Winter Series 2026: PokerStars Closes Festival with €11.5M Across 297 Events

Winter Series 2026: PokerStars Closes Festival with €11.5M Across 297 Events
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Iva Dozet News Editor
Fact Checked: PokerListings
  • Updated: January 27, 2026
  • Read time: 1 min

PokerStars managed to outpace its guarantees in Southern Europe again. Yesterday, on January 25, the poker room wrapped up its €10 million guaranteed Winter Series for Spain, France, and Portugal with more than €11.5 million awarded across 297 tournaments, which ended up being a €1.5M jump above the advertised total. Over the course of three weeks, the shared liquidity player pool saw 428,734 total entries, with buy-ins from €10 to €250.

In this article, we break down the Main Event numbers, highlight the biggest winners, and look at what PokerStars had to say about the series.

Two Guarantee Breaking Headliners

The series was headlined by a €400,000 guaranteed PKO Main Event, which ended up drawing in 1,896 entries and a final prize pool of €440,820 as a result. Eventually, the title went to “LUCKYMEZ”, who collected a total of €51,991, including nearly €25,000 in bounties.

However, three weeks is a long time for there to be just one headliner. The special €1 million guaranteed edition of the Sunday Million pulled in 4,002 players and was ultimately won by France’s “jokeezy06”, who pocketed €73,982.36, which ended up being the single largest payout of the entire 2026 festival.

Power Path Meets Winter Series

Apart from the regular tournament schedule, PokerStars also has a Power Path Blizzard Boost running, which added another €250,000 in prizes for players completing daily challenges during the Winter Series. These included tickets to major events like the Sunday Million, Silver Passes, and additional Power Path rewards.

Like with most of their tournaments, the Power Path was there to create more structured rewards in the promotional calendar and according to Sandro Forleo, the site’s Head of Poker Operations for Southern Europe and Italy, the Winter Series hit its mark in 2026.

Sandro Forleo

The Winter Series once again delivered strong results and standout performances, bringing players of all levels together for three weeks of exciting online poker action and festive fun. The enthusiasm and passion for online poker across Southern Europe is exceptional, and we’re always pushing to make the experience bigger and better for our players.

What Now?

The Winter Series is in the rearview mirror now, so it’s time we look ahead and as it turns out, we don’t have to look very far. The Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP), a May fixture up till this year, arrives earlier than usual in March 2026.

SCOOP Warm Up Series 2026

Until them, PokerStars players can expect a SCOOP Warm Up series to fill the February gap. This is going to be a shorter two week festival featuring $10 million in guarantees across high and low buy-in tiers and starts at the end of the week, February 1st.