Hey, Poker playas!
There was a clash of tournament schedules this week, but what really happened and why did it happen?
Who benefits from the clash and is it healthy for the industry.
Who really made the first move and why?
For the player’s benefit, we would be sharing with you the information we have access to and let you guys decide.
The clashing of schedule and PAGCOR rule
PAGCOR is the governing body for all the poker rooms, All tournaments must be approved by PAGCOR.
A rule was set that tournaments with 1 Million PHP guarantees and above should not clash. So all tournaments that have big guarantees should reserve or book their schedule in advance.
But the rule applies only to PHP 1 Million and above. Less than 1 Million, poker rooms can simply notify PAGCOR.
Who applied first?
Based on the original schedule, Masters poker set their schedule for their second major tournament, the Bluff masters, which would be held from July 20 to 25, 2022.
There was also a vacancy from July 10-17, 2022, and July 25 – 28, 2022.
Masters Poker decided to have a pre-event as the schedule was clear, they even made courtesy calls with other poker rooms to inform them of their plan.
So based on the schedule alone during that time. Masters poker should have no conflict with any other poker room.
Metro Card Club, respecting the courtesy call.
Of course, we can not deny that metro was the first to announce a conflict, However, Metro did respect the courtesy call as their tournament is only a PHP 250k GTD and catered to their own players.
You can not compare a 250k GTD and a 1 Million GTD as the target market are different.
For clarification, there have been smaller clashes, but this is the only time all four had their own tournament.
Hence, it had to be mentioned.
Out of nowhere
Airing both sides of the story, GG poker had plans to have another major tournament. However, there was no fixed schedule on the PAGCOR. as we are based on the PAGCOR schedule alone.
Suddenly they took the schedule, taking note they could have chosen the schedule after the BluffMasters and before the APPT. But the schedule they chose was the one in direct conflict with Masters Poker.
The truth if they did it intentionally of course can not be verified, however, the poster for their tournament did not carry the how many starting days or whether it will have it have a final day after day2. This is questionable since this is basic information every player needs.
The guarantee was also bigger and the buy-in smaller.
Is it a bully move?
Next to announce but so late in the game was the poker room at the pink casino. A late entry with the strategy of a one-day-only tournament.
What is more worth mentioning is the logic behind the move is they could have guaranteed a smaller amount which is much safer and has done so before in their last major tournament.
A lower guarantee would also have a lower buy-in which could be more affordable to the players and could have been more effective. The late announcement could also affect the numbers.
Again this is left to speculation as to what is their true intention, but they have canceled tournaments before if a certain number is not met before the registration and have blamed the players for coming in late.
They reserved the right to cancel their tournament.
Who benefits and who loses?
The question of who benefits and who is really going to lose on this deserves a different article.
Things have to be weighted down on the pros and cons.
But one question remains, which poker room really does care for you? are you just a number?
The Queens gambit
Masters Poker, regardless if they were the first to book in PAGCOR bowed its head.
Took a hit on their reputation and extended their Day 1.
Understand that Masters Poker is the one that has the best structure in Manila. A simple fact that can be confirmed by what is the blind that you would come back to on Day 2.
They did not choose the fight but they still extended the olive branch.
They took the hit, instead of competing with the other rooms. they extended their day 1 so players who can not decide are given an option. You can still play their events and you can still play their tournaments tomorrow.
The question now is which one will player choose?
