BCPoker has been named the Official Online Partner of the Banco Championship 2026 at Banco Casino in Bratislava, Slovakia. The series runs from August 3 to August 10, headlined by a €250,000 GTD Main Event (August 6 to 9).
Nine online satellite winners are guaranteed packages to the live tables, with qualification paths starting from $0.
Daily freerolls and multi-step satellites are already live on BCPoker. Players can grind their way from a free entry all the way to a full €1,100 Banco Package that covers the Main Event buy-in and four nights of hotel accommodation.
The event is the 4th edition of the Swedish Poker Championship, which has made Banco Casino in central Bratislava its permanent home. Previous editions drew hundreds of players from across Northern Europe, and the Banco Championship 2026 carries the largest Main Event guarantee the festival has offered to date.
Banco Casino is located inside the Crowne Plaza Hotel in central Bratislava, directly opposite the Presidential Palace. It is Slovakia’s largest poker room and regularly hosts major European festival series including the Banco Casino Masters, Polish Poker Cup, and Olympus Poker Festival.
What BCPoker Satellite Winners Get
BCPoker is guaranteeing nine packages for players who qualify through its online satellite system. The prizes split into two tiers, plus a bonus perk for on-site registrants.
- 4x Full €1,100 Banco Packages: Main Event buy-in plus four nights of hotel accommodation in Bratislava.
- 5x €550 Main Event Seats: direct entry to the €250,000 GTD Main Event with no additional costs.
- Live Rake-Free Pass: every online qualifier receives a €50 BCPoker Gameplay Credit when they register on-site at Banco Casino. This is a first for the platform.
The total package value for the top tier works out to roughly €1,150 per winner once you factor in the buy-in, hotel, and the on-site gameplay credit. For a qualification path that starts at $0, the return on investment is hard to beat.
For a closer look at BCPoker’s traffic levels and game selection, see our full BCPoker review and rakeback breakdown.
How to Qualify on BCPoker
The satellite structure runs on a three-step ladder with a qualification window from June 10 to July 18. Each step feeds into the next, with two types of Sunday Finals running on alternating weeks.
| Step | Dates | Time (UTC+0) | Buy-in | What You Win |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Freerolls | Jun 10 – Jul 18 | 18:30 | $0 | 10x $5 Step 1 tickets |
| Step 1 Qualifiers | Jun 10 – Jul 18 | 20:00 | $5 | 1x $55 Finals ticket (1 in 10) |
| €550 Seat Finals | Jun 19, 26, Jul 3, 10, 19 | 21:00 | $55 | 1x €550 ME ticket per final |
| €1,100 Package Finals | Jun 22, 29, Jul 6, 13 | 21:00 | $55 | 1x €1,100 Banco Package per final |
The freerolls run daily, meaning there is a new entry point every single evening. Players who skip the freeroll stage can buy into the Step 1 Qualifiers directly for $5, or jump straight to the Sunday Finals for $55.
The two types of Sunday Finals run on alternating weeks. Five finals award a €550 Main Event ticket (buy-in of €500+50), and four finals award the full €1,100 Banco Package that adds four nights at the Crowne Plaza Bratislava on top of the buy-in.
Players grinding the satellite ladder can also stack value through the exclusive BCPoker VG Chase rakeback promotion, which pays up to $1,450 in additional cashback based on net rake milestones.
What This Means for BCPoker Grinders
The Banco Championship marks BCPoker’s entry into live European poker event partnerships. It follows the platform’s move into ambassador deals earlier this year, when Manig Loeser signing as BCPoker Global Ambassador with over $12.2 million in live tournament earnings behind him.
For players already grinding on BCPoker, the satellite path adds a live event dimension to the platform. Combined with the ambassador roster and a growing tournament schedule, the Banco Casino partnership signals that BCPoker is building toward a hybrid online-live model.
New to BCPoker? Head to the BCPoker promo code page to claim your signup bonus before registering for satellites. Freeroll qualifiers run every evening at 18:30 UTC, and the Main Event kicks off on August 6.
