World Poker Crown tourney launched

02/22/2008

Gibraltar-based 888.com has launched a major online poker tournament branded the World Poker Crown.com that offers a guaranteed prize pool of $3 million, a third of which will go to the ultimate winner.

The group's Pacific Poker subsidiary is the vehicle for the tournament, which will begin on February 20 and run until May 10.

In addition to the first prize winner's purse of $1 million, 10 percent of the players in the WPC will win a share of the significant prize pool. The direct buy-in for the $3 million Guaranteed is $1000+$50 but Pacific Poker is giving players a chance to play in the final event by qualifying in a variety of online poker satellites with buy-ins as low as $1.10+$10¢.

The top 8 players will be invited to play in the final televised offline event in Barcelona, Spain between May 6 and May 10.

These players, accompanied by a partner, will be given free transportation from anywhere in the world to Barcelona as well as 5-star hotel accommodation for the duration of the final event. The televised final event will air on Sky Sports 2 on May 12.

888.com's marketing director, Matt Robinson, said the World Poker Crown is one of the biggest online tournaments ever held and anyone can win. "The WPC is a very exciting new poker tournament and the biggest we have ever offered players," he said.