passes for the Masses

The inaugural PSPC saw 320 passes handed out. Some of those went to PokerStars ambassadors; others were to poker pros at various events around the world, and some were handed out randomly to lucky poker players, some of whom had never played in a live event before.

In 2023, the number of passes rose to 418, meaning that $10 million of the over $24 million prize pool was funded by PokerStars. Most tournaments, like the WSOP Paradise Super Main Event and the WSOP Main Event, all have players that satellite into it but the prize money is staked by these players. No event in the world gives you the opportunity that the PSPC did. Hundreds of players got to win a pass by whatever means was available and get the chance of a lifetime to play one of the biggest and most hyped poker events on the planet.

True David v Goliath Match-Up

Events like the WSOP Main Event require amateurs to pony up $10k in order to have a shot at the $10 million prize. In reality, because of the numbers, amateurs rarely find themselves at a table with one let alone multiple poker pros.

On Day 1, I was seated with players that made the final table of the EPT Prague and the WPT World Championship the month before. They are not household names that you heard of, but if you watched both of those final tables, the names Istvan Pilhofer and Colton Blomberg should ring a bell. Istvan was directly to my right, while Colton was a few seats to my left. I had not watched either final table, but did my research going into Day 1 and knew that both had massive scores recently, and both were going to be difficult opponents to navigate through. Luckily, I survived the day and advanced to Day 2.

Things didn’t get any easier on Day 2 with Richard Robinson, aka Richie Rob, and Dinesh Alt seated to my right, and Las Vegas pro Paul Dewald immediately to my left. I was thankful that I hadn’t run into any big name pros but that changed towards the end of a short Day 2. We only played 6 levels but by the time level 5 rolled around, I had both Dan Smith and Jeremy Ausmus, who had a massive stack, across the table. Talk about being intimidated but seeing Dan with less chips than me certainly helped.

And then Day 3, the only name I recognized was fellow Canadian Eric Afriat who was shorter than I was starting play on level 15. Chris Moneymaker was at the table next to me all of Day 2 and again on Day 3, in fact you can clearly see him in this screenshot that the broadcast crew captured of my demise.

I thought to myself, how likely are you to end up seated next to so many players who had so many cashes in the WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas? The stars were out at the PSPC, mainly because everyone felt the value was there with so many amateurs who have never played a $25k buy-in tournament before.

Not Being a Yearly Event Makes It So Much More Special

The Winter Olympics are on right now, and there are parallels to the PSPC, the major one being the frequency. What makes events like the Olympics and the World Cup that much more special is the frequency. Only every four years do you get a chance to watch the best in their sport compete for all of the glory. Events like the WSOP Paradise Super Main Event and $10K Main Event will always be special because of the prestige and popularity they have. However, they both lack the appeal that events like the Olympics have.

The PSPC should not be a yearly event. Realistically it’s not feasible for PokerStars to put on such a lavish event year in and year out. However if the PSPC becomes a four-year event, the amount of build-up you could have would be incredible. January 2027 isn’t that far away, so if PokerStars wanted to try and steal a bit of thunder away from brands like the WSOP and GGPoker, announcing a January or summer 2027 PSPC wouldn’t be out of the question.

I am forever grateful for getting to play in this tournament, and the memories of the entire week will stay with me forever. The atmosphere of walking into the room filled with poker’s elite is something truly special that all poker players should have a chance to experience at least once in their life. That is why the PSPC is the greatest tournament ever held, and if done correctly, could propel PokerStars back to the top when it comes to the best live poker tournaments.