Some of the biggest stars in the world of poker are descending upon the Playground Poker Club in Montreal, Quebec this week for the PartyPoker Premier League VII invitational high stakes game. The 12 players will compete between November 20 and November 26, each buying in for $125,000.
The structure of the tournament will begin with six eight-handed heats with each player competing in four matches. The top four finishers – those with the most money, with points earned equaling $2,000 each – will go on to the final table. Those finishing in fifth through eighth places will play heads-up matches for the other two final table seats. The winner will ultimately receive $400,000.
Who’s Playing?
Tony G, who was one of the first players to confirm attendance and an event regular, is notably absent for this edition of the Premier League. Antonio Esfandiari was quick to accept the invitation, along with Phil Laak and Jeff Gross. Vanessa Selbst didn’t hesitate about getting involved after having done so in 2011. “I’m excited it has come to North America,” she said, “and thrilled to be able to play it again, especially in a new short-handed format.”
Former World Series of Poker Champion Jonathan Duhamel also agreed to take a seat, one that he occupied last year as well. On the official PartyPoker blog he stated, ““I’m particularly pleased to participate in this new edition of Premier League Poker. I had a blast last year and I’m motivated to face all these great players again. The fact that the league is held in Montreal this year makes the experience all the more exciting to me. I’m sure it will be a memorable edition!”
Sam Trickett had accepted his invitation at the end of October but, like Tony G, will also be a no show. Just last week, three more players were added to the lineup – Greg Merson, Daniel Cates, and last year’s champion Dan Shak. The latter said, “The chance to repeat is a major thrill for me and I cannot wait.” However, Merson, the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion, is absent from the lineup.
The final five remaining spots were filled by Scott Seiver, winner of Premier League V, Jason Koon, Sorel Mizzi, Daniel Colman, and Brian Rast, winner of two WSOP bracelets.
Premier League VI Results
The previous Premier League was held in March 2013 at the Aspers Casino in London. The final table consisted of many of the same players who have chosen to compete this week, with the exceptions of Trickett, Jennifer Tilly, Tobias Reinkemeier, and Talal Shakerchi.
In the end, Dan Shak defeated Sam Trickett for the title, but all of the final table players walked away with a fair amount of cash:
1st place: Dan Shak ($450,000)
2nd place: Sam Trickett ($200,000)
3rd place: Antonio Esfandiari ($150,000)
4th place: Jonathan Duhamel ($125,000)
5th place: Daniel Cates ($100,000)
6th place: Tobias Reinkemeier ($70,000)
7th place: Jennifer Tilly ($60,000)
8th place: Talal Shakerchi ($45,000)
Winners of previous Premier League events were Juha Helppi, Andy Black, JC Tran, David Benyamine, and Scott Seiver.
