The PokerStars Turbo Championship of Online Poker 2013 gets under way today, with $15 million guaranteed across 50 events, including a $2 million guaranteed Main Event that takes place on January 27.

The second annual TCOOP provides an opportunity for players of all abilities and bankrolls to win life-changing sums of cash and particularly suits recreational players who have less time to spare but still want to compete for million-dollar prize pools.

To show just how time-efficient and profitable TCOOP can be, check out a few fast facts from the first TCOOP last January…

1. Quickest TCOOP tournament
Event 43 – $109 PL Omaha Hi/Lo 6-Max Hyper Turbo – took just 1 hour, 59 minutes and 15 seconds, with ‘grauito’ winning the first prize of $19,721.32. Incredibly, the next fastest tournament was just 20 seconds longer, clocking in at 1 hour, 59 minutes and 35 seconds. That was in event 19 – a $215 NL Hold’em Hyper-Turbo, which was won by ‘alberto ka’ for $90,728.44.

2. Best winning rate
‘Betudontbet’ from Mexico took down event 49 – the $700 Main Event – earning an incredible $382,855.67 in just 5 hours and 14 minutes, which equates to a mightily impressive $1,218.77 per minute!

3. Fastest knockouts
Event 1 featured the highest amount of eliminations per minute of any tournament in TCOOP 2012. With 44,787 players and a total running time of 5 hours, 49 minutes and 24 seconds, there was an average of 128.18 eliminations each minute. Taking the 50 TCOOP events as a whole, on average there were 18.54 players knocked out per minute.

4. Free money!
The largest amount of money won from a TCOOP deposit ‘free ticket’ offer was also in event 1. At the final table the last four players did a deal, with the players who finished second and third – ‘Team Sexy14’ and ‘MalkierKing’ – winning $41,025.65 and $40,747 respectively, after entering the tournament with a free ticket awarded for simply making a deposit.

5. Satellite success
A massive 1,450 players satellited into last year’s TCOOP Main Event, qualifying for the $700 tournament for a fraction of the buy-in. Of those satellite winners, 191 went on to cash in the event.

TCOOP 2013 HIGHLIGHTS
While every event offers great value and something different for each type of player, there is no doubt that every festival has some standout events that grab the excitement of all players and fans alike. Here’s six of the best:

1. TCOOP-01: $27 NL Hold’em [6-Max]
The curtain-raiser is always an incredibly popular event and this year has had its guarantee increased from $200,000 to $750,000! It’s still likely to smash that and reward one player with a first prize of over $100,000. Not bad for just 27 bucks!

2. TCOOP-15: $82 NL Hold’em [6-Max, Hyper-Turbo]
If turbos just aren’t quick enough, how about the frenetic action of a hyper-turbo to get the blood pumping faster and the cash rolling in even quicker?

3. TCOOP-29: $215 NL Hold’em [10-Max, Shootout, Super-Knockout]
A new tournament for this TCOOP is this shootout event played in a Super-Knockout format, whereby half of each player’s buy-in goes to the prize pool and half goes to the bounty prize pool. Knock out two players and you’ve got your buy-in back! The winner of the tournament could be in for a very big payday.

4. TCOOP-32: $7.50+R NL Hold’em [3x Turbo]
Check this out – $400,000 guaranteed for just a $7.50 buy-in! But with a three times extended rebuy period expect most people to go for multiple rebuys and be playing for an even bigger prize pool come the end of the registration period.

5. TCOOP-47: $2,100 NL Hold’em [High Roller]
At the other end of the buy-in spectrum is the high-roller event. Two grand gets you entry into this pretty exclusive tourney with $1 million guaranteed. Expect big names of both online and live tournament arenas to clash on the virtual baize.

6. TCOOP-49: $700 NL Hold’em Main Event
This is the big one. With $2 million guaranteed and at least $300,000 for first place, it’s a must-play for anyone wanting a life-changing score in super quick time! Satellites start from just $3.30.

GO MOBILE!
One big difference between this year’s TCOOP and the first one in 2012 is that the PokerStars Mobile app is now widely available, with players now able to compete in Hold’em and Omaha events throughout this year’s TCOOP via iOS and Android devices. The mobile app comes into its own with a festival like TCOOP, where tourneys are over in a matter of two or three hours and people can play while on the move, or simply while lying on the sofa at home. Players can also take advantage of the unique multi-table design, which allows up to five tables at a time to be played on the app with ease. Go to www.pokerstars.com/mobile for more details about how to download it and get in on the action.

PokerStars.com Press Release