The Amaya Group, the parent company of PokerStars, has decided to merge two of their powerhouse poker tours into one, creating a force to be reckoned with in the poker industry for both Australia and Asia. The APPT and ANZPT will now operate as one. The Asia Pacific Poker Tour will expand to include stops on the Australia & New Zealand Poker Tour, with the ANZPT already in their 7th season, with stops having already taken place under the APPT banner.

Once 2016 begins, the stops remaining on the ANZPT will be included in the schedule for the APPT. Danny McDonagh, is the president of both tours, and stated that with the merger, a new massive final for the ANZPT could take place in Melbourne for 2015.

McDonagh would like to see the ANZPT Melbourne event, hosted by the Crown Melbourne, set a new record in prize pool money for the final event, outdoing last year’s one million dollar prize pool. For last year’s event, the series saw 516 players competing, which created a prize pool of $1.03 million. This amount broke a record for the highest prize pool for a stop on the ANZPT. This year, the event will take place from the 8th to the 20th of October.