In late 2017, PartyPoker hosted its inaugural MILLIONS Online tournament with a $5 million guarantee. It was notable, especially when the $5,300 buy-in event drew 1,047 players to bring the prize pool to $5,135,000. Jonathan Van Fleet won it for $1,027,000.
In November 2018, PartyPoker wanted to do better, but instead of raising the guarantee by a few million dollars, it boosted that guarantee to $20 million. The buy-in of $5,300 remained the same, though the tournament offered five starting days instead of four. Many anticipated a substantial overlay.
That PartyPoker MILLIONS Online attracted 1,574 entries on the first day to start strong, then another 484 came in on the second flight. There were 1,112 more on the third flight, 707 on the fourth, and 490 for the final one. That brought the total to 4,367 entries and a complete prize pool of $21,385,000, wowing everyone in the industry and setting a new standard for the power of an online tournament in today’s poker environment.
When it was done, Manuel Ruivo of the Netherlands captured $2,329,944 for winning it. And PartyPoker had set a new record for the largest online poker tournament in the history of the game.
This year, they want to repeat that success. The 2019 PartyPoker MILLIONS Online will offer – again – a $20 million prize pool guarantee.
Going for It Again
Pokerfuse revealed that the 2019 PartyPoker MILLIONS Online will repeat the $20 million guarantee, but few other details are known. For example, there is no confirmation how many starting days/flights will be available to bring players into the mix or when satellites will begin running.
https://twitter.com/pokerfuse/status/1113205491377819654
What is known is that the tournament is on the schedule to begin November 24 and conclude on December 4. The lengthy time period opens up a number of options, including the possibility of up to 10 starting days.
It also appears certain that the tournament will double its buy-in this year. PartyPoker’s VIP program information notes that members of the new Diamond Club Elite level will receive entry to the $10,300 MILLIONS Online. That indicates that the buy-in will be larger, which means more players will require satellites to obtain seats.
There is plenty of time to iron out the details and make announcements, as it won’t start for more than seven and a half months. However, when players begin talking about a tournament that far in advance, it can only bode well for PartyPoker and start the marketing process with plenty of time to attract another record-setting crowd.
Satellite information is also not yet available. But when players are able to qualify, there is little doubt that PartyPoker will make that option public.
Some Seats Taken
The members of Team PartyPoker, not to mention the new members of Team Online, will undoubtedly play in the 2019 PartyPoker MILLIONS Online.
In addition, Diamond Club Elite members will be in the tournament. Earning that new highest status of the PartyPoker VIP program entitles players to a number of benefits, such as 100% cashback, a $10K cash payment upon hitting $100K in rake, and another $20K when the $200K mark is reached. They also receive prize packages, one worth $16K to the Caribbean Poker Party and a seat to the $10,300 MILLIONS Online.
The new program only began on January 31, but by March 29, a Russian player named sp0ubledy had reached that level to become the first Diamond Club Elite player.
This player now has a seat to the MILLIONS Online, and other players will win their seats through the same process in the coming months.
https://twitter.com/partypoker/status/1113154251826565120
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