PARTYPOKER.COM PREMIER LEAGUE BACK IN NOVEMBER!
Gibraltar – 15th October 2008 — http://www.partypoker.com is pleased to announce that the next PartyPoker.com Premier League will take place in London from the 24th – 30th November 2008. PartyPoker.com Premier League Poker III sees the buy-in elevated to $75,000 and the added money raised to $350,000, making a total prize pool of $1.25 million. The next event wasn’t due to take place until 2009 but the demands of international broadcasters for coverage of the event has brought it forward!
The series, developed by Matchroom Sport, features 12 of the world’s best players playing in a unique league format. All 12 players will play six times in the preliminary stages. The leading four players will then progress to the final table with the next four battling it out in heads-up matches for the final two seats. The first player to be announced is Premier League II winner, Ireland’s Andy Black, who is automatically invited back as the defending champion.
Black was on his usual quirky form when asked if he was looking forward to defending his title. “There will be no more ‘Mr Nice Buddhist’ this year. The attitude and spirit I will be bringing to the tournament can be summed up by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Asked as Conan the Barbarian what was most important in life he said it was: ‘to crush your enemies and hear the lamentation of their women,’ said Black.
Black has earned millions of dollars over the years on the circuit but had a reputation as a choker bar none. His most notable cash was for $1.75 million for 5th place in the WSOP Main Event in 2005 after qualifying online at PartyPoker.com. There, Black went in as the favourite to win with the chip lead only to bust sooner than expected. At the 2007 WSOP Main Event and 2008 Aussie Millions Main Event he was the chip leader after day one only to fall away. He had similar experiences at the EPT Dublin in 2005, the 2006 Tournament of Champions at the WSOP, not to forget the 2007 Aussie Millions where he eventually finished third after dominating again. Black quit poker between 1998-2003 and started practicing Buddhist techniques of meditation and working with the mind which he credits with improving his game. Until Premier League Poker II, however, it hadn’t given him a first place! “The black death is over, I killed them all,” joked Andy when he won. “I tried to blow-up but it didn’t quite work!
The full line-up will be announced in the weeks ahead. Eleven more names will be revealed…
Eddie Hearn, Head of Online Gaming at Matchroom Sport said: “The Premier League is now established internationally as poker’s number one TV show. The worldwide ratings and distribution have exceeded all expectations and the demand is such that we have decided to hold another Premier League event this year. We are delighted to welcome last year’s champion Andy Black back to the League and we will now sit down and hand pick the remainder of the chosen 12. There isn’t a poker player on the planet that doesn’t want to be part of this event.”
A PartyPoker.com spokesman said: “Keep your eyes open for more news. It’s a case of one down, eleven to go, this line-up will be the strongest yet. With the buy-in and added money it is a case of a raise for Premier League Poker II and a re-raise for Premier League Poker III.”
Each player bought into PartyPoker.com Premier League II for $60,000, with PartyPoker.com adding $280,000 to make the pool $1 million, up from the $500,000 prize pot for the inaugural event. PartyPoker.com Premier League II’s line-up featured Phil Hellmuth, Dave ‘The Devilfish’ Ulliott, Tony G, Andy Black, Ian Frazer, Roland de Wolfe, Vicky Coren, Juha Helppi, Eddy Scharf, “Flying Dutchman” Marcel Luske, Annie Duke and Alexander Kravchenko. Tony G, Andy Black, Alexander Kravchenko and Marcel Luske automatically made the final for finishing in the first four spots in the league table, while Roland de Wolfe and Annie Duke won their way through to the finale after play-off heads-up matches. Premier League Poker I was won by Finland’s Juha Helppi.
“Premier League Poker featured a fantastic format filled with skill, twists and turns, great players and made for electric television.” Phil Hellmuth
“This is a totally different concept and makes great television, it’s like a poker Big Brother. It sets a new bar for televised poker.” Dave “The Devilfish” Ulliott
“The premier League is the best poker event I have ever played in. A real breakthrough for poker.” Tony G
2008 PARTYPOKER.COM PREMIER LEAGUE – FINAL PRIZE MONEY
Andy Black (IRE) $316,000
Roland De Wolfe (ENG) $160,000
Tony G (AUS) $136,000
Alexander Kravchenko (RUS) $92,000
Marcel Luske (HOL) $72,000
Annie Duke (USA) $58,000
Eddy Scharf (GER) $38,000
Dave “The Devilfish” Ulliott (ENG) $38,000
Vicky Coren (ENG) $34,000
Juha Helppi (FIN) $22,000
Ian Frazer (ENG) $18,000
Phil Hellmuth (USA) $16,000
2008 PARTYPOKER.COM PREMIER LEAGUE – FINAL TABLE PRIZE MONEY
Andy Black (IRE) $250,000
Roland De Wolfe (ENG) $120,000
Tony G (AUS) $60,000
Alexander Kravchenko (RUS) $40,000
Marcel Luske (HOL) $30,000
Annie Duke (USA) $20,000
2008 PARTYPOKER.COM PREMIER LEAGUE FINAL TABLE CHIP STACKS – 1.5 MILLION ON TABLE
Seat 1 Annie Duke (USA) 190,000
Seat 2 Andy Black (IRE) 330,000
Seat 3 Marcel Luske (HOL) 210,000
Seat 4 Roland De Wolfe (ENG) 200,000
Seat 5 Tony G (AUS) 380,000
Seat 6 Alexander Kravchenko (RUS) 260,000
2008 PARTYPOKER.COM PREMIER LEAGUE POKER FINAL POINTS TABLE
Tony G (AUS) 38 pts
Andy Black (IRE) 33 pts
Alex Kravchenko (RUS) 26 pts
Marcel Luske (HOL) 21 pts
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Roland De Wolfe (ENG) 20 pts
Annie Duke (USA) 19 pts
Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott (ENG) 19 pts
Eddy Scharf (GER) 19 pts
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Vicky Coren (ENG) 17 pts
Juha Helppi (FIN) 11 pts
Ian Frazer (ENG) 9 pts
Phil Hellmuth (USA) 8 pts
9 points were awarded for a 1st, 5 points for 2nd, 3 points for 3rd, 2 points for 4th, 1 point for 5th and a bagel (zero) for 6th.
2008 Prize Money Breakdown
Final Table ($520,000)
Winner $250,000
Runner-Up $120,000
Third $60,000
Fourth $40,000
Fifth $30,000
Sixth $20,000
2008 Prize Money Breakdown
League Stage ($480,000) 12 Matches
Winner $18000 x 12
Runner-Up $10000 x 12
Third $6000 x 12
Fourth $4000 x 12
Fifth $2000 x 12
Sixth $0
A BAGEL = ZERO POINTS IN A PREMIER LEAGUE HEAT
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2007 PARTYPOKER.COM PREMIER LEAGUE POKER FINAL PRIZE MONEY
Juha Helppi (FIN) $151,000
Eddy Scharf (GER) $91,000
Phil Hellmuth (USA) $65,000
Liz Lieu (USA) $43,000
Vicky Coren (ENG) $35,000
Ian Frazer (ENG) $35,000
Andy Black (IRE) $18,000
Kenna James (USA) $17,000
Kirill Gerasimov (RUS) $17,000
David ‘Devilfish’ Ulliott (ENG) $14,000
Tony G (AUS) $7,000
Roland De Wolfe (ENG) $7,000
2007 PARTYPOKER.COM PREMIER LEAGUE POKER FINAL TABLE LINE-UP
Phil Hellmuth (USA) 350,000 chips
Eddy Scharf (GER) 310,000 chips
Juha Helppi (FIN) 260,000 chips
Ian Frazer (ENG) 250,000 chips
Liz Lieu (USA) 230,000 chips
Vicky Coren (ENG) 200,000 chips
2007 PARTYPOKER.COM PREMIER LEAGUE POKER FINAL POINTS TABLE
Phil Hellmuth (USA) 35 Pts
Eddy Scharf (GER) 31 Pts
Juha Helppi (FIN) 26 Pts
Ian Frazer (ENG) 25 Pts
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Liz Lieu (USA) 23 Pts
Vicky Coren (ENG) 20 Pts
Andrew Black (IRE) 18 Pts
Kenna James (USA) 17 Pts
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Kirill Gerasimov (RUS) 17 Pts
David ‘Devlifish’ Ulliott (ENG) 14 Pts
Tony G (AUS) 7 Pts
Roland De Wolfe (ENG) 7 Pts
October 15, 2008