FTOPS XIX Main Event Begins Tomorrow

As we’ve already reported, the 19^th Full Tilt Online Poker Series has been setting records right and left. Their Team Full Tilt players have performed consistently well across a number of the series’ 45 events while the site has simultaneously transformed a number of amateur bankrolls with pro-sized payouts. Event #22 proved the appeal of Full Tilt’s new multi-entry tournaments by drawing in an amazing 23,342 entries while Event #24, held the same day, set payout records with a likewise impressive field of 11,343. The excitement of that first week never did wear off, either.

How did Full Tilt draw such outstanding numbers across two solid weeks of play? That their regular traffic numbers in the tens to hundreds of thousands didn’t hurt, but FTP wasn’t resting on their laurels with their latest series. Hundreds of tournament satellites – which have been running for months and started as low as the steps level – ensured that every Full Tilt fan that wanted a shot at a tournament seat had a chance to win one if they couldn’t afford to buy one.

Then there’s the celebrity factor. Full Tilt Poker has always used their recognizable stable of poker pros to push their brand, and the FTOPS is no exception. Each of the 45 events was hosted by an exceptional poker pro or personality, like Huck Seed, Annette Obrestad, Erik Seidel, Andrew Feldman, Eli Elezra and Erick Lindgren, just to name a few. Since each of those hosts also played, it gave many FTP players an exclusive chance to compete with one of the best.

Of course as any aspiring cash poker player can attest, the best motivator is still money, and Full Tilt had plenty of that on hand too. The tournament series offered five different events with $1 million in guaranteed payouts, one with $1.5 million on offer, one with $2 million up for grabs and one with an incredible $3 million guaranteed prize pool (the series’ largest yet). The prizes were far better than expected, too, once all the entries were tallied. As we’ve already mentioned, the record for single online event payouts was topped early in the series when Event #24 more than doubled it’s $1.5 million guarantee.

Time and time again the FTOPS XIX’s outstanding entries pushed the prize pools over the top. Event #27, for example, was a $750,000 Guaranteed and yet a massive turnout ballooned the prize money to a total of $2,321,000. When all was said and done, there were only a couple events that didn’t end up offering more than their guarantees, and many of the events actually doubled their payouts thanks to the extra entries. One can only guess what the Main Event’s going to be like tomorrow.

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