EPT 2027: a 5,000 euro Main Event, one price for the PokerStars Open, and the fee question PokerStars has not answered yet

The calendar

PokerStars published the 2027 European Poker Tour schedule on 10 November 2026. PokerNews and Card Player list the same five EPT festivals: Paris on 9 to 20 February, Monte-Carlo on 21 April to 2 May, Barcelona on 15 to 28 August, Malta on 28 September to 9 October and Prague on 28 November to 9 December. Malta returns after skipping 2026, and PokerNews places it at the Hilton Malta with Portomaso Casino.

Three other events complete the list: PokerStars Open Campione on 8 to 17 January, the Irish Open sponsored by PokerStars on 18 to 29 March and PokerStars Open Namur on 26 May to 6 June.

The new prices

The EPT Main Event drops from 5,300 to 5,000 euros. PokerScout calls it the first move on that price in more than 15 years, which is that outlet's claim and which we could not check. The PokerStars Open Main Event is set at 1,250 euros at every stop, and the Open High Roller at 2,500 euros at EPT festivals. PokerNews also reports that qualifying for four PokerStars Opens through Power Path can now be exchanged for one EPT Main Event entry. Cedric Billot, PokerStars' Associate Director of Live Events, is quoted by Card Player saying one consistent Open price and a clean 5,000 euro Main Event make the tour simpler to understand.

Here the reports do not fit together. Card Player and PokerNews say the Open Main Event was 1,650 euros at EPT festivals and 1,100 at standalone festivals such as Campione and Namur, so 1,250 would be a cut at EPT stops and a rise of 150 euros elsewhere. But the Prague 2026 fee table that PokerNews and USPoker both show lists the Open Main Event at 1,100 euros, and USPoker's headline stresses that the 2027 price is 150 higher than Prague's. The High Roller has the same problem: it is described as a reduction to 2,500, while the Prague table lists 2,200. We could not resolve these from the reports, so compare your festival's own price list.

The fee question

A buy-in is not all prize pool. PokerNews and USPoker print the current Prague split: 5,300 euros is 4,850 for the prize pool, 300 house fee and 150 staff charge. The Open Main Event at 1,100 is 960, 100 and 40. The 2027 splits are not out. PokerStars says it will publish them with each festival schedule. Only then can anyone tell whether a lower buy-in means a lower fee, a smaller prize pool or both, and whether the effective cost to the player fell.

What is confirmed and what is not

What this means for a player

A buy-in price is only one part of what an event costs you. Look at the fee line and at the number of players the structure needs to run, and compare events by what part of your entry goes to the prize pool. For preparation, deeper stacks and longer levels change what a good range looks like, so study the stack depth you will actually play.