Leading online poker site PokerStars has just announced a new sit-and-go (SNG) tournament leader board concept, launching its “Battle of the Planets” promotion that will pay out over $3,000,000 per year to its participants.
Split into eight separate divisions, one named after each of the solar system’s planets in order of increasing size (Pluto having been recently shorn of its “planetary” status), the new Battle of the Planets ongoing series offers competition at all levels of SNG buy-ins, not just the highest ones. The Mercury level, for example, governs SNGs with buy-ins from $1 to $2.99, while the Jupiter level, at the top end of the scale, includes buy-ins at $300
and up.
The concept also splits winners into “low orbit” and “high orbit” brackets, designed for both moderate and high levels of SNG participation. A qualifying group of tournaments in any level’s “low orbit” bracket would consist of a block of 20 tournaments, with each successive block of 20 tournaments played counting as a separate block for qualifying purposes. Similarly, the “high orbit” brackets are computed based on 100-SNG blocks, requiring a higher level of participation to qualify.
Qualifying SNGs contain fewer than 40 players and points are awarded, roughly speaking, for the money spots. Each week’s action runs Sunday through Saturday, with the specific buy-in levels and the total payouts for each level as follows:
Division ● SNG Buy-in ● Low Orbit Prize Pool ● High Orbit Prize Pool
Mercury ● $1-$2.99 ● $1,500 ● $1,500
Mars ● $3-$4.99 ● $2,000 ● $2,000
Venus ● $5-$9.99 ● $2,500 ● $2,500
Earth ● $10-$19.99 ● $3,000 ● $3,000
Neptune ● $20-$49.99 ● $3,500 ● $3,500
Uranus ● $50-$99.99 ● $4,000 ● $4,000
Saturn ● $100-$299.99 ● $4,500 ● $4,500
Jupiter ● $300+ ● $5,000 ● $5,000
In addition, the top ten players in each division for each week will be awarded free entry into a month-end freeroll with $50,000 in prize money up for grabs in a triple shootout format. More information is available on the PokerStars.com site.
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