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If there’s one poker festival you’ll want to follow closely this year, it’s this one.

About the PSPC 2023

The PokerStars Players Championship (PSPC) and PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) 2023 are less than three weeks away, and it’s safe to say that excitement levels among poker fans, poker players and Platinum Pass winners have reached fever pitch.

From January 22 through to February 3, 2023, the poker world will be focused on the Bahamas and the Baha Mar Resort, the brand new home of the PSPC/PCA where poker history will be made once again.

The last time the $25,000 buy-in PSPC took place, it was Platinum Pass winner Ramon Colillas who became the first and, to date, only champion of the extraordinary event, topping a 1,039-player field (the largest ever for a $25K) to win $5.1 million.

Who will take it down this time?

While we wait to find out, bookmark this page and check back in for more PSPC content in the build-up to the event.

We’ll be counting the top five PSPC moments from 2019, tallying up the number of Platinum Passes awarded, bringing you the stories of Platinum Pass winners, and more.

Platinum Pass winner Ramon Colillas won the PSPC in 2019 for $5.1 million


MORE ABOUT THE PSPC:
ALL PSPC COVERAGE | WINNERS SO FAR | WHAT MAKES THE PSPC SPECIAL?


Platinum Pass: all you need to know

Just what is a Platinum Pass exactly?

A PSPC Platinum Pass

A PSPC Platinum Pass worth $30,000

Well, in a nutshell, a Platinum Pass is a free ticket to go to the Bahamas and compete in the $25,000 buy-in PSPC 2023.

It includes:

  • Buy-in to the $25,000 PSPC
  • Six nights hotel accommodation for winner and a guest in the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar hotel
  • Airport transfer
  • $1,900 expense money
  • Platinum Pass Winner experiences during the event

More than 400 have been given out in the build-up to the event through an array of different methods, from competitions and giveaways to winning poker tournaments both live and online.

Meet the Platinum Pass winners heading to the PSPC 2023.

PSPC 2023: Bigger and better

Last time around, 320 Platinum Passes were awarded to players of all abilities, from those who had never played a poker tournament before right up to some of the most recognisable names in the game.

That meant $9 million added to the prize pool from Platinum Passes alone.

For the 2023 edition, 418 Platinum Passes have been given out (so far). That means more than $10.2 million is already guaranteed in the prize pool before anyone else has even registered.

And before that enormous tournament even starts, we’ve got the prestigious $10,300 buy-in PCA Main Event to take care of.

Plus, there’s a brand new location this time. We’ve heard nothing but great things about the Baha Mar Resort, and as you can see from the image below, it certainly looks beautiful.

The 2023 PSPC will take place at the Baha Mar resort

PCA / PSPC Key Dates

PCA:

PCA Super High Roller: January 22-24, $100,000
PCA Main Event: January 23-29, $10,300
PCA Mystery Bounty: January 26-28, $3,000
PCA PLO High Roller: January 27-28, $25,000
PCA High Roller: February 1-3, $25,000

PSPC:

PSPC Warm Up!: January 28-29, $10,000
PSPC Main Event: January 30 – February 3, $25,000
PSPC Mystery Bounty: February 1-3, $550

Why all the fuss about the PSPC?

It’s been 47 long months since the first iteration of the PokerStars Players Championship (PSPC), so you can perhaps be forgiven for not remembering exactly what went on the last time.

However, the first iteration of the PSPC back in 2019 was a truly extraordinary event, raising the bar for what was possible in a live poker tournament, both in its conception and its execution.

This was the tournament where amateur players rubbed shoulders with elite pros; where $25,000 buy-ins could be secured by people who simply dreamed hard enough, like Willy Wonka’s Golden Tickets. There was more than $9 million in added value attached to one tournament.

A huge field descended on the Bahamas for the PSPC

There were no catches either. This was simply a freezeout poker tournament with a $25,000 buy-in, but to which more than 300 players were given free access. The free ticket was known as a Platinum Pass, and it came with flights, accommodation and food and drink too.

Platinum Pass winners’ $25,000 still went into the prize pool, meaning there was $8 million in there to be won by anybody, before anyone other than PokerStars had contributed a penny.

For a further sweetener, PokerStars also added $1 million to the tournament winner’s prize. It was a simple, no-strings-attached additional payment. It just happened to be seven figures big, pushing the starting prize pool to $9 million.

Click here to learn more about what happened at PSPC 2019.

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