As 2016 saw the end of the Asian Pacific Poker Tour (APPT), the Asian community was unsure as to what will happen to the backdrop of live poker tournaments in the region especially since one of the biggest and most prestigious events held in the continent had concluded forever.
It was announced that all live tournament offerings of PokerStars would be absorbed into 2 categories – the PokerStars Championships which had the higher buy-in events and the PokerStars Festival which would consist of the lower buy-in events. Apart from the separation of the Aussie Millions with PokerStars due to the announcement, no specifics were given regarding the other 2 major stops of the APPT, namely, Macau and the Philippines. And no news was divulged as to what would happen to the tournaments that players had been enjoying for the past 9 years.
However, the community can now rest easy as PokerStars has finally made a press release with reference to the 2 Asian poker destinations and the live events that they love.
PokerStars Live Macau and Manila have released the dates of this year’s season showing the retention of the region’s favorite events and the introduction of new ones that proves to be a greater offering for the players.
“The arrival of the richest and most prestigious poker tour, our PokerStars Championship, mixed in with popular events such as the Asia Championship of Poker and the Macau Poker Cup will make for a year filled with far more winning moments than ever before,” said Edgar Stuchly, Director of PokerStars Live Events.
PokerStars has also stated that more events in the area may be announced during the year.
Announcing the complete schedule of tournaments for the season goes to show that Manila and Macau will be a mainstay despite changes in PokerStars and that the online giant continues to see the growth and potential of the game in Asia.
Manila
Since its opening in December 2014 at the City of Dreams, Pokerstars Live Manila has been progressively providing bigger and better tournaments with lucrative prize pools for buy-ins at all levels.
The year 2017 will continue to see a PS Live Manila staple, the Manila Megastack, plus new events like PS Live Manila Super Series which guarantees Php3 Million (approx. US$60,000) for a buy-in of Php10,000 (approx. US$200). In the middle of the year, PS Live Manila will also be holding the PokerStars Festival Manila which will take the place of the APPT Manila.
| Event | Festival Dates | Main Event Buy-in |
| Super Series (₱3M GTD) | February 28-March 5, 2017 | ₱10,000 |
| Super Series (₱3M GTD) | May 8-14, 2017 | ₱10,000 |
| Manila Megastack 7 | May 29-Jun 4, 2017 | ₱30,000 |
| Super Series (₱3M GTD) | July 4-9, 2017 | ₱10,000 |
| PokerStars Festival Manila | July 28-Aug 7, 2017 | ₱50,000 |
| Super Series (₱3M GTD) | October 2-8, 2017 | ₱10,000 |
| Manila Megastack 8 | November 27-December 3, 2017 | ₱30,000 |
Macau
Apart from the PokerStars Championship Macau which was initially announced with the rest of the PokerStars Championship events in the world for the first half of the year, PokerStars Live Macau will continue to offer its most loved events for 2017 – the Macau Poker Cup, the ACOP Platinum Series and the flagship tournament of Macau at the end of the year, the Asia Championship of Poker 2017.
| Event | Festival Dates | Main Event |
| Buy-in (HKD) | ||
| ACOP Platinum Series 16 | January 6-15, 2017 | HK$5,500 |
| (5,000+500) | ||
| Macau Poker Cup 26 | February 3-19, 2017 | HK$15,000 |
| (13,500+ 1,500) | ||
| ACOP Platinum Series 17 | March 4-12, 2017 | HK$5,500 |
| (5,000+500) | ||
| PokerStars Championship Macau | March 30-April 9, 2017 | HK$42,400 |
| (40,000+2,400) | ||
| ACOP Platinum Series 18 | April 29-May 7, 2017 | HK$5,500 |
| (5,000+500) | ||
| ACOP Platinum Series 19 | June 24-July 2, 2017 | HK$5,500 |
| (5,000+500) | ||
| Macau Poker Cup 27 | August 25-September 10, 2017 | HK$15, 000 |
| (13,500+1,500) | ||
| 2017 Asia Championship of Poker | October 13-29, 2017 | HK$100,000 |
| (95,000+5,000) |
Article by Gabrielle Barredo
Louis Hartwell
Graduated in Media Communication at the University of Lausanne, Louis Hartman is a co-founder of somuchpoker.com. He began his career in Cambodia as freelance journalist. In same time he was making his living by playing poker every night at that time. Intense learner, he read dozens of poker strategy books to improve his skills during many years. With a strong interest about poker "behind the scene" in Asia and his communication skills, Louis launched Somuchpoker in 2014.
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