PokerStars announced the return of its Live League competition for 2026, expanding the European live poker calendar with a €250,000 prize package. The program, in its second year, lets players accumulate points across three buy-in tiers at EPT stops, PokerStars Opens and sponsored events like the Irish Poker Open.
Points come from simply entering tournaments, even without cashing, based on buy-in amount, field size and finish position. The formula uses a tweaked Global Poker Index model, with 2026 updates boosting rewards for final tables and victories over the 2025 setup.
A fresh twist lets select Main Events feed points into overlapping tiers. For instance, the PokerStars Open Campione Main Event scores for both low and medium boards, while deep runs in EPT Main Events such as EPT Paris generate points for both the medium and high tiers.
That structure makes every Main Event a key opportunity for players chasing Live League success.
PokerStars Live Events Customer Engagement Manager Willie Elliot said the company was excited to bring back the Live League for a second edition, giving players another opportunity to compete for leaderboard titles. He added that the league creates a season-long competitive edge across the calendar, offering extra motivation from the opening events through to the finale.
2026 Tiers, Prizes and Rules
The league divides into high, medium and low tiers, with €157,500 in PokerStars Live credits split among the top three finishers in each leaderboard.
A new feature for 2026 sees the top 30 finishers in every tier qualify for a special live freeroll with a €100,000 prize pool at the first EPT of 2027.
Tier boundaries have been adjusted slightly to allow overlapping ranges. Events with buy-ins between €1,000 and €1,200 earn points in both the low and medium tiers, while buy-ins between €4,900 and €5,500 count toward both the medium and high tiers.
| Tier | Buy-In Range | 1st Place Prize | 2nd Place Prize | 3rd Place Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | €4,900 and up | €50,000 PokerStars Live credit | €25,000 PokerStars Live credit | €12,500 PokerStars Live credit |
| Medium | €1,000 to €5,500 | €25,000 PokerStars Live credit | €12,500 PokerStars Live credit | €6,250 PokerStars Live credit |
| Low | €1,200 or less | €15,000 PokerStars Live credit | €7,500 PokerStars Live credit | €3,750 PokerStars Live credit |
Credits can be used for buy-ins or re-entries at PokerStars Live events, including restricted-entry tournaments such as Seniors’ and Ladies’ events. Players can track standings across all three tiers via the PokerStars Live app.
Looking Back at 2025 Winners
The inaugural 2025 season featured prizes awarded in tournament buy-ins rather than credits.
In the high tier (buy-ins €5,000 and above), Italy’s Enrico Camosci topped the leaderboard with 4,025 points, narrowly ahead of Austria’s Klemens Roiter on 3,778. Latvia’s Aleks Ponakovs finished third with 2,040 points, followed by Jesse Lonis (USA) on 1,755 and Christopher Nguyen (Austria) on 1,628.
Camosci earned four EPT Main Event and four EPT High Roller buy-ins worth €62,400. Second place received four EPT Main Event buy-ins valued at €21,200, while third place earned two worth €10,600.
The medium tier (buy-ins €1,000 to €4,999) was led by Spain’s Gerard Rubiralta with 3,499 points, ahead of Petre Ionescu (Romania) on 2,804 and Kenny Hallaert (Belgium) on 2,793. Jon Kyte (Norway) placed fourth with 2,468 points, and Robert Bull (UK) finished fifth on 2,439.
Rubiralta collected four EPT Main Event and four PokerStars Open Main Event buy-ins worth €25,600. Second place earned six PokerStars Open Main Event buy-ins valued at €6,600, while third received three worth €3,300.
In the low tier (buy-ins €999 or less), Iceland’s Steinn Du Karlsson topped the standings with 1,146 points, ahead of Andreas Froehli (Switzerland) on 1,053 and David Docherty (UK) on 1,028. Soraya Estrada (Spain) finished fourth with 953 points, while Gerard Carbo (Spain) placed fifth on 656.
Karlsson’s prize included 10 PokerStars Open Main Event buy-ins and 10 Cup buy-ins, valued at €15,000.
