FanDuel Poker has confirmed that it will host its next major tournament series in September, marking only the second time the operator has run a series since taking over the PokerStars US operation.
The operator has so far held just one tournament series since its launch, with the inaugural Ignite Series arriving shortly after the transition to PokerStars on FanDuel. It was an ambitious $5 million festival that ultimately became one of the more player-friendly series in the regulated US online poker market after falling well short of its guarantees.
Since then, however, PokerStars on FanDuel has not held another major tournament series. That is now set to change, with a company representative confirming that a new September series is in the works.
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The confirmation came through the official US Poker Discord server, where a representative said a “September Series Schedule” is being prepared. Further details are expected to be released later this month.
For now, little else is known. The operator has not revealed the name of the series, its overall guarantee, the number of events or the dates. It has, however, confirmed that the schedule will include a tournament leaderboard.
That leaves one of the bigger questions open: will FanDuel bring back the Ignite branding, or introduce another name for its second major series?
The Ignite Series Set the Bar
The September festival will be only the second tournament series hosted by the operator since PokerStars US transitioned to the new brand, with PokerStars retaining its presence in other markets while the US operation moved onto Playtech’s poker software.
The first series, the Ignite Series, was a sizeable undertaking. It featured 90 tournaments spread across three weeks and carried $5 million in guaranteed prize money. The festival culminated with a $500,000 guaranteed Main Event.
At the time, it was one of the largest tournament series guarantees seen in the US regulated online poker market, particularly for a newly launched platform.
However, the ambitious guarantees proved difficult to meet. A large number of events finished below their advertised guarantees, creating overlays that were bountiful for players but had to be covered by the operator.
According to calculations by Poker Industry PRO, the Ignite Series finished with a total overlay of $1,063,762. That meant PokerStars, through the FanDuel operation, had to contribute more than $1 million of its own money to bring the tournament prize pools up to their advertised guarantees.
For players, that made the series particularly attractive, with the shortfall in entries effectively adding more money to the prize pools without increasing the cost of entry.
Whether FanDuel/PokerStars is prepared to take a similar approach in September remains unclear. There has been no indication yet of whether the upcoming series will carry another $5 million guarantee, come in below that figure, or follow a completely different structure.
Whatever the numbers look like, the return of a major series will be notable for PokerStars/FanDuel players after the long gap since Ignite.
Will COOP Make a Return?
The lack of a confirmed name is perhaps the most interesting part.
PokerStars has traditionally built its major tournament calendar around its Championship of Online Poker, or COOP, branding. The international schedule has historically featured the Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) and the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP), with the two series occupying the spring and fall parts of the calendar.
The US operation has used several variations over the years, including USCOOP and market-specific versions such as NJCOOP, PACOOP and MICOOP. There was also a brief attempt at NACOOP when PokerStars looked to tie the series into the Ontario market.
PokerStars on FanDuel however, appears to have taken a different route.
When the site launched, its first major tournament festival was branded the Ignite Series rather than carrying the familiar COOP name. The series also came with an aggressive $5 million guarantee, making it clear that the new brand was intended to establish its own identity.
The size of the guarantee will be just as closely watched. The first series had to cover more than $1 million in overlays, so it would be understandable if the operator takes a more measured approach this time around. At the same time, a major September festival would give FanDuel Poker an opportunity to make a statement in a market where its rivals continue to put substantial money behind their tournament schedules.
There is also a possibility that 8-Game could make its debut on the new platform around the same time. FanDuel has not confirmed whether the mixed-game format will be included as part of the September series, however, or whether it could be introduced separately at a later date.
For now, the details remain under wraps. The name, schedule, buy-ins and guarantee should provide a much clearer picture once the operator releases the full series later this month.
What is already clear is that FanDuel is preparing to make its second major tournament series a much bigger part of its calendar. Whether it goes back to the $5 million level of the Ignite Series or takes a different approach, the September festival will be one of the most closely watched online poker series in the US market.
