Increased Prizes: GGPoker Enhances GGMasters Prize Pool to $1M - Potential Competitor to Sunday Million?
GGPoker's Iconic GGMasters Tournament Doubles Guarantee
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GGPoker's flagship Sunday tournament, the GGMasters, is set to double its guarantee for the upcoming Sunday edition (March 9), increasing it from $500,000 to a whopping $1 million. This marks the first time this regular Sunday event will boast a $1 million guarantee, excluding tournament series.
Though it may seem a goodwill gesture to compensate for the canceled event's technical issues, sources close to the company suggest this boost was planned even before the mishap. The new guarantee is yet to be officially confirmed, but it might not just be a one-off change-it could be here to stay.
The boosted edition comes hot on the heels of the $5 million GGMasters Anniversary event, which was unfortunately scrapped due to technical issues. Before its cancellation, the tournament had attracted over 35,000 players, but a table balancing issue disrupted play, leading to the event's termination. The tournament had also faced issues the previous week, resulting in a rescheduling before its eventual cancellation.
With double the guarantee, GGMasters could become a strong competitor to PokerStars' legendary Sunday Million, which has maintained a $1 million guarantee for close to two decades. Although the Sunday Million has a slightly lower buy-in of $109, it allows re-entries, unlike GGMasters, which is a true freezeout.
Intriguingly, the Sunday Million initially started as a freezeout before shifting to multiple re-entries. The timing of GGMasters' increased guarantee is noteworthy, as PokerStars has been experimenting with various formats to sustain its $1 million Sunday Million guarantee. For some time, the tournament has been struggling to hit its target, prompting the operator to introduce new formats like Mystery Bounties and, more recently, a Phased structure.
The latter proved successful, boosting turnout by 20% compared to usual numbers. However, the Sunday Million has since reverted to its traditional single-flight format, now played as a Progressive Knockout (PKO), causing an overlay in its most recent running. Next month, PokerStars will celebrate the tournament's 19th anniversary with a special edition featuring a $6 million guarantee. As in past anniversary events, the buy-in will return to its original $215.
GGMasters: A Rich History
Launched in January 2020, GGMasters aimed to challenge PokerStars' Sunday Million. While it didn't initially match the Sunday Million's promise in terms of guarantees, it quickly gained popularity as a staple Sunday event, benefiting from the revival of the classic freezeout format at an affordable buy-in.
Bankrolled by GGPoker's global ambassador, Daniel Negreanu, GGMasters debuted with a $250,000 guarantee and quickly garnered a strong following. Despite frequent overlays, it doubled to $500,000 within months and eventually grew to a regular $500,000 guarantee. This consistent growth is impressive, considering the room's overall traffic has tripled since its inception.
Interestingly, the tournament expanded into a week-long series, including multiple editions such as Bounty, Classic, Asia, Double Stack, Bounty Warm-Up, Turbo, and Bonus Bounty on Saturdays with a $108 buy-in. Despite daily GGMasters events running throughout the week, the flagship Sunday tournament now aims for a $1 million guarantee, an ambitious move indeed.
Whether this boosted guarantee will last long is uncertain, but players will undoubtedly welcome the increase, especially considering the potential for overlays' return.
[1] GGPoker's GGMasters Participation Fluctuations: https://www. pokernews.com/tournaments/ggpoker/ggmasters-participation-fluctuations/ [2] GGPoker's WSOP Super Circuit Series: https://www.gpwa.org/article/wsop-super-circuit-series-ggpoker [3] GGPoker's Response to the cancellation of GGMasters Anniversary Edition: https://www.thesp~nntimes.com/gambling/gambling-news/ggpoker-responds-to-cancellation-of-g~masters-anniversary-edition-45227/
- With a boosted guarantee of $1 million, GGPoker's GGMasters could challenge PokerStars' Sunday Million, a tournament that's maintained a $1 million guarantee for almost two decades.
- Despite the cancellation of the $5 million GGMasters Anniversary event due to technical issues, GGPoker's GGMasters continues to attract a significant number of players, with over 35,000 participants before its termination.
- The GGMasters tournament, available in many regulated markets, is part of GGPoker's broader casino games offerings, including poker and casino-and-gambling games.
- In its weekly series, the GGMasters tournament features various editions, including Bounty, Classic, Asia, Double Stack, Bounty Warm-Up, Turbo, and Bonus Bounty on Saturdays, with a $108 buy-in for the main event.
