The 16th semi-annual Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS XVI) starts this week, on April 23, and runs through the $3 million guaranteed main event on May 2, giving away in total a guaranteed prize pool of $18 million dollars. (And for those of you counting, that’s $1 million more than it was for FTOPS XV).

Following closely on the heels of FTOPS XVI will be the MiniFTOPS XVI, from May 7 to 16, squeezing itself in there in just enough time to be over and done before the 2010 WSOP starts. The guaranteed total prize pool for the MiniFTOPS XVI is $7 million.

Full Tilt Poker is hosting satellite tournaments that offer free seats into the various FTOPS XVI and MiniFTOPS XVI events as their top prizes, including seats in the $640 buy-in FTOPS XVI Main Event.

Along with these satellites, FullTilt is holding Satellite Challenges, FTOPS Challenges, and Leaderboard Challenges for extra winning opportunities.