Unibet Open will be heading back to London next month for a five-day festival at The Poker Room, above the iconic Grosvenor Victoria Casino in Edgware Road. The event runs from Wednesday, May 22 to Sunday, May 26.
Unibet Open has also confirmed that the fourth and final stop of the 2019 season will be in Paris. The five-day festival will take place November 28 to December 2. It will only be the second time that the tour has visited the French capital since its debut event there in 2012.
Unibet Open London
Unibet Open’s event in London next month will be the tour’s eighth visit to the UK capital and a huge festival is planned, with a dozen tournaments on the schedule. Unibet is expecting this year’s Main Event to attract a substantial field; among the big names set to take part are numerous Unibet ambassadors including Irish Open winner Ian Simpson, GPI Global Poker Awards nominee David Lappin from Ireland, Espen Uhlen Jorsad, two-time Unibet Open champions Dan Murariu and Mateusz Moolhuizen.
The packed schedule at Unibet Open London will feature a total of 12 different tournaments. As well as the £900 + £90 Main Event, there is also a two-day £2,200 High Roller, £220 Turbo Bounty tournament, the invitational Battle Royale, the £460 + £40 Unibet Deepstack Open Cup and the ever-popular £110 #QueenRules Ladies Event.
Players from all over the world are expected to compete in the Main Event which starts on Thursday, May 23. For the first time, the event will feature three starting flights. In addition to Day 1a on May 23 and Day 1b on May 24, there will also be a Day 1c Turbo on May 24 starting at 8pm. All Main Event players will receive a 30,000 starting stack. Days 1a and 1b will both have 11am start times, 60-minute levels and allow a single re-entry into Day 1c. The 1c turbo, which has 20 minute bind levels, will be a standard feature for the rest of the season.
Norwegian student Andreas Wiborg was the 2018 Unibet Open London champion, beating a 349-strong field to take down the £990 Main Event for £56,807. With 918 entries across all events, the overall prize pool topped £564,000. Among those who competed were WSOP finalists Antoine Saout and Sylvain Loosli, Benny Glaser, Matt Perrins and former Hendon Mobsters Joe Beevers and Ross Boatman. Previous Unibet Open London champions have included Dave Shallow, Iaron Lightbourne, Pratik Ghatge, Paul Valkenburg and Thanh Doan. The biggest Unibet Open London to date was in 2017 when Belgian qualifier Gerret Van Lancker beat a 419-strong field to win a total of £71,950. The huge prize pool of £377,100 was shared among 62 players.
The field at this year’s Unibet Open London will include scores of online qualifiers with full prize packages up for grabs now at www.unibet.co.uk/poker. The £2,000 packages include €990 buy-in, hotel accommodation for four nightsand money towards travel expenses.
Unibet Open London live stream
Unibet London has a live stream running throughout the festival. Commentator and Unibet Ambassador David Vanderheyden will be following the action on the feature table as well as chatting to players, celebrity guests and staff from the Unibet poker team. The live stream will kick off with coverage from the Battle Royale invitation event on May 22. To follow the action, just visit the Unibet Open YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/user/UnibetOpen.
Off the felt at Unibet Open London
This year’s Unibet Open London will not only feature a series of amazing tournaments but also great parties and exclusive events for Unibet qualifiers. In addition to the traditional Welcome Drinks which are being held at BrewDog Paddington on May 23, players are also warmly invited to the exclusive Unibet Open London Players Party at Cafe de Paris on May 25.
Unibet Open London history
2018: Andreas Wiborg, Norway, won £56,807; 349 entries, £314,100prize pool
2017: Gerret Van Lancker, Belgium won £71,950; 419 entries, £377,100 prize pool
2016: Dave Shallow, UK, won £62,000;418 entries; £313,500 prize pool
2014: Iaron Lightbourne, UK, won £70,000; 399 entries; £319,200 prize pool
2012: Pratik Ghatgewon £85,050; 315 entries; £78,000 prize pool
2010: Paul Valkenburgwon £109,550; 273 entries; £255,000 prize pool
2009: Thanh Doanbeat won £187,000; £584,910 prize pool
Unibet Open Paris
Unibet is delighted to announce that the fourth and final stop of the Unibet Open 2019 season will be in Paris. The event runs from November 28 to December 2 and will feature a €1,100 Main Event along with numerous other tournaments. The festival mark the tour’s second visit to Paris; the first event took place in 2012 with Polish player Jaroslaw Barglik beating Swedish pro Kent Lundmark heads-up to take down the Main Event for €140,539. There were 439 entries in all, generating a €653,671 prize pool.
Unibet Open Malta
The next Unibet Open event is in Malta in September. Unibet Open Malta is being run in conjunction with Casino Malta and takes place at the Intercontinental Hotel from September 11-15. At last year’s event, Danish player Daniel Jacobsen was Main Event champion, beating a 273-strong field to win €60,090.
For details on all forthcoming events, please see the Unibet Open website.
Nataly Sopacuaperu, Unibet Open’s Head of Events and Sponsorship, said: “We’re thrilled to be heading back to London next month with a very exciting festival at The Poker Room. We look forward to welcoming hundreds of players including all those who succeed in qualifying on Unibet Poker to win a full prize package. Unibet Open London is always an amazing event and a great chance for players to experience high quality poker in one of the world’s top tourist destinations.
“We’re also delighted to be announcing our fourth and final stop of 2019 in Paris. The French capital is one of the most beautiful and glamorous destinations in Europe so we’re very excited about returning there in November, for the first time since 2012.”
About the Unibet Open
The Unibet Open is the hottest live poker tournament circuit in Europe, with ever-growing numbers of players from amateurs to professionals battling for six-figure prize pools in some of the continent’s most glamorous locations. Since 2007, the Unibet Open has been synonymous with a great poker experience – not only running the best tournaments with the Main Event regularly selling out above cap, but also taking advantage of amazing locations and making sure that every Unibet Open player has the time of their life.
