PokerStars tested a no-bubble tournament format at EPT Barcelona in 2026, and the first experiment drew 572 entries after demand forced organisers to expand beyond the original 300-player cap.
The €550 “In the Money at 180,000” event asked players to turn a 30,000 starting stack into 180,000 chips. Reaching that target immediately secured a Day 2 seat and a minimum cash, replacing the normal tournament bubble with a chip-accumulation target.
PokerStars’ own tournament round-up described the format as an early success. Sacha Cohen won the inaugural event for €52,000, with PokerStars Ambassador Maria Konnikova finishing second for €32,500.
The concept takes aim at the dreaded tournament bubble, the point at which one more elimination is required before the remaining players reach the money.
EPT Barcelona gets underway at Casino Barcelona on August 16 and runs until August 29, with the new format adding another twist to a festival already packed with major events.
What Is a No-Bubble Poker Tournament?
The bubble is normally one of the most tense periods of any poker tournament.
As the field approaches the money, short stacks often tighten up in an attempt to survive, while bigger stacks can use the situation to apply pressure. Eventually, one player is eliminated immediately before the paid positions and leaves with nothing.
PokerStars’ new tournament concept is designed to remove that traditional bubble dynamic.
It is an interesting experiment because the bubble is not simply an unfortunate moment for the player eliminated. It has a major influence on tournament strategy.
Players who are primarily concerned with reaching the money can become extremely cautious, while aggressive players look to exploit opponents who do not want to risk elimination.
Removing that cliff edge could therefore change how the latter stages of a tournament play out.
Poker Operators Are Experimenting With the Bubble
PokerStars is not the first operator to look for ways to soften one of tournament poker’s most frustrating experiences.
Bubble protection has become increasingly familiar in online poker. Some formats effectively insure eligible players against narrowly missing the money, returning a buy-in or providing another form of compensation when a player bubbles an event.
The new PokerStars experiment takes that broader idea into a live EPT environment.
It also raises an interesting question: is the bubble an essential part of tournament poker, or an outdated source of frustration that operators can redesign?
For traditionalists, the pressure of surviving the bubble is part of what makes tournament poker unique. For recreational players, spending hours at a table before walking away with nothing because they finished one place too low can be a particularly unforgiving experience.
572 Entries Turn the Experiment Into a Real Test
The first €550 version generated a €274,560 prize pool from 572 entries, including 132 re-entries. PokerStars’ official Barcelona results record Cohen as the first champion, Konnikova second and Norway’s Jon Persent third for €23,220.
PokerStars then ran a second “In the Money at 180,000” tournament later in the same festival at a €2,200 buy-in. That event attracted 130 entries for a €249,600 prize pool and was won by Finland’s Luka Sorainen for €60,800.
Running the structure twice at different buy-in levels made Barcelona more than a one-event novelty. The first tournament tested mass appeal at €550, while the later €2,200 version showed the target-stack idea could also be used in a more expensive field.
Could No-Bubble Tournaments Catch On?
That may ultimately be the most interesting part of the experiment.
Poker tournament formats have changed considerably over the past decade. Mystery bounties have gone from novelty events to fixtures on major schedules, while progressive knockouts and other alternative structures have become hugely popular online.
The bubble, however, has largely survived unchanged.
The Barcelona experiment did prove popular enough to exceed its initial capacity, and PokerStars used the format again later in the same festival. That does not guarantee it will become a permanent EPT fixture, but it gives the operator real field data rather than a theoretical test.
The larger question is now whether target-stack tournaments appear at future PokerStars stops. Barcelona showed that removing the traditional bubble can change strategy without removing the pressure to accumulate chips.
