PokerGO, a poker content company that streams tournaments and live events around the world, on Thursday said it is launching a global professional poker ranking system, the PokerGO Tour.
The company said the top performer in the PokerGO Tour will be awarded $100,000 and named the Player of the Year (POY).
According to PokerGO, tens of millions of dollars will be at stake across 150 tournaments worldwide.
Company officials said in a statement the PokerGO Tour will “separate and celebrate the most elite professional poker players in a similar fashion to the ranking systems of the world’s most renowned professional sports.”
To qualify for POY, players will earn points for every in-the-money finish at each PokerGO Tour qualifying event. The 2nd and 3rd place players at the end of the year will receive $50,000 and $25,000, respectively.
The inaugural PokerGO Tour will kick off with the 2021 US Poker Open, June 3 through 14, at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas. The tournament series will feature 12 unique events in which players will compete for the inaugural Eagle Trophy.
Other qualifying events in the PokerGO Tour will include the PokerGO Cup, a $100,000 no-limit hold ‘em tournament in July, the PokerGO Heads-Up Championship, with 32 poker pros in a bracket competing for $3.2m, also in July. There’s also Poker Masters, a 12-event tournament series in September, and the Super High Roller Bowl, a three-day tournament with a $300,000 buy-in, also in September.
Mori Eskandani, president of PokerGO, said,“The sport of poker is hundreds of years old and, until now, there has not been a globally recognized tour and ranking system that establishes and celebrates the most elite players, so we started something we hope will evolve and grow. The PokerGO Tour events will include the world’s most challenging high stakes events in the world, bringing poker front and center in the world of sports in a way that has never been done before.”
