Partypoker Million Makes Shock Return with Player-Friendly Format

October 25th, 2019 | by Kaycee James

Any doubts that Partypoker isn’t on a mission to capitalize on PokerStars’ recent stumble have been firmly dispelled thanks to its latest announcement.

Partypoker is making a bid for industry domination by relaunching its weekly Million. (Image: Partypoker)

Building on a series of innovations over the last 18 months, Partypoker has announced the return of its weekly $1 million MTT.

Lying dormant for 13 years, the Partypoker Million will return on October 27. Although slightly different from the tournament it proceeds, Partypoker Million 2.0 will retain its predecessor’s spirit.

Format Fit for Casuals

This time, however, the format has been guided by player feedback. As per the October 24 press release, the MTT will feature four opening sessions starting on October 27.

Each Day 1 will be a freezeout, but players have the option to re-enter subsequent starting flights.

Additionally, Partypoker will utilize a “best stack forward” system. This means a player that survives multiple Day 1s will start Day 2 with their biggest stack.

Finally, for those that prefer a traditional one-day tournament, the final starting flight will lead into the second session. In other words, players who enter on Day 1D can progress straight through to the final day just as they would in a standard MTT.

As well as providing multiple starting flights, Partypoker Million 2.0 will finish at a reasonable time. Historically, major online poker tournaments have been scheduled around US time zones.

This was the case at Partypoker when it hosted the original Sunday Million and that tradition continued after PokerStars created its own weekly major.

With the US market segregated, moving towards a more European-friendly time zone has become the norm.

Because of that, final session will start at 15:00 GMT on November 3, with the aim of finishing around 02:00 GMT on November 4.

Partypoker Looking to Dominate

Even though it’s something of a trail event at this stage, the Partypoker Million will be hailed as a positive by players. However, from a business perspective, the MTT could have a greater significance.

When online poker was in its infancy, Partypoker broke the mold with a weekly $1 million guaranteed tournament. At the time, this allowed it to become the market leader.

Due to regulatory issues and the rise of PokerStars, the MTT became a drain on resources. As players migrated to PokerStars’, Partypoker was forced to make cuts.

Today, with its longstanding rival slipping, Partypoker is looking to get back on top. Although PokerStars’ Sunday Million is currently the cheaper of the weekly majors ($109 vs. $215), Partypoker’s multi-day entry format could result in a surge of interest.

Ultimately, online poker players will benefit from the latest innovation. However, in terms of industry dynamics, the Partypoker Million certainly has potential to upset the applecart.