With three more stops announced this week, the remainder of the Season 8 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) schedule is starting to take shape. The tour now has six scheduled stops on the Season 8 schedule after the New Year, with a few others likely to be added along the way – last year PokerStars waited until February to release the final schedule for Season 7, including the dates for the EPT Grand Final.

The newly added stops include two European cities that are no strangers to hosting EPT tournaments, Berlin, Germany and Madrid, Spain, as well as a first-time Italian stop in the border-town of Campione in Northern Italy.

Here is a look at the current EPT schedule as we know it, but keep in mind that the EPT will add at least the Grand Final dates in the coming months:

* PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) – January 4-January 14, 2012

The $10,000 buy-in PCA is one of the biggest tournaments of the year in the poker world and has grown to rival the Aussie Millions, the EPT Grand Final, and the WPT Championship as one of THE most coveted tournament titles in poker.

* EPT Deauville – January 31-February 6, 2012

The €5,000 buy-in EPT Deauville, France attracted nearly 900 participants last year, and was won by Frenchman Lucien Cohen who bested Martin Jacobson to claim the title and the €880k first-place prize-money.

* EPT Copenhagen – February 20-February 25, 2012

Sporting a 35,500DKK buy-in, the EPT Copenhagen is the biggest poker tournament in Denmark. Last year nearly 450 players showed up for the tournament, including virtually every big name in Scandinavian poker.

* EPT Madrid – March 12-March 17, 2012

Madrid will apparently not play host to the EPT Grand Final this year, even though 686 entrants turned up for the €10,000 buy-in tournament last year. This time around the EPT Madrid will sport the typical €5,000 buy-in.

* EPT Campione – March 26-March 31, 2012

A new stop on the EPT, it appears the EPT Campione will take the place of the EPT Snowfest that is typically held in Salzburg, Austria. Snowfest has been one of the least attended events on the EPT schedule over the past few years, which may be the reason behind the move to Campione, Italy.

* EPT Berlin – April 16-April 21, 2012

Expects another solid turnout at the EPT Berlin this year, as the tournament enters its third year on the EPT schedule. The first EPT Berlin became famous for the brazen robbery that took place, and last year’s tournament saw a marked decrease in attendance, but still drew an impressive 773 entrants.

It will be interesting to see where the EPT ends up hosting the Season 8 Grand Final. Perhaps Paris or Cannes in France, or possibly one of the major Italian cities will be given the honor this year. For more information on the EPT you can visit www.eptpoker.com

Tags: 26 March, 4 January, Aussie Millions, Berlin Germany, Border Town, Campione, Caribbean Adventure, Deauville France, European Cities, Frenchman, Jacobson, Lucien, Madrid Spain, Northern Italy, poker tournament, Poker World, prize money, Season 8, Taking Shape, Tournament Titles

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