GGPoker announced a new online poker tournament format a few days ago, one that offers the game in a battle royale-style, similar to video gaming. The site put Dan Bilzerian at the helm and poker players have shown up in full force to compete. So far, the option has been so enticing to players, that in just two weeks, over 2,800 games have taken place!

Dan Bilzerian’s Battle Royale

The new poker tournament option debuted on June 10 and offers buy-in levels of $0.25, $1, $3, and $10. Each tournament is a No-Limit Hold’em Progressive Bounty Sit & Go and will allow 100 players to compete. The event will not begin until 100 players have registered.

Each event has three levels. First, players start in Level 1 which is known as the Rush Zone. Players are moved to a new table with fresh hole cards after a hand. This section ends when 50 players are remaining or if the 15-minute time limit comes to an end.

The second level is the Shootout Zone. In this round, the final 50 will take part in ten five-handed tables. Once one player remains at each table, the next round begins. If the round’s 15-minute time frame ends and a table still has more than one player remaining, the tournament switches to Flipout mode. Everyone is all-in until only one person remains at each table.

In level three, online poker players reach the Final Table. This section is played out in a standard tournament format. Each player will earn a payout but only the winner will be named the champion of the Battle Royale. This round has no time limit and plays out until a winner is named.

Success Thus Far

So far, the Battle Royale tournaments have been a success at GGPoker. In general, the events take just over 50 minutes to complete, and more than 2,800 games have been played. The average first-place prize is around 25.5x the buy-in with a portion from bounty and the tournament prize pool.

A large percentage of players have competed in two or more Battle Royale tournaments. A reported 28% of players have actually played in 10 or more events.

Head of PR for GGPoker, Paul Burke, commented on the new format by stating:

“The action’s been thrilling and intense in equal measures since Dan Bilzerian’s Battle Royale launched. The percentage of players coming back to take their shot in multiple games has remained at a consistently high level since Day 1, and the feedback we’re getting is overwhelmingly positive.”