It’s hard to talk about poker on television without mentioning the European Poker Tour is some form of another. It wasn’t the first show ever broadcast on television, yet of all the shows on the schedules of countries around the world, it is perhaps the poker series that would be missed the most if it wasn’t there. What makes the EPT so special? Let’s delve a little deeper into its history and find out.

First coming to our screens in 2004 after its invention by John Duthie, the European Poker Tour’s first-ever Main Event featured a lot of players that right now you won’t have heard of. Set in Barcelona, the event was won by Alexander Stevic for just €80,000.

The first final table was given a great commentary makeover just this year when, during lockdown, Joe ‘Stapes’ Stapleton and James Hartigan put a whole new soundtrack on the action, with pretty hilarious results: 

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjRouHiQoTg?feature=oembed]