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Montel Williams Reps U.S. Poker |
 Well, they haven’t been able to get it inducted as an Olympic sport yet (I still like the definition that if you can do it while drinking a beer, it’s not a sport) so I guess now the powers that be in the poker world have decided to take the matter into their own hands. The ‘powers that be’ being PokerStars.com and the result being the Poker Nations Cup, which will repeat again this year in Cardiff, Wales from April 7th to 10th. Not surprised? Me either. Though here’s maybe a little something for you: talk show legend Montel Williams is on Team USA.
The rest of the team is pretty weird too. The team captain is Robert Williamson III, who though has shown his face in several major poker broadcasts and definitely is no slouch, seems kind of a weird pick over, oh, say Phil Ivey or Daniel Negreanu.
Williamson then was responsible for picking his teammates, who as announced now as Jamie Gold, Freddy Deeb, Chris Ferguson and Chad Brown.
Not sure how Gold got into that lineup, but, well, you know.
This set of players will compete in the $5,000 buy in as Team USA, so far scheduled to play against Sweden, Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Germany. The winning team’s prize will be $100,000 and the winners of the individual competitions will get $20,000.
Of what we know about the schedule, so far it is that there are six heats of play and players will be given points based on how they finish in each. In the finals, the team captain is allowed to make substitutions and time outs.
“I am thrilled and honoured that I have been invited to be a part of Team USA for the Poker Nations Cup. My teammates are extraordinary, as I have played against many of them in the past year and now look forward to teaming up with them in our quest to defeat poker pros from around the globe.”
The captains of the other international teams include:
Roland de Wolfe for Britain and Marcel Luske for the Netherlands.
Last year’s champion was Sweden, who is now being listed as a 3/1 favorite, with the US right behind them at 7/2.
Though there is no specific broadcast information yet, the event will also be filmed for eventual TV broadcast. |
