They’ve been inactive since December of last year, when they finished off the season with their stop in Prague. The European Poker Tour, however, is ready to kick back into action with the first event of its 2026 season. The EPT will be taking a trip to the “City of Lights,” Paris, bringing their highly popular €5,000 Main Event alongside a plethora of other preliminary tournaments, with Le Palais des Congrès serving as the host for the 2026 EPT Paris party from February 18 through March 1.
Massive Fields Present Massive Challenges
The 2026 EPT Paris presents something for everyone, including the opportunity to win big money. The PokerStars Open Series will begin the action, with a Main Event featuring a €1,500 buy in from February 18-23. When this tournament was held in 2024, there was an outpouring of players that isn’t often seen in European events. 4,149 entries were received in that event, creating a nearly €4 million prize pool.
If the PokerStars Open Main Event is too pricey for players, then there’s the PokerStars Open Cup, which features a €750 buy-in. This tournament will start on February 21, just as the Open Main Event is working its way to the final table. For those who need to keep the action going and have some Euros to work with, the PokerStars Open High Roller begins on February 22 and features a €2,500 buy-in.
On February 23, one of the popular online PokerStars formats will get a chance to shine on a live stage. The Spin & Go Championship Live will bring together eighty-one (81) players who have qualified online. These tournaments feature three-handed tables competing for the guaranteed prize pool of €300,000, with €150,000 reserved for the final table alone. The “live” version of the Spin & Go has been held previously in Barcelona and Prague, to the delight of players.
“There’s a real sense of excitement about EPT Paris returning this year, it’s a city we and our players love,” said Cédric Billot, the Associate Director of Live Events Operations at PokerStars. “Once again, the schedule is filled with our flagship events, and this year the Spin & Go Championship Live is a special standout addition, raising both the stakes and the energy, while allowing online players to sit alongside pros and compete on one of poker’s biggest stages.”
Quartet of EPT Events Highlight the Roster
After letting the PokerStars Open get some kudos for its work, the EPT steps up in the second week of the Paris schedule. The EPT will open with a bang on February 22 with its Super High Roller event, which is usually one of the toughest battles in poker. The €100,000 buy-in ensures that the crème of the European poker world will come to the felt and create a massive prize pool for its competitors.
The 2026 EPT Paris Main Event begins its journey the next day, February 23, as players descend on Le Palais des Congrès to participate for €5,000. The tournament will play out for much of the remainder of the schedule, with the final table being held on March 1. In 2024 (the tournament was not held in 2025 due to regulatory problems in France), poker veteran Barny Boatman struck for the “old school” players when he won the Main Event, booking the biggest win of his career (€1,287,800).
The Main Event is not the only game in town that week in Paris. A €3,000 Mystery Bounty tournament will take place from February 25-27, while the EPT High Roller – with a measly €10,000 buy-in – steps up on February 27 and concludes on March 1. If poker wasn’t enough for players, PokerStars has already stated that there will be plenty of non-poker activities for those who would like to do something in the historic Parisienne streets.
As always, there are ways to get into the 2026 EPT Paris on the cheap, and PokerStars has compiled all the information on the tournament schedule page. One of Europe’s great cities has returned to the European Poker Tour schedule, and the players are ready for action.
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