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15 Jun 2026Read More
Four-Stop Gladiator Series Returns for Full 2026 Season
- Gladiator Series 2026 includes stops in Lisbon, Sofia, Milan, and Troia.
- Focus is on bounty poker formats with the Killer Ranking reward system.
- Exciting prizes: WSOP Main Event seat, Team Pro packages, €250,000+ in guarantees.
The Gladiator Series is back in 2026 with a bit more structure and a few new stamps in the passport. After landing in Portugal and Italy last year, the series returns with four full stops on the calendar, adding Sofia and Troia to complete a proper tour.
It’s still the same idea: short poker festivals focused on bounty formats, with a consistent setup from city to city. No dramatic rebrands or format switches, just a clear plan, a few guarantees, and enough leaderboards to keep things interesting.
The 2026 Gladiator Series Schedule
Gladiator isn’t trying to fill two-week blocks or run 40 events per stop. Each leg of the tour keeps things fairly compact: six or so tournaments, all of them using some form of knockout mechanic: PKO, Mystery Bounty, Accumulator KO, and so on.
| Stop | Dates | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Lisbon | Jan 31 – Feb 8 | Casino Lisboa, Portugal |
| Sofia | May 4 – May 10 | Palms Royale, Bulgaria |
| Milan | June 15 – June 22 | Imperium, Italy |
| Troia | Sept 21 – Sept 27 | Casino Troia, Portugal |
The Killer Ranking: Your Bounties, Tallied
Most series reward the final few who make it to the end. This one starts counting from the moment you bust someone.
The Killer Ranking is a per-stop and season-long leaderboard system that tracks eliminations across the series. It's not complicated:
-
1 point per knockout
-
2 points in events with buy-ins of €500 or more
Each stop hands out €5,000 in leaderboard prizes, paid out as tickets to the next festival. At the end of the year, those same points are added up to determine the Annual Killer Ranking, which comes with over €15,000 in total prizes, including:
-
A WSOP Main Event seat + Team Pro 2027 package
-
Two more Team Pro 2027 packages, each worth €2,200
Lisbon Gets It Started
The 2026 season opens in Lisbon at Casino Lisboa, running from January 31 to February 8. The stop was part of the schedule last year too, but this time it’s officially kicking off a connected four-stop run.
There are six tournaments on the schedule, with €250,000 in total guarantees. The biggest of the lot is the €550 Mystery Bounty Main Event, which comes with a €125,000 guarantee and double Killer Ranking points for every knockout.
Other events include a €770 High Roller PKO, a PLO KO, and a few lower-stakes options designed to keep the schedule moving without crowding the calendar.
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