Extending its commitment to the Spanish poker market, PokerStars is to sponsor Casino Barcelona’s popular Campeonato España de Poker annual live poker tour.

This year’s tour takes kicks off tomorrow, February 28, in Barcelona, and is to be known as the Campeonato España de Poker por PokerStars.

As part of the sponsorship, a Platinum Pass to the PokerStars Players No-Limit Hold’em Championship in the Bahamas in 2019 will be awarded to the overall winner of the CEP.

In addition, players can now win their seats to CEP and Casino Barcelona events via online satellites at PokerStars.

Guy Templer, chief operating officer of Stars Interactive Group, the gaming division of The Stars Group, said: “Casino Barcelona is one of Europe’s major poker venues and we are proud to partner with such a well-established and well-loved casino.”

Campeonato de España de Poker manager Jorge Alonso added: “I am confident that with this agreement CEP will see higher levels of participation and help PokerStars further strengthen its position as leader in the Spanish market.

“After a record year we are excited to announce this agreement and we expect that players will also welcome this collaboration.”

Last month, PokerStars became the first online poker operator to offer a shared online player pool to players in France and Spain.

Casino Barcelona will also play host to the European Poker Tour Barcelona, from August 21 to September 2, offering tournaments and cash games, plus Platinum Pass Packages worth $30,000 each.