The PokerStars Open: Ready to play?
Expect big guarantees, accessible buy-ins, action-packed schedules, and many fun activities to keep players and guests entertained off the tables.
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Next stop on the PokerStars Open: Manchester
ABOUT THE POKERSTARS OPEN
A new era of live poker in Europe begins in 2025 with the launch of the PokerStars Open, an exciting new tour consolidating PokerStars’ popular and prestigious regional tours under one dynamic banner.
The PokerStars Open combines the best elements of the UK and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT), Eureka Poker Tour, Estrellas Poker Tour (ESPT), and France Poker Series (FPS) to create a schedule of unmissable events across some of Europe’s most vibrant destinations.
The schedule consists of five standalone stops – including three brand-new locations – plus PokerStars Open Main Events at EPT Monte Carlo and EPT Barcelona.
All events take place at established partner casinos and will feature PokerStars’ industry-leading dealers and floor staff, seamless registration processes, unmissable player activities, an informative Live app, and a fun and friendly atmosphere at every stop.
Each festival will be headed by a €1,100/£1,100 PokerStars Open Main Event with €1M/£1M guaranteed, supported by a large side-event schedule and tons of fun activities to deliver the world-class live event experience PokerStars is known for.
Each stop will feature a wide range of online satellites, offering more players the chance to qualify. You can also use your Power Path Silver Passes to play PokerStars Open events.
The PokerStars client provides more information on qualifying routes.
POKERSTARS OPEN MALAGA
Italy’s Manuel Ferrari
The 2025 PokerStars Open Málaga came to a close on Sunday (June 22) with Manuel Ferrari crowned Main Event champion after a heads-up deal with fellow countryman Ermanno Di Nicola. Ferrari took home €206,300, while Di Nicola pocketed €188,360.
A record-breaking Main Event saw 1,636 entries from 944 unique entries, representing a huge 42% and 48% growth on 2024’s numbers, respectively, resulting in a huge prize pool totalling €1,570,560.
Meanwhile, the High Roller also saw higher numbers of entries from 2024 with an increase of 38%, as a result, boosting the total prize pool to €552,960, with first place won by Jorge Ruiz, who took home winnings of €112,960.
PokerStars Open Málaga Main Event
Dates: June 18-22, 2025
Buy-in: €1,100
Prize Pool: €1,570,560
Entries: 1,636
1 Manuel Ferrari (Italy) – €206,300*
2 Ermanno Di Nicola (Italy) – €188,360*
3 Morten Lie (Norway) – €109,200
4 Jorgen Dyhrberg (Denmark) – €84,000
5 Fernando Quintana (Spain) – €64,600
6 Linda Nguyen (Norway) – €49,700
7 Davis Harari (United States) – €38,200
8 Joel Haapio (Finland) – €29,400
9 Ignacio Cuesta (Spain) – €22,600
Take a look through all the Malaga results here.
Manuel Ferrari, the champ
ABOUT MALAGA
The PokerStars Open Malaga is truly an event for poker lovers. It doesn’t even matter about your skill level – whether you’re an expert or a novice who wants to experience the action, there’s something for you. Get ready for a series of unforgettable tournaments against a stunning backdrop that will take your breath away.
Malaga plays a pivotal role in this stop in more ways than one. After all, it combines the sizzling action at the tables with red-hot, off-the-felt activities. Players can unwind by the sea, indulge in the vibrant nightlife and enjoy the charm of this Mediterranean hotspot once they’ve stopped playing.
We’re off and running in Malaga
Speaking of unwinding, there’s an exclusive Players’ Lounge for participants to get away from the hustle and bustle of the flying cards. But if you want to keep your finger on the pulse of what’s happening at the tables, this year’s event features a bigger playing room with even more tables than before.
If it looks like PokerStars Open Malaga has everything you need, it’s because it probably has.
Key Festival Dates: June 16-22, 2025
- High Roller: June 17-18 – €2,200
- Main Event: June 18-22 – €1,100 (€1,000,000 GTD)
- Second Chance: June 20-21 – €500
- Super High Roller: June 21 – €5,000
- Mystery Bounty Cup: June 21-22 – €400
MORE FROM POKERSTARS OPEN MALAGA
Official PokerStars Open Malaga site
NAMUR COVERAGE HUB
Jean-Vincent Lehut won in Namur
After five days of competition, Frenchman Jean-Vincent Lehut became champion of the €1,100 PokerStars Open Main Event taking home €238,000. In a record-breaking field of 1,572 entries (prize pool €1,493,400), Lehut defeated Jozef Cibicek heads up, and Jason Barton who finished third.
CAMPIONE COVERAGE HUB
Adrian-Sorel State was the champ in Campione
PokerStars Blog attended the PokerStars Open Campione festival (March 10-16, 2025) to bring you all the stories from the debut stop of the new Open tour.
What a debut it was. The festival was a huge success, especially the €1,100 Main Event, which smashed guarantees and exceeded all expectations. Players from far and wide filled the Casino di Campione for a week of poker and a shot at becoming this exciting new tour’s first champion.
When all was said and done, the title went to a very deserving winner, already the winningest player in the final day field.
Adrian-Sorel State of Romania had accumulated more than $1.5 million in live earnings before this festival, plus plenty more online throughout his poker career, the highlight of which came at EPT Monte Carlo last year. There, he won the €3K Mystery Bounty for €232,898, plus whatever he picked in envelopes.
After four days of play and one of the longest final days in recent memory–around 12.5 hours–the 38-year-old had another PokerStars trophy for his collection, plus a first-place prize of €363,000.
Find out what happened in Campione in our comprehensive coverage hub.
POKERSTARS OPEN SCHEDULE
The standalone stops (not including those attached to EPT Monte Carlo and EPT Barcelona) are as follows:
Campione, Italy (New location!)
March 10 – 16, 2025
A brand-new stop and the first for 2025, PokerStars Open Campione will take place in PokerStars’ brand-new Casino Municipale poker room, a luxurious location on the shores of Lake Lugano that will be home to seven days of action on and off the felt. With a top-quality, iconic live-stream broadcast, players can tune in to follow the event on all PokerStars streaming platforms.
Campione is a brand new stop for PokerStars live events
Namur, Belgium
May 28 – June 09, 2025
PokerStars returns to this historic city and well-loved stop at Circus Casino Resort with a huge €1 million guarantee, world-class dealers and the PS Live System.
Namur is a beautiful city steeped in history and culture
Malaga, Spain
June 16 – 22, 2025
This popular, sun-drenched stop will be bigger and better for 2025 with more tables for increased capacity, and even more off-the-felt entertainment for players to enjoy at Gran Madrid Casino Torrequebrada.
Poker’s summer holiday returns
Manchester, UK (New location!)
October 20 – 26, 2025
A new stop for 2025, Manchester is a central hub within the UK, directly accessible from Europe and further afield. The poker combined with the music and sports heritage of one of the UK’s coolest cities make this an unmissable stop on the calendar. A central venue in the heart of the city, Casino Manchester235 is the place to be next October for some unmissable PokerStars action.
Manchester: We’re mad for it
Cannes, France (New location!)
December 08 – 14, 2025
Taking place at Casino Barriere Le Croisette, the final stop of 2025 will bring the PokerStars Open to a glamorous close, complete with world-class VIP hospitality and plans to celebrate all the best moments of the year.
Our first time in Cannes
‘MORE FLEXIBILITY’
The announcement comes after huge turnouts in Prague broke records in both the Eureka and European Poker Tour (EPT) Main Events, and the unfortunate cancellation of EPT Paris in February due to circumstances beyond PokerStars’ control.
“PokerStars is delighted to bring a series of new events to the European poker calendar,” said Cédric Billot, Associate Director of Live Events Operations at PokerStars. “Our PokerStars Open stops are going to provide players with incredible experiences, with each location having its own unique feel that will come together as a European series that both ladders up to the European Poker Tour and stand up in their own right,”
Billot added: “We know that players enjoy travelling to other countries for tournaments so we’ve decided to make the move to the PokerStars Open as it gives us a lot more flexibility to throw million-guaranteed events anywhere in Europe, not just where we have established national tours.”
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