In recent days, we have informed you about the rapid approach of what is the flagship event of the first part of the season in relation to live tournaments branded PokerStars Poker, the European Poker Tour Paris, the first EPT of 2026.
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A Welcome Return Under the Eiffel Tower
After its absence from the official 2025 calendar, the Parisian capital is once again the protagonist of top-level live poker, in a location much loved by players who enjoy combining poker with the invaluable architectural beauty of the Palais des Congrès, already used in past years.
We revealed the dates to you in the event presentation article, when we informed you that the 10-day Parisian event would start on February 18th, Wednesday, and conclude, with a live Italian stream, on the evening of Sunday, March 1st.
As has been the case for the past year, the event will be divided into two large macro groups, the first headed by the PokerStars Open and the second half featuring the European Poker Tour tournaments themselves.
Here are the dates and key tournaments:
PokerStars Open
| Event | From | To | Buy-in |
|---|---|---|---|
| PokerStars Open Main Event | February 18 | February 23 | €1,650 |
| PokerStars Open Cup | February 21 | February 22 | €825 |
| PokerStars Open High Roller | February 22 | February 24 | €2,700 |
EPT Paris: The Main Tournaments
| Event | From | To | Buy-in |
|---|---|---|---|
| EPT Super High Roller | February 22 | February 24 | €100,000 |
| EPT Main Event | February 23 | March 1 | €5,300 |
| EPT Mystery Bounty | February 25 | February 27 | €3,250 |
| EPT High Roller | February 27 | March 1 | €10,300 |
Spin & Go Championship
The Spin & Go Championship Live returns in its live version after the 2025 edition and is part of the European Poker Tour Paris 2026 program.
The main event is scheduled for February 23rd and 24th, 2026, and brings the same adrenaline and quick decision-making of online Spin & Go to the “physical” stage, but within an international context.
As a warm-up, there will also be the Spin-Off Live, scheduled for February 22nd, a tournament offering both interesting prizes and guaranteed seats for the Championship in the following days.
For all information regarding this specialty, please read our article on the Spin & Go Championship.
Everything You Need to Know About the Main Event
The EPT Main Event begins in the last week of February, with Day 1A scheduled for Monday, February 23rd (start at 12:00 PM). The main event comes with a Buy-In of €5,300, in exchange for which you receive an initial stack of 30,000 and a key rule that affects strategy and risk management: Single Re-Entry, with a limit on the number of attempts allowed.
Buy-in: How the €5,300 is Distributed
The total registration fee is €5,300, with a linear distribution and no bounty components:
- €4,800 goes into the prize pool
- €0 in bounties (so no bounties)
- €300 for house fee
- €200 for staff charge
In addition:
- Day 1 includes 10 levels of play
- registrations close at the start of Day 2
Payouts: ITM Between 13% and 15%
Regarding payouts, the forecast range is clear: between 13% and 15% of the field will be in the money, and there’s an important note: the management reserves the right to impose variations on payout options, but this has actually happened on very rare occasions.
Breaks and Variations: Management Can Modify the Schedule
As often happens in major events, each tournament may have an added or subtracted day at the discretion of the Tournament Director, breaks (including the dinner break) are indicative and can change, and management reserves the right to modify, amend, or alter the tournament levels.
The Shot Clock
One of the most interesting points, especially for those who enjoy “fast-paced” play, is the introduction of the shot clock:
- it comes into effect from the start of Day 3, or after the bubble bursts, whichever occurs chronologically last
- each player has 15 seconds for the first decision
- 30 seconds for subsequent decisions in the same hand
- at the start of Day 3 (and all subsequent days), each player receives 6 time bank cards of 30 seconds each
The rules are very explicit: players must decide within reasonable time limits. If someone is found responsible for:
- intentional abuse of time
- deliberate stalling
- voluntary slowing down of the game
they can be punished with a severe measure: a 5-second shot clock on all subsequent decisions.
And it doesn’t end there: even in tournaments with a “standard” shot clock, the organization reserves the right to limit decision time when it deems necessary.
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The Complete Schedule of EPT Paris 2026
| Date & Time | Event | Buy-in + Starting Stack |
|---|---|---|
| Feb 18 12:00 | PokerStars Open Main Event – Day 1A | €1,650 – 30,000 |
| Feb 18 12:00 | Qualifier to €1,650 – 50k chips | €370 – 10,000 |
| Feb 18 14:00 | €1,100 NLH – Day 1 | €1,100 – 30,000 |
| Feb 18 18:00 | PokerStars Open Main Event – Day 1B | €1,650 – 30,000 |
| Feb 18 19:00 | Mystery Bounty (€5k) – Day 1 | €10,200 – 100,000 |
| Feb 18 19:00 | Qualifier to €1,650 – 100k chips | €200 – 10,000 |
| Feb 19 12:00 | Qualifier to €1,650 – 50k chips | €370 – 10,000 |
| Feb 19 12:00 | Mystery Bounty Final | €10,200 – 100,000 |
| Feb 19 12:00 | €1,100 NLH Final | €1,100 – 30,000 |
| Feb 19 12:00 | PokerStars Open Main Event – Day 1C | €1,650 – 30,000 |
| Feb 19 12:30 | PL Omaha – Day 1 | €2,200 – 50,000 |
| Feb 19 14:00 | €12,300 Cuatro Knockout | €12,300 – 100,000 |
| Feb 19 18:00 | PokerStars Open Main Event – Day 1D | €1,650 – 30,000 |
| Feb 19 19:00 | Qualifier to EPT Main Event – 50k chips | €1,155 – 10,000 |
| Feb 20 11:00 | PokerStars Open Main Event – Day 1E | €1,650 – 30,000 |
| Feb 20 12:00 | PL Omaha Final | €2,200 – 50,000 |
| Feb 20 12:30 | €20,000 NLH | €20,000 – 100,000 |
| Feb 20 17:30 | PokerStars Open Main Event – Day 1F | €1,650 – 30,000 |
| Feb 20 20:00 | Qualifier to EPT Main Event – 50k chips | €1,155 – 10,000 |
| Feb 21 11:00 | PokerStars Open Main Event – Day 2 | €1,650 – 30,000 |
| Feb 21 12:30 | €25,000 Super High Roller Warm Up | €25,000 – 250,000 |
| Feb 21 12:30 | €5,200 PL Omaha | €5,200 – 50,000 |
| Feb 21 13:30 | PokerStars Open Cup – Day 1 | €825 – 30,000 |
| Feb 21 21:00 | Qualifier to EPT Main Event – 50k chips | €1,155 – 10,000 |
| Feb 22 11:00 | PokerStars Open High Roller – Day 1A | €2,700 – 30,000 |
| Feb 22 11:00 | Qualifier to High Roller – 50k chips | €610 – 10,000 |
| Feb 22 11:00 | PokerStars Open Cup Final | €825 – 30,000 |
| Feb 22 11:00 | PokerStars Open Main Event – Day 3 | €1,650 – 30,000 |
| Feb 22 12:30 | €10,200 PL Omaha 6‑Max | €10,200 – 50,000 |
| Feb 22 12:30 | EPT Super High Roller – Day 1 | €100,000 – 250,000 |
| Feb 22 18:30 | PokerStars Open High Roller – Day 1B | €2,700 – 30,000 |
| Feb 22 20:00 | Qualifier to EPT Main Event – 50k chips | €1,155 – 10,000 |
| Feb 23 11:00 | Qualifier to EPT Main Event – 100k chips | €600 – 10,000 |
| Feb 23 12:00 | EPT Main Event – Day 1A | €5,300 – 30,000 |
| Feb 23 12:00 | PokerStars Open High Roller – Day 2 | €2,700 – 30,000 |
| Feb 23 12:00 | PokerStars Open Main Event Final | €1,650 – 30,000 |
| Feb 23 12:30 | EPT Super High Roller – Day 2 | €100,000 – 250,000 |
| Feb 23 15:00 | Qualifier to EPT Main Event – 100k chips | €600 – 10,000 |
| Feb 23 18:00 | EPT PLO High Roller – Day 1 | €25,000 – 250,000 |
| Feb 23 19:00 | Qualifier to EPT Main Event – 50k chips | €1,155 – 10,000 |
| Feb 24 11:00 | Qualifier to EPT Main Event – 50k chips | €1,155 – 10,000 |
| Feb 24 12:00 | EPT Main Event – Day 1B | €5,300 – 30,000 |
| Feb 24 12:00 | PokerStars Open High Roller Final | €2,700 – 30,000 |
| Feb 24 12:30 | €25,000 NLH | €25,000 – 100,000 |
| Feb 24 12:30 | EPT PLO High Roller Final | €25,000 – 250,000 |
| Feb 24 12:30 | EPT Super High Roller Final | €100,000 – 250,000 |
| Feb 24 18:00 | €2,100 NLH | €2,100 – 30,000 |
| Feb 25 12:00 | Qualifier to EPT Mystery Bounty – 50k chips | €730 – 10,000 |
| Feb 25 12:00 | EPT Main Event – Day 2 | €5,300 – 30,000 |
| Feb 25 14:00 | EPT Mystery Bounty – Day 1 | €3,250 – 30,000 |
| Feb 25 19:00 | €50,000 SH Roller Second Chance – Day 1 | €50,000 – 250,000 |
| Feb 25 19:00 | Hyper Turbo | €1,050 – 20,000 |
| Feb 26 12:00 | EPT Main Event – Day 3 | €5,300 – 30,000 |
| Feb 26 12:30 | €50,000 SH Roller Second Chance Final | €50,000 – 250,000 |
| Feb 26 12:30 | EPT Mystery Bounty – Day 2 | €3,250 – 30,000 |
| Feb 26 14:00 | €1,100 NLH – Day 1 | €1,100 – 30,000 |
| Feb 26 14:00 | Hyper Turbo | €2,100 – 20,000 |
| Feb 26 16:00 | Qualifier to EPT High Roller – 100k chips | €1,125 – 10,000 |
| Feb 26 18:00 | PL Omaha – Day 1 | €1,100 – 50,000 |
| Feb 26 20:00 | Qualifier to EPT High Roller – 100k chips | €1,125 – 10,000 |
| Feb 26 21:00 | Hyper Turbo | €1,050 – 20,000 |
| Feb 27 11:00 | Qualifier to EPT High Roller – 100k chips | €1,125 – 10,000 |
| Feb 27 11:00 | Qualifier to Mystery Bounty €1,650 | €370 – 10,000 |
| Feb 27 12:00 | PL Omaha Final | €1,100 – 50,000 |
| Feb 27 12:00 | EPT Mystery Bounty Final | €3,250 – 30,000 |
| Feb 27 12:00 | EPT Main Event – Day 4 | €5,300 – 30,000 |
| Feb 27 12:30 | EPT High Roller – Day 1 | €10,300 – 50,000 |
| Feb 27 12:30 | €1,100 NLH Final | €1,100 – 30,000 |
| Feb 27 14:00 | Mystery Bounty (€500) – Day 1 | €1,650 – 30,000 |
| Feb 27 19:00 | Hyper Turbo | €1,050 – 20,000 |
| Feb 28 11:00 | Qualifier to €2,200 Deep Stack | €500 – 10,000 |
| Feb 28 12:00 | €550 Deep Stack – Day 1 | €550 – 50,000 |
| Feb 28 12:00 | Mystery Bounty (€500) Final | €1,650 – 30,000 |
| Feb 28 12:00 | EPT High Roller – Day 2 | €10,300 – 50,000 |
| Feb 28 12:00 | EPT Main Event – Day 5 | €5,300 – 30,000 |
| Feb 28 13:00 | €2,200 Deep Stack – Day 1 | €2,200 – 50,000 |
| Feb 28 18:00 | €10,200 NLH – Day 1 | €10,200 – 100,000 |
| Feb 28 19:00 | Hyper Turbo | €1,050 – 20,000 |
| Mar 1 12:00 | €330 Deep Stack | €330 – 50,000 |
| Mar 1 12:00 | €10,200 NLH Final | €10,200 – 100,000 |
| Mar 1 12:00 | €2,200 Deep Stack Final | €2,200 – 50,000 |
| Mar 1 12:00 | €550 Deep Stack Final | €550 – 50,000 |
| Mar 1 12:00 | EPT High Roller Final | €10,300 – 50,000 |
| Mar 1 12:30 | €2,100 6‑Handed | €2,100 – 30,000 |
| Mar 1 12:30 | EPT Main Event Final | €5,300 – 30,000 |
| Mar 1 16:00 | €5,150 6‑Handed | €5,150 – 30,000 |
| Mar 1 18:00 | Last Chance Super Hyper Turbo | €1,050 – 50,000 |
