It will be a super Sunday for online poker players at GGPoker. The GGMasters Overlay Edition runs March 20 and promises a gargantuan $5 million guarantee for only a $150 buy-in.
The tournament may have a fitting name considering even GGPoker staff believe making the guarantee seems unlikely. That means plenty of value for players jumping into the action on Sunday.
GG ambassador Daniel Negreanu has even promised to shave his head if the event cracks the $5 million mark. The Overlay Edition offers a nice shot in the arm for online poker and plenty of fun for players seeking an opportunity at a nice score.
“I’ve never seen an online site be this aggressive with a guarantee they can’t really think is going to hit,” Negreanu told PokerScout in February. “It’s a unique way to give back to the players.”
PokerScout spoke with GG this week about the numbers so far and what to expect.
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What’s on tap at GGPoker
GG has become one of the largest online poker operators in the world. The GGMasters launched in 2020 and is the largest weekly freezeout event in online poker.
Players in this week’s GGMasters will find something completely different however. The guarantee is astronomical for such a low buy-in. The company is even offering three different flights for players around the world including:
- 1 – Asia flight (12:00 UTC/20:00 CST)
- 2 – Europe flight (17:00 UTC)
- 3 – Americas flight (22:00 UTC/19:00 BST)
Day 2 then plays out on March 21 at 17:00 UTC. The winner is guaranteed at least $450,000 with other top finishers also scoring six figures.
“The GGMasters Overlay Edition will be something very special we hope, a wonderful freezeout event with no advantages given to those players with deeper pockets, and a truly massive guarantee for all players to take aim at,” GG head of public relations Paul Burke said.
“We want this event to be something that the whole industry can point to as how poker should be, and more importantly as a tournament that absolutely every player wants to take their shot at.”
Expect a huge field
Whether the tournament reaches the guarantee or not, there should be a huge field of players on Sunday. GG has been offering numerous qualifiers over the last month.
The tournament should feature players of all bankrolls. Not only is the buy-in low for a tournament of this size, but some of those qualifiers start at just $2.
Players will surely be clamoring for an event that offers so much bang for the buck. Those who may not have won an entry via satellite might decide it’s worth taking a shot at the full buy-in level. Negreanu thinks the event will be worth it.
“$150 buy-in. $5 million guaranteed. No rebuys. There’s no way this tournament is not going to have an overlay!” Negreanu said. “This is GGPoker’s flagship freezeout tournament and you won’t want to miss out on the value this March 20.”
The event is receiving quite a bit of notice from poker players. The company has found an event to capture the spotlight of the online poker world for a bit.
As of Thursday, 8,070 players had registered for the tournament. That accounts for a bit over $1.1 million already contributed to the prize pool. Of those, more than 5,500 players won their seats in satellites.
“We’re thrilled with how the GGMasters Overlay Edition has been received by the poker community; I think people recognize what GGPoker is trying to achieve with regard to building a series of high-guarantee freezeout tournaments at a reasonable buy-in, and have embraced it,” Burke said.
“The Overlay Edition is going to be the highest value tournament of all time at this price point, with a massive guarantee that just isn’t going to be met in terms of entries.”
I can't believe what @GGPoker is doing!!! Make sure you don't miss out on this one: pic.twitter.com/TsX1H9v9sh
— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) February 14, 2022
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Reaching the guarantee?
The Overlay Edition needs a massive turnout to reach the guarantee and many may wonder if getting there is possible. Out of each $150 buy-in, $12 goes to GG as the tournament fee. So $138 of each buy-in goes into the prize pool.
As PokerScout previously reported, the tournament would need 36,232 players to reach that $5 million number. And remember, there are no re-entries in this one.
So that’s the number of individual players needed – quite a hefty sum. Getting there seems very unlikely, but it will be interesting to see how many players GG is able to attract as well as who will come out on top.
GG officials don’t hold out much hope at meeting the guarantee. That means some nice free cash for those who can get in the money.
“We expect to be several thousand players short of hitting the guarantee, and that’s okay,” Burke said. “The more value offered, the happier our community will be.”