FTOPS Returns to Full Tilt Poker, Scheduled Dec 2-16

The projected re-launch of Full Tilt Poker draws nigh, less than a month away now. The Isle of Man has confirmed that the online poker room has indeed warranted itself a renewed license to operate; outside the USA, of course. Residents of Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Italy and Spain won’t be able to play for real money either.

With accepted players waiting anxiously to log-in on November 6th and resume play – or more likely withdraw their money that’s been sitting in stalemate for the last 15 months – and Americans left with no other choice but to deal with the Department of Justice in hopes of receiving their due funds, what else was there for FTP’s new poker room manager, Shyam Markus, to do except go around the online poker community boasting the return of the Full Tilt Online Poker Series?

Shyam Markus made the rounds, promoting the re-launch of FTP, highlighted by a stop along the path of 2+2 plus poker forums to let everyone know that their old favorite FTOPS tournament series is coming back for a 21st season. According to Markus, FTOPS XXI is scheduled to run from December 2nd to 16th, not even a full month after the proposed grand re-opening of the online poker room.

For those of you who aren’t aware of FTOPS, it was a quarterly tournament series with as many as 45 events, paying out millions of dollars in cash winnings across the boards. From its earliest days, right up to the 19th season, FTOPS was a thing of wonder, sought out by everyone who was anyone in the online poker world. The Main Event winner was all but guaranteed a cool million, minimum. Then, sadly, after the shadowing eclipse of Black Friday, FTOPS XX reverted back to its humblest of beginnings.

Without American players to boost the prize pool, the FTOPS XXI Main Event winner received only about $350,000 after a four-way deal at the final table. No one heard Ariel “ArielBahia” Celestino complaining about winning a 3rd of a million dollars, but it does go to show how decimated the online poker series was by the loss of its primary US market. And if that name, Ariel “ArielBahia” Celestino, sounds familiar, it’s probably because he went on to win a SCOOP this year as well.

Where does that leave us for the pledged 22nd installment of the Full Tilt Online Poker Series? That’s a good question. When Shyam posted the scheduled return of FTOPS in answer to a member’s enquiry about the return of the famous online poker series, he did not give any further details as to the number of events, cost of buy-ins, height of prize pools, etc.

Another obvious question, from anyone who remembers the FTOPS of old; will there be enough Full Tilt Pro members on hand to host each of the events? Surely FTP’s recently named Brand Ambassador, Gus Hansen, will be on hand to host a few of the bigger events, but who else? That question should be answered soon enough as the subject of who will represent the poker room has been addressed on the website, stating Gus Hansen’s arrival and, “we expect to announce other additions before we re-launch on November 6th.”