The Monte Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort will be taken over by poker players this week as the PokerStars Championship action begins. The poker festival is taking the place of the European Poker Tour Grand Final, a major event of the European Poker Tour. Rebranding by PokerStars cut this event and created the new PokerStars Championship offering. Starting on April 25th, poker players will have access to over 70 events at the Monte-Carlo Casino including the much-anticipated Main Event.

The PokerStars Championship will run from April 25th until May 7th and feature a nice variety of poker gaming options. One of the most anticipated events on the schedule will be the Main Event, which will have a €5,300 buy-in. The tournament will have two opening days, April 29th and 30th, providing players with 30,000 in chips. Blinds will increase every 75 minutes during the two opening days.

Players who make it past the opening days will move on to compete from May 1st to the 5th during the Main Event. Blind levels will increase during this time frame to every 90 minutes. On the final day, blinds levels will start at 90 minutes and then begin to decrease to 75, 60 and 45 based on how long it takes to finish up the final table.

The first PokerStars Championship will feature several big events for players to enjoy including the PokerStars Open and the PokerStars Cup. The Open will have a small buy-in of €220 with €50,000 in guaranteed prize money up for grabs. This event will take place from May 3rd until the 5th. The PokerStars Cup will have a slightly higher buy-in of €440 with €220,000 in guaranteed prize money. This tournament is set to run from April 26th until the 29th.

The full schedule of events along with more information about travel and accommodations, special offers and cash games can be found at the PokerStars Live website.