News ACR Poker’s $2.5 Million GTD Anniversary Tournament Enters Final Stretch Owen Gaines Owen Gaines is a professional poker player and author who has played an estimated ten million hands and written four poker strategy books. September 24, 2026 Thirteen starting flights remain from Thursday through Monday morning. Here’s when to play, how combined stacks work and the new satellite path.ACR Poker has been dealing cards for 25 years, so a quiet little anniversary party was never really an option. A milestone this big called for a tournament to match — and now the $2.5 million guaranteed celebration is heading into its final stretch.The clock is running down on ACR Poker’s 25th Anniversary Tournament. From Thursday, September 24, there are 13 starting flights left in the $2.5 million guaranteed event before Day 2 on Monday, September 28. The final table is scheduled for Tuesday, September 29.The direct buy-in is $250. Players still chasing their first Day 2 stack have Main and Turbo options, while those who have already advanced can enter again to build on what they have banked.That second chance has a twist. This is a cumulative-stack tournament: qualify through more than one Day 1 flight, and your surviving chip stacks are added together for Day 2. A seat is valuable; a bigger pile of chips waiting on Monday can be even more fun.Of the final 13 Day 1 flights, 12 are Turbo. The other is Sunday’s 1:05pm ET Main flight. Thursday and Friday each offer three Turbo flights, beginning at 12:05pm ET, 3:05pm ET and 6:05pm ET in the lobby schedule. Saturday has three more, and Sunday brings two Turbos around the 1:05pm ET Main flight.Already through? You can still play a remaining flight and try to add another stack. Yet to qualify? There is time to enter directly or qualify through the new $33 satellites, with $3.15 Super Satellites feeding into those $33 events.Once the Day 1 window closes, all surviving stacks move to Day 2 on Monday, September 28. The tournament then plays toward its final table on Tuesday, September 29, and the conclusion of ACR Poker’s 25th Anniversary Tournament. The last 13 flights at a glanceThese are the scheduled start times shown in the tournament lobby. Check for changes before registering. Remaining Flights Schedule Date Remaining Flights Start Times (ET) Thursday, September 24 3 Turbo flights 12:05pm, 3:05pm, 6:05pm Friday, September 25 3 Turbo flights 12:05pm, 3:05pm, 6:05pm Saturday, September 26 3 Turbo flights 1:30pm, 4:30pm, 7:30pm Sunday, September 27 2 Turbo + 1 Main 10:15am Turbo; 1:05pm Main; 7:05pm Turbo Monday, September 28 1 Turbo flight 8:05am One stack is a start. More than one can change your Day 2.Here, every stack you carry through a Day 1 counts. Survive more than one of the remaining flights, and those chips join the same Day 2 total.A route through $33 satellitesPlayers who would rather qualify than pay the $250 direct buy-in can look for satellites in the ACR Poker lobby. The new $33 satellites award entry into the $250 tournament. You can qualify for a $33 satellite through $3.15 Super Satellites. Check the live lobby for the current satellite schedule and seat awards.A weekend with a finish lineSunday, September 27, has a 10:15am ET Turbo, the 1:05pm ET Main flight and a 7:05pm ET Turbo. One final Turbo is listed for Monday, September 28, at 8:05am ET. After that, the focus shifts from getting into the tournament to playing down the combined Day 2 field.For anyone who has been watching the event from the rail, these are the last chances to turn a $250 entry or a satellite seat into a run at the $2.5 million guarantee. For players already through, the remaining flights offer one more chance to make Monday’s stack harder to ignore.Check the 25th Anniversary Tournament page and the ACR Poker lobby for the latest entry options and flight times before the last cards are dealt.