Tired of the same boring tournaments where the structure stays the same throughout the whole thing? Then you should play Battle Royale tournaments on Natural8! These tournaments have three distinct stages that will keep you on the edge of your seat as you try and navigate your way to a tournament victory. Battle Royale tournaments are available to play right now on Natural8, and we’re here to give you the lowdown on everything you need to know about this exciting tournament format.
What is a Battle Royale Tournament?
A Battle Royale Tournament is essentially a 30-player bounty Sit & Go split into three different stages. You must navigate your stack through each of these stages if you want a chance to take home the top prize, and doing so will require all of your poker skills.
At the end of each stage, the number of players is reduced. The tournaments start with 30 players, then it will be reduced to 15 after the first stage and 5 after the second stage. The last 5 players play out the final table until there’s a winner. These tournaments are fast, fun, and full of action, with the chance of taking home a decent payday if you bag first place.
How Do Battle Royale Tournaments Work?
So how exactly do these tournaments work, and what are the stages that you have to battle through to become a Battle Royale champion? Let’s take a closer look.
Stage 1 - Rush Zone
The start of a Battle Royale tournament is called the “Rush Zone,” where players are constantly moved to new tables once they fold or their hand is complete. Anyone who’s played Rush Poker on Natural 8 will be familiar with this format. Being moved to a new table after every hand you play keeps the pace up, but it means you need to be playing aggressively, as those antes will start to hurt after a few folds in a row.
The aim of the round is to make it through to the last 15, and there are bounties on the heads of every player in the tournament, so you’re incentivised to play a lot of hands to try and knock other players out. There is also a 15-minute time limit applied to this stage. If the time limit ends and there are more than 15 players in the tournament, anyone who is outside the top 15 will be eliminated.
In the event of a tie, the finishing order is decided by the number of knockouts a player has made, then the number of hands a player has played – so make sure you’re in there battling!
Stage 2 - Shootout
If you make it through the madness of the Rush Zone, you’re brought to one of five Shootout tables to face off against two other opponents. The last player standing makes it through to the final table and is guaranteed to be in the money, so there’s a lot to play for.
This stage has a 5-minute time limit, so you’ll need to act fast if you want to beat your opponents. If there are multiple players left in the Shootout when the 5-minute timer ends, players are automatically all-in until a winner is decided.
Beating your opponents as fast as possible not only means you avoid the dreaded all-in Shootout but the players who beat Stage 2 the fastest are given advantages when choosing seats at the final table.
Stage 3 - The Final Table
Each player who makes it through the Shootout Stage will earn a seat at the final table. Everyone at the final table has made the money, but there’s still a lot to play for. Players who beat Stage 2 the fastest will be given advantages when choosing their seats at the final table, giving them an edge over their slower opponents.
This stage is played like a normal bounty tournament, so you have as much time as you like to turn the screws on your opponent and try to claim that top prize. With the bounties in play as well as the prize for first, you’ll want to play your best to try and knock out as many players as possible on the way to picking up that trophy.
Battle Royale Promotions
As well as being a fun and exciting tournament format, Natural8 is running promotions in conjunction with Battle Royale tournaments to make them an even more appealing prospect! Let’s take a look at what those are.
Bounty Jackpot
Natural8 is running a Bounty Jackpot promotion for all bounty tournaments across their site. This promotion works much in the same way that a mystery bounty tournament does - when you knock out your opponent and win a bounty, you’re given a chance to win a Mega Bounty worth up to $1,000,000!
$2,000 Daily Leaderboards
Natural8 is also giving away $1,000 in T$ every single day to players of Battle Royale tournaments who place on their Battle Royale leaderboards. These leaderboards run every day from 8 am, and there is a leaderboard for each buy-in level, giving everyone a chance to win.
If you want to participate in this promotion, it’s very simple. Players are given points for every player they knockout in a Battle Royale tournament, so make sure you’re playing aggressively if you want to make it to the top of the leaderboard! You can even boost the number of points you receive by 1.5x during Happy Hour, which runs from 06:00 UTC to 07:59 UTC.
What are the Benefits of Battle Royale Tournaments?
We’ve covered a lot about how Battle Royale tournaments work, but what sets them apart from regular tournaments/Sit & Gos? Why should you play these tournaments over the games you usually play? Well, we think there are several benefits that come with playing Battle Royale tournaments that you don’t get elsewhere.
Variable Format – The biggest selling point of these tournaments is their variable formats. It’s easy to get bored playing the same thing over and over again, so Battle Royale tournaments allow you to play three different formats in one tournament – Rush Poker, three-handed shoot-outs, and final table play.
Timed – One of the downsides of regular MTTs is how long they take to complete. Even the smaller field tournaments can last hours if you make it to the final table. However, Battle Royale tournaments have strict time limits in their first two rounds. This means you know roughly how long each tournament will take, allowing you to better plan your time.
Added Cash – Not only do Battle Royale tournaments offer bounties that allow you to make money before you’ve even reached the final table, there are other promotions, such as the Daily Leaderboards and Bounty Jackpot, that give you even more ways to win.
What are the Buy-Ins for Battle Royale Tournaments?
There are four different levels of buy-in available when choosing a Battle Royale tournament. This means that no matter the size of your bankroll, you’ll be able to enjoy this fantastic format. Let’s take a closer look at the buy-in amounts:
$0.25
$1
$3
$10
There are Battle Royale tournaments starting at all times at Natural8, so don’t wait – jump in and join the fun!
Battle Royale Strategy
We’re sure that you’re eager to jump head-first into these Battle Royale tournaments, but before you do, it’s important to have a game plan. Navigating your stack to the final table in a Battle Royale tournament is much different from a regular MTT, thanks to its unique three-stage structure. To give you a headstart, we’ve listed some handy tips to help you manage each of the three stages and help you get to grips with this exciting format.
Stage 1: Don’t Play Too Fast!
The first stage of a Battle Royale tournament is Rush Poker, which means as soon as you fold a hand, you’re instantly taken to a new table and dealt a new hand. While this might seem like a good way to play a lot of hands and accumulate chips, it will end up costing you. You’ll need to pay an ante at each new table you join, so if you fold several hands in quick succession, your stack will start to bleed! Take your time with each hand and look for every spot where you can accumulate chips, as this will help you make your way into the top 15.
Stage 2: Ramp Up The Aggression
Only one player is going to make it through to the final table, so you can’t hope to fold your way into the money. You need to be playing on the front foot and playing aggressively to accumulate chips and weaken your opponents. There’s no sitting and waiting for good hands at this stage, and you need to make sure you’ve won before the timer runs out; otherwise, it’s up to the Poker Gods!
Stage 3: Play For The Win
Once you’ve made it to the final table, you’re guaranteed to be in the money. This gives you free rein to be aggressive and try to play for the win. Battle Royale tournaments are bounty tournaments, which means that half of the prize pool is locked up in bounties. To claim your own bounty at the end of the tournament, you need to take down the whole thing. Winning these Battle Royale tournaments is much more lucrative than placing 3rd or 4th, so it’s worth taking that extra risk and putting yourself in a better position to take down the tournament.
Summary
Battle Royale tournaments are perfect if you’re looking for a new tournament format to play. They combine three distinct elements of poker into one exciting tournament that will be sure to have you playing for hours. It’s time to move on from the old, boring MTT formats and start playing Battle Royale.
