Pacific Poker to send players to Poker Open V, by Sarah Polson - 29th August 2008
888 will be bringing together pros, stars and poker players from around the world for the Poker Open V at the end of October.
The tournament is limited to 108 seats which will be filled by eight celebrities, 65 professional poker players and 35 online qualifiers at 888's Pacific Poker online poker site. Those players will have a shot at a piece of a $648,000 prize pool, with $250,000 of that going to the winner.
Formerly known as the U.K. Open, the 888 Poker Open will take place Oct. 27-Nov.7 at the Maidstone television studios. The event will be filmed to be broadcast on SkySports between January and June 2009.
"The 888.com Poker Open Championship is certainly a highlight in the poker calendar. Now in its fifth year, the competition is attracting some of the best players in the world which makes for an even more competitive tournament than last year," said Matt Robinson, 888 marketing director.
"The TV cameras will no doubt capture all the excitement and unexpected turns from start to finish."
Shane Warne and Ronnie O'Sullivan will be two of the celebrities taking to the felt in the event. Some of the poker pros confirmed to play are Andy Black, Roland De Wolf, Richard Ashby, Neil Channing and Jeff Fenech.
Online poker players hoping to join them need to head to Pacific Poker to win a seat. The poker site will be hosting country-specific tournaments each week to battle for spots in a weekly international final.
The national tournaments will take place each Thursday during the seven Thursdays leading up to the 888 Poker Open V. The top five players from each national tournament will move on to a weekly final on the Sunday of that week to compete for an $8,500 prize package to the Poker Open.
The country-specific satellites are as follows:
* Germany: 3:25 p.m.
* France: 3:10 p.m.
* Italy: 3:15 p.m.
* Canada: 9:15 p.m.
* Australia: 7 a.m.
* Netherlands: 3:20 p.m.
* Portugal: 4 p.m.
* Spain: 4:15 p.m.
* Denmark: 3:45 p.m.
* Sweden: 3:35 p.m.
* Rest of the world: 10:00 a.m.
(Note: All times listed in this article are Pacific Poker Time.)
"Every country has a certain national style when it comes to poker, and each country's Thursday satellite is expected to play out quite differently," said Pacific Poker. "Which only makes the international final on Saturdays that much more exciting."
With only the top five players moving on to the weekly final, that means there will be a one in 60 shot at winning the Poker Open V prize package.
The Saturday finals will take place at 10 a.m. and have the following prizes:
* 1st Place: $8,500 package to the 888 Poker Open V
* 2nd Place: $300+$30 buy-in to another 888 Poker Open V satellite
* 3rd-6th Place: $60+$6 buy-in to the next 888 Poker Open V sub-satellite
* 7th-10th Place: $30+$3 buy-in to the next 888 Poker Open V sub-satellite
That last two weeks the prize pool will change slightly, offering:
* 1st place: $8,500 package to the 888 Poker Open V
* 2nd- 4th place: Seat to our $200 + $20 Monday's $100K guaranteed
* 5th - 10th place: Free $50 + $5 buy-in to the weekly $20K guaranteed
Media Man Australia Profiles
888.com
Pacific Poker
Shane Warne
Jeff Fenech
Poker
Celebrity Poker
Poker and Casino News
Casino News Media
