The European Poker Tour officially relaunches today in Sochi and for the first time ever it is a re-entry.

After announcing the relaunch of the European Poker Tour last year, Sochi plays host to the first EPT Main Event of 2018 today. The ₽192,000 (roughly €2,718) Main Event has a guarantee of ₽150,000,000 (roughly €2,124,272).

It flew under the radar a little when this event was announced, but for the first time ever the Main Event will be a single re-entry event. Up until now every EPT Main Event has always been a freezeout, in fact it still states that is the case on the EPT FAQ page at the time of writing.

The official landing page for EPT Sochi states that this year's Main Event will have a single re-entry per flight, starting on Friday. There is also a 'Turbo Day 1C' the same evening as Day 1B on Saturday, which will have 30 minute levels instead of 60.

There has not been much mention of this in the poker community or by PokerStars PR, but it is actually quite a seismic change for the tour. It could well be a reaction to the undeniable success of the partypoker MILLIONS events last year, which incorporate a re-entry/phase format in their Main Events. The fact this event has a guarantee is also a rarity for the tour and perhaps a response to the partypoker tour's guarantees.

Stay tuned to PokerStrategy.com from Sunday for the live stream from Day 2 onwards.

Do you like re-entries in the EPT Main Event? Let us know in the comments: