EPT Season 1 (2004-2005)
Recap of the 1st European Poker Tour Season
The first official moments of the European Poker Tour took place in Casino Barcelona, in Barcelona, Spain. This venue would host the opening events of the EPT until Season 6, when Kiev hosted the first event. Season 1 saw a lot of repeat action from many strong players, far exceeding later seasons. Perhaps because it was the first EPT season, the final tables often featured the same players. This created unique gameplay, as players had the chance to quickly learn their opponents’ habits, having played many poker games together in a short period.
Barcelona Open
The premiere Barcelona Open, as it would come to be known, took place in September 2004. It had only 229 entrants. The buy-in was €1,000, a small amount compared to other big-name poker competitions like the World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker. Alexander Stevic of Sweden walked away with the €80,000 prize for first place. Among his opponents was Luca Pagano, who came in third place. Pagano would eventually become the lead player in overall performance in the European Poker Tour. He achieved 16 money finishes in the EPT within the next six years, an impressive record since he began his full-time professional poker career in 2004 with Season 1 of the EPT.
High Stakes at Grosvenor Victoria Casino
The following month, at the Grosvenor Victoria Casino in London, England, Dutchman Noah Boeken faced off against Marcel Lüske, who taught him everything he knew about poker. Both Boeken and David Williams, former Magic: the Gathering card players, were mentored by Lüske. In the second event of the EPT, Boeken surpassed his former teacher, finishing in sixth place, two spots above Lüske. The £200,000 prize ultimately went to John Shipley of Britain, who narrowly beat John Falconer for the top spot.
Merrion Casino Club in Dublin
In the third event of the first season of the European Poker Tour, The Hendon Mob’s Ram Vaswani defeated the other Brits and Irishmen at the final table at Merrion Casino Club in Dublin. He won the €93,000 prize for first place. The Irish Winter Tournament 2004 final table was dominated by players from the British Isles, including Julian Thew, who made his first of two final table finishes in the EPT that season. The first season of the European Poker Tour saw many smaller games, and this tournament, with only 163 buy-ins, was no exception.
Scandinavian Open 2005 in Copenhagen
After a three-month hiatus, the EPT action picked up again in January in Copenhagen, Denmark, at the Scandinavian Open 2005, held in Casino Copenhagen. Noah Boeken redeemed himself after his final table loss three months earlier by taking the kr1,098,340 first-place prize (the equivalent of $191,355). Julian Thew also improved his previous standings, moving from his seventh-place finish before the holidays to a fourth-place finish behind Ram Vaswani and Charalambos Xanthos. Vaswani, who had won the last event in the European Poker Tour, almost doubled his EPT earnings with his performance in Copenhagen.
Casino Barriere de Deauville
Luca Pagano made his second EPT Season 1 final table performance in February 2005, during the 4-day event at the Casino Barriere de Deauville in Deauville, France. While Pagano came in last place at the final table, this marked the beginning of an illustrious career in the European Poker Tour. He would spend a significant amount of time dominating the top spot in the EPT All-Time Leaderboard. American Justin Bonomo set a new record in Deauville: at 19 years, 5 months, and 20 days old, he became the youngest player to make a televised final table. Bonomo finished in fourth place.
Intense Play in Vienna, Austria
The sixth event in the first season of the EPT took place in Vienna, Austria, which would not see action from the European Poker Tour again until Season 7. Pascal Perrault, already well-established in the poker world, made his mark in 1998 and 1999 at the World Series of Poker, where he outlasted big-name poker players like Chris Ferguson and Scotty Nguyen. In 2001, Perrault was rated the best poker player in Europe. It was no surprise when he left the Concord Card Casino with the €184,500 prize for first place.
Grand Finale in Monte Carlo
Four days after Perrault’s triumph, the European Poker Tour Grand Final was underway at the Casino de Monte Carlo. The event lasted from March 16 through March 20, 2005. Despite the hefty €10,000 buy-in (other buy-ins during the inaugural season of the EPT averaged €2,000), 211 entrants battled for the top spot. As Marcel Lüske had predicted, Rob Hollink won the grand prize of €635,000, starting a trend that would make him the first Dutchman to win both a European Poker Tour title and a WSOP bracelet. The EPT grand final was one of four tournaments Hollink won that year, earning him the title of European poker player of the year. Alexander Stevic, who won first place in Barcelona, came in third, and Brandon Schaefer, the winner in Deauville, finished second.
Conclusion
The first season of the European Poker Tour set the stage for what would become one of the premier poker tours in the world. The season was marked by strong performances from recurring players, the rise of new poker stars, and intense competitions across several European cities. These foundational events established the EPT as a key series in the global poker landscape.