In December, EAPT is coming to Armenia with a $600,000+ festival.

The EAPT has been touring Europe for the past year and has visited the former Soviet Union several times, consistently drawing large crowds to its events in Batumi, Georgia. The most recent EAPT series in Georgia took place in October and was one of the most popular poker festivals in the CIS. A total of 749 unique players from 33 countries travelled to Batumi, generating a prize pool totalling $1,900,000 (more than double the guaranteed prize of $800,000).

Poker enthusiasts from all corners of the globe, including Brazil, Venezuela, the UK, Canada, the US, Russia, Spain, the Netherlands, and even guests from exotic destinations like Kuwait and Turkmenistan, found themselves at the tables.

Armenia also made it into the top five in terms of the number of participants in the Georgian series, sending several dozen players to the EAPT tables. This is understandable, given that it is not far to travel, the mentality and culture are familiar, and the combination of inexpensive buy-ins and substantial guarantees was certainly an excellent incentive for such a short trip from Yerevan to Batumi.

Now, a few months later, it's time to return the favour. Rather than Armenian players travelling to the EAPT, the series itself is coming to Armenia for the EAPT festival. The Yerevan series will run from 5 to 14 December and consist of 30 events with a total guarantee of over $600,000, including a $200,000 prize pool for the $600 main event.

• Schedule overview

Of the 30 EAPT events in Yerevan, players can look forward to 19 cup tournaments and 11 qualifiers.

▪️ The series will begin with a new event: the $400 Luxon Pay Special Bounty, which will take place from 5 to 8 December. This tournament has a guaranteed prize pool of $60,000 and will be played in an entertaining format: each of the starting flights (1A–1D) will continue until 20% of the total number of entries have been reached, at which point the game will stop. On Day 2 (8 December), there will be bounty prizes for knocking out opponents, with each knockout worth $750. The game will continue until a winner is determined.

▪️ Also on the first day of the series, there will be a classic EAPT Cup for $300 with a $40,000 guarantee (5–7 December). Each of the four starting flights of this tournament will continue until the prize zone is reached. All surviving players will then combine on Day 2 and play until a champion is determined.

▪️ There will also be two high roller tournaments at EAPT Armenia, both with bounties. The $750 High Roller Bounty (8–9 December) has a guarantee of $50,000 and a fixed bounty of $300 for each opponent eliminated.

At the end of the series (13–14 December), there will be a $750 High Roller Progressive Bounty with the same $50,000 guarantee. However, the bounty for a player's own head will increase with each new knockout. When a player knocks out an opponent, they immediately receive $150, with an additional $150 added to their own bounty. Towards the end, the knockouts become so substantial that they often exceed the total tournament payouts, turning the game into an entertaining battle for bounties.

▪️ From 11 to 13 December, festival guests will have the opportunity to test their luck by pulling out expensive envelopes. The $350 Mystery Bounty tournament guarantees players $30,000 in prize money. Everything is standard here: there are two entry days (play until ITM), and envelopes enter the game from the start of Day 2. You can pull out substantial prizes from these envelopes — the rewards often exceed the payout for first place.

▪️ The Main Event of the EAPT Armenia, with a buy-in of $600 and a guaranteed prize pool of $200,000, will take place from 9 to 14 December. It will be played in the classic format: several starting flights will be played until the top 15% of players are in the money (ITM), then all remaining players will combine on Day 2 and play until the final table. After another day, the finalists will return to the gaming room to determine the champion.

You can save money by participating in the Main Event through two so-called 'Phases'. These are qualifying tournaments with a lower buy-in and a smaller starting stack. The entry fee for the Phase is only $135, for which players receive a stack of 8,000 chips (in the Main Event, players receive 40,000 chips for a 'full' buy-in at the start). All players need to do is finish in the top 20% of their phase.

There will be two 'Phases' leading up to the EAPT Armenia Main Event: Main Event Phase to Day 1A on 6 December at 21:30 for Day 1A, and Main Event Phase to Day 1C on 10 December at 22:00 for Day 1C.

▪️ In the side events, the buy-ins are more or less at the same level as the Georgian series, and players can compete for the cup with buy-ins of $200–$400.

See the full EAPT Armenia schedule on the festival website:

• Venue

The Armenian leg of the EAPT will take place at the Shangri-La Casino in Yerevan. This state-of-the-art casino covers an area of 2,400 m² and is located within the Pharaon complex, adjacent to the five-star Multi Grand Hotel. Players can expect spacious rooms and excellent service. As well as poker, guests at the Shangri-La can enjoy classic casino games such as roulette, slots and blackjack, or sample exquisite Armenian cuisine at the Michelangelo lounge bar. Traditional European cuisine is also available.

A visit to Shangri-La Yerevan will be part of a memorable journey: during the day, explore a city with ancient temples, museums and a vibrant culinary scene; at night, experience world-class excitement and luxury.

Please note the following rules for visiting: you must be at least 21 years old, be neatly dressed (no sportswear), have a passport or valid photo ID.

There is a simplified migration regime between Russia and Armenia, allowing Russian passport holders to enter Armenia with only their internal civil passport. A foreign passport is not required, but if you have one, you can enter the country with it. Of course, Russian citizens do not need a visa for tourism purposes.

• Satellites on PokerOK (coming soon)

PokerOK recently joined GGPoker, the world's largest online poker network, and has become the new official partner of the EAPT series. With PokerOK's support, a festival was held in Batumi, and the poker room team will now also support the event in Yerevan.

More than a hundred players who qualified through online satellites were brought to the series in Georgia by PokerOK, and there will also be an online qualification grid for the Main Event on PokerOK in Armenia.