PokerStars has announced the completion of the FRESH (France Espania Hold’em) Series, the first joint poker tournament series offered to both French and Spanish players following the launch of the shared player pool between the two previously ring-fenced markets.
The FRESH Series beat guarantees and attracted thousands of French and Spanish players to PokerStars’ online tables.
The series ran from January 28 to February 11 and saw more than 30,000 unique entries and a total prize pool of Euro 6,149,751 across 50 scheduled events, which exceeded the Euro 5 million prize pool guarantee.
Gonzalo ‘gonzar32’ Robles, the FRESH Series Main Event winner, beat 4,304 other entries to take home Euro 114,073.35 and a Platinum Pass, worth around $30,000, to the previously announced PokerStars Players No Limit Hold’em Championship (PSPC).
“It was great to see French and Spanish players challenging each other on the virtual felt,” said Rafi Ashkenazi, CEO of The Stars Group. “The success of the FRESH Series is an encouraging start as we look forward to extending the shared player pool to Italy and Portugal in the future.”
Regulators in Italy have reiterated and those in Portugal have recently confirmed their respective intentions to join the shared market with France and Spain. The Stars Group intends to seek approval to enter into such shared player pool markets if and when they become available.