Partouche Poker Tour Will Return To France In 2020

After an eight-year break, the Partouche Poker Tour (PPT) is making a return to France next year, aiming to achieve the same success it had enjoyed as a staple in European poker during a four-year period from 2008-2012.

The 2020 edition of the popular tour will run from August 31-September 6, at the Palm Beach Casino in Cannes, France.

The main highlight of the festival will be the €7,000 buy-in Grand Final which is scheduled to take place at the Rooftop Casino 3.14 in Cannes, on September 6, 2020. Several qualifying events will also be held to build up momentum for the upcoming event.

Players may win their way to the Grand Final by taking part in qualifying events beginning November 1, 2019, for a chance to follow in the footsteps of previous winners, including Ole Schemion (2012), Sam Trickett (2011), Vanessa Selbst (2010), Jean-Paul Pasqualini (2009) and Alain Roy (2008). Each of these winners was able to take home at least €1,000,000 as top prize.

Controversies

While the PPT could be considered among the most highly-successful poker tours in Europe, it was also plagued by a number of controversies which ultimately lead to it going on a hiatus for a number of years.

Back in 2010, the festival was able to attract the highest turnout ever with 764 entries, generating a total prize pool of €5,683,460. But it was also in the same year when the tour was tainted with cheating allegations involving German poker pro Ali Tekintamgac.

The former WPT Barcelona winner was among the final nine players who battled it out for the lion’s share of the prize. Tekintamgac was found to have committed the act through the aid of fake reporters and bloggers who relayed information to him after looking at the cards of his opponents.

Earlier that year, Tekintamgac was already associated with unscrupulous acts, having been booted off the EPT Talinn event also for alleged cheating. Tekintamgac was disqualified from the 2010 Grand Final, and the event was ultimately won by Vanessa Selbst to capture the biggest top prize in PPT history worth €1,300,000.

The following year, PPT saw a drop in participation numbers with just 579 entries and €4,307,760 in total prize pool. In 2012, the organisers found a way to create much-needed hype for the event, initially announcing a €5 million guarantee. However, the actual turnout failed to reach the target and the guarantee fell short to the tune of over €700,000.

Organisers apparently abandoned their €5 million-guarantee promise and Groupe Partouche later announced it would be the last edition for PPT. Now that the PPT is finally back, fans and organisers hope history won’t repeat itself in terms of the scandals and controversies associated with the festival in the past.