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PokerStars and PartyPoker Turn 25: What Two Decades Built and What Comes Next
- PokerStars & PartyPoker debuted in 2001, changing online poker forever.
- Both sites set major records: first WSOP satellite winner, largest online prize pools.
- Now, they're celebrating 25 years with massive tournament series and global tours.
PokerStars and PartyPoker both turn 25 in 2026, having launched within weeks of each other in autumn 2001.
In the autumn of 2001, two online poker rooms opened for business within weeks of each other. Neither made much noise at the time. Twenty-five years later, PokerStars and PartyPoker between them have reshaped an entire industry, survived federal indictments, changed hands for billions of pounds, and produced some of the most memorable moments in the history of the game.
Here is how the quarter century looks in numbers.
25 Years In a Nutshell
| Year | Milestone | Platform |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Both platforms launch weeks apart | Both |
| 2003 | Moneymaker wins WSOP via $86 PokerStars satellite | PokerStars |
| 2004 | EPT launches in Barcelona, Alexander Stevic first champion | PokerStars |
| 2005 | PartyGaming IPO on London Stock Exchange at £4.64 billion | PartyPoker |
| 2006 | UIGEA passed (PartyPoker exits US, PokerStars stays) | Both |
| 2006 | Sunday Million launches with $1M weekly guarantee | PokerStars |
| 2011 | Black Friday (DOJ indictments, US players locked out) | PokerStars |
| 2014 | PokerStars sold to Amaya Gaming for $4.9 billion | PokerStars |
| 2016 | GVC acquires PartyPoker, full rebrand begins | PartyPoker |
| 2018 | MILLIONS Online delivers $21.8M prize pool, largest ever online | PartyPoker |
| 2020 | Flutter merger, 93,016 entries in Anniversary Sunday Million | PokerStars |
| 2026 | 25th anniversary: both platforms mark the milestone in May | Both |
What Defined Each Poker Site
PokerStars built its identity on three things:
- The Moneymaker satellite pipeline that turned the WSOP into a global event
- The EPT, now in its 21st season and still the most prestigious live tour in Europe
- Consistency: the Sunday Million has run every week since 2006 and has paid out over $1.4 billion in total prizes.
PartyPoker built its reputation differently:
- First to the London Stock Exchange, valued at £4.64 billion in 2005
- The MILLIONS Online in 2018 set the online poker prize pool record that still stands
- The Super High Roller series at Caribbean Poker Party produced some of the largest live prizes in the tour's history.
Where Both Platforms Stand in May 2026
PokerStars is running its $50 million guaranteed 25th Anniversary Series through June, fresh off an EPT Monte Carlo festival that produced a record €100K High Roller field and the highest buy-in event in EPT history at €250,000.
PartyPoker is three stops into its 2026 tour and heading to Madrid next. Casino Gran Via hosts May 11 to 17, with a €500 Main Event carrying a €100,000 guarantee, a €150 Mini Main at €50,000 GTD, and a €1,000 High Roller on the final day. After Spain, the tour moves to Manchester235 from June 13 to 21 for the second UK stop of the season, featuring a £500 Main Event with a £100,000 guarantee and a £1,000 High Roller on June 19.
What the Next 25 Years Might Look Like
The industry these two platforms built from scratch now generates tens of billions annually, spans every regulated market on the planet, and feeds the biggest live tournaments in history. For UK players, both remain entirely accessible: PokerStars via its standard platform and EPT live events, PartyPoker via the new grassroots tour with qualifiers starting from $0.01.
Twenty-five years in, the game is in good health. Both platforms helped put it there.
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