BetOnline Kicks Off King of the Ring PKO Series

Progressive knockout tournaments are all the rage, so much so that online poker sites dedicate entire series to PKOs. When BetOnline and Sportsbetting.ag first rolled out their King of the Ring PKO series, it was a hit. So, the two online poker rooms that share a platform – and player pools – are bringing it back. And it starts this weekend.

Something for Everyone

All of the PKO tournaments in the King of the Ring series are simple to figure out. They are all 50/50, which means that 50% of a player’s buy-in goes to the general prize pool, while the other 50% is that player’s bounty. And every time a player knocks another out of the tournament, the winning player receives 50% of that bounty, with the other 50% added to the player’s own bounty. As tournaments move forward, the bounties on most players increases, giving more incentive to knock them out.

Needless to say, PKOs can get wild…and profitable, regardless of the money position finish.

The series kicks off on February 20 and runs through March 6. There will be 120 tournaments in all, and the buy-ins vary greatly. There are four types of tournaments, differentiated by weight class.

-FW (featherweight) = $0 to $4.99 buy-ins

-LW (lightweight) = $5 to $19.99 buy-ins

-MW (middleweight) = $20 to $99.99 buy-ins

-HW (heavyweight) = $100 buy-ins and higher

Schedule and Highlights

Most of the tournaments are No Limit Hold’em, with the exception of a few Pot Limit Omaha variations in the mix. Table size varies, as do guarantees. Events begin between noon and 1pm Eastern each day, with seven to ten tournaments per day.

Buy-ins range from $1.10 to $525, with the majority of them somewhere in the middle. The full schedule on the BetOnline web page lists all of the tournaments, table maxes, buy-ins and fees, and game variations. They also note weight class.

At the end of the series, on the final Sunday (March 6), there will be five versions of the King of the Ring PKO Main Event as follows, in order of starting times:

-Event 111 (LW) at 12pm ET: $5.50 buy-in NLHE 8-max Preliminary Main Event ($20K GTD)

-Event 112 (LW) at 1pm ET: $11 buy-in NLHE 8-max LW Main Event ($25K GTD)

-Event 113 (MW) at 1:30pm ET: $55 buy-in NLHE 8-max MW Main Event ($75K GTD)

-Event 114 (HW) at 2pm ET: $215 buy-in NLHE 8-max HW Main Event ($100K GTD)

-Event 115 (FW) at 3pm ET: $2.20 buy-in NLHE 8-max FW Main Event ($3K GTD)

Leaderboard Challenges

With four categories of tournaments, BetOnline and SportsBetting.ag created four different leaderboards for this series. Players earn one point for every knockout they procure in any of the events in this series. Points will go toward the leaderboard of the category – or “weight” – of the tournament being played. Of course, players can play events in all categories throughout the series.

-Featherweight: $1,500 in prizes to pay top 50; $110 reserved for first

-Lightweight: $2K in prizes to pay 35; $150 reserved for first

-Middleweight: $3K in prizes to pay top 35; $280 reserved for first

-Heavyweight: $3,500 in prizes to pay top 20; $450 reserved for first

Look out for round-the-clock satellites to gain entry into many of the tournaments at a discounted price.