Full Tilt Poker, one of the world’s largest and most respected online poker sites, has launched the all-new Onyx Cup Series. Full Tilt has labeled it a historic “tournament of tournaments.” The Onyx Cup will consist of six live tournaments held around the world, where the world’s best poker pros will battle each other out for pride, prestige, and millions of dollars. The United States, Asia, and Europe will all play host to the tournament, as each game is televised to Full Tilt media partners in more than 20 languages in 40 countries.
Each tournament will award points, based on finishing position, and after the sixth Grand Finale event, the player with the most points will be crowned champion. The Onyx Series Champion will also receive a luxury sports car, and see their name permanently engraved on the Onyx Cup trophy.
With $100k to $300k buy-ins, an estimated $30 million prize pool, and endorsed by names such as Phil Ivey, Erik Seidel, and Chris Ferguson, the Onyx Cup is uniquely positioned to carve out a significant niche in the tournament world. The buy-ins will attract a pool of players from the wealthy businessman to the hobbyist to the celebrity poker professional, and likely make for great television. Full Tilt will be hosting online qualifier tournaments, starting March 15, to add to the already interesting mix of players. Full Tilt has said that with the Onyx Cup, they wish to set “a new standard as the best high-stakes poker tournament series in the world.” When you bring the best to compete with the best, viewers and players alike can expect some of the finest poker in the world.
Phil Ivey commented, “It’s not just about the money in this event. It’s about the caliber of players we’ll be up against. There’s going to be a lot of pride that comes along with winning this type of event.” The first Onyx Cup Series event is being held in Las Vegas on May 11 and 12. To many poker professionals, this tournament will be viewed as the new gauge for the best poker player in the world. Like the Super Bowl, Wimbledon, or the World Cup, it’s the type of contest where all of the best players on the globe come together to compete to be the only champion in the world, and that’s the kind of flop I want to see.