MILLIONS World is back, and for the sake of partypoker’s continued mission to be the market leader, let’s hope it’s here to stay.
Ther $25,500, $10m GTD MILLIONS World takes place Nov 13-17 as part of partypoker’s Caribbean Poker Party (CPP) taking place at the Baha Mar Resort in Nassau, Bahamas Nov 13-17.
In a bid to apply some rhythmic motion into the promotion, Rob Yong declared on Twitter his intention to hand a $5,300 buy-in, $5m GTD CPP Main Event seat to the first 100 MILLIONS World online qualifiers.
Satellites start on March 15.
partypoker designed MILLIONS World in 2018, and at the time it seemed like a strong reaction to the birth of the $25,000 PokerStars Players No-Limit Hold ’em Championship (PSPC).
Ever since John Duffy took over as President of partypoker LIVE, his goals and vision have been laid out for all to see. Duffy wants to be the best and to be the best you have to beat the best, and in 2018 the best carried the logo of a Red Spade.
Both events were successful, but with PokerStars attracting 1,039-entrants, and Ramón Colillas picking up $5m and change, there was only one clear winner.
In contrast, Roger Teska beat a 394-entrant field to win the MILLIONS World title and $2m first prize in the Bahamas. The following year, the event made way for a high-stakes frenzy that saw Daniel Dvoress, Wai Leong Chan and Adrian Mateos sweep all before them.
Who Has The Upper Hand?
Rob Yong has 25.3k Twitter followers, and you can bet a boiled egg, that plenty of them are fervent partypoker fans. Still, when Yong polled his tribe to see what the most prestigious European poker title was, 38% voted for the European Poker Tour (EPT), with the MILLIONS brand collecting 18.6% of the votes, third-place behind the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) with 28.3%.
It shows that PokerStars is still the one to beat. PokerStars was always a model of par excellence and consistency, and it’s safe to say that the surgeon began carving that up when they rebranded to the PokerStars Championships in the wake of their move to go public.
The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) became an essential aspect of the Red Spade’s marketing muscle, proving the annual adventure to the Bahamas is a crucial piece of the live poker puzzle.
With PokerStars shelving the PCA it allows partypoker to fill that void. Still, if they are to do it effectively, then there needs to be consistency.
Caribbean Poker Party (CPP).
MILLIONS World.
What is it?
In the same way, it never felt right for the PCA to be a part of the EPT; it doesn’t feel right for the CPP to be a part of the MILLIONS brand. ‘MILLIONS’ evokes power and prestige, whereas CPP feels cheap and small.
For Yong’s followers to one day select ‘MILLIONS’ ahead of an EPT title, I think these branding and marketing decisions are crucial, as is the consistency of having the same competition, with the same title, at the same time, year-in-year-out.
Ther Manchester Metaphor
The handbags at ten paces that we see with PokerStars and partypoker reminds me of the nascent of Manchester City and the demise of Manchester United.
Like United, PokerStars spent many years building a company that became an online poker institution. At the same time, partypoker played the City role, appearing in the headlines with less frequency than a mophead sees life in a college dorm room.
Then came City’s turn to shine with new ownership, an injection in cash, and a bigger vision. Simultaneously, United fell into a haphazard nosedive after their beloved leader, Sir Alex Ferguson, decided to call time on his illustrious career.
City is still a better team than United, but they’re not a bigger club.
For City to garrotte that honour, and hang the Red Devils from ceiling meathooks, the Citizens are going to have to imbue patience. City’s legacy will be built, trophy by trophy, until all there remains in the trophy cabinet in the red half of Manchester are more cobwebs and tales of a once glorious past.