PartyPoker Premier League Mixed Game Line-Up Plus Tony G's Analysis
Twelve players are confirmed for the inaugural Premier League Poker Mixed Game with some of poker's biggest names taking part in the Hold 'em/Omaha mix in London.
The PartyPoker Premier League Poker Championship has always been an entertaining and popular format, whereby twelve players are split into groups of six and are awarded points over the course of several single table tournaments. The event will feature not just No Limit Holdem but also PLO and Pot Limit Holdem.
Group A Heat 1 results.
Last night saw the first six players take to the table to battle it out in Heat 1 of the Mixed Game Championship. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was Pot Limit Holdem bracelet-winner and Omaha specialist James "Flushy" Dempsey who took the top honours.
He defeated November Niner Matt Giannetti heads-up to take 16 points in the league. The high total comes thanks to the introduction of the new "double up" card that gave him twice the points for this heat.
You can see the full report of Heat 1 action at the PartyPoker Blog.
What is the PartyPoker.com Premier League?
Orginally broadcast in 2007 as a $50,000 buy-in event won by Finnish pro Juha Helppi, the PartyPoker.com Premier League is a unique format in which players are pitted against one another in a series of Sit & Gos.
The winner of each SnG recieves the most points while the first to bust recieves the least. These points are used to determine qualification to the final and how many chips you will bring to the table.
In 2008 the Premier League III elevated the buy-in to $75,000; JC Tran won $300k after beating Tony G heads-up. Most recently, David Benyamine bested Luke "FullFlush" Schwartz for a $400k payday and the Premier League IV title.
Why is this different?
For this $25,000 buy-in incarnation of the Premier League, two new games are introduced into the mix. No Limit Holdem will be joined by its Pot Limit cousin as well as everybody's favourite action game, Pot Limit Omaha. One player excited about the introduction of new games is PartyPoker Pro Tony G:
"I cannot wait - I am going to take everything they have," he said. "I am going to mix the mixed game up and put on a show!"
“I think it’s fantastic that games other than No Limit Hold’em are going to get TV exposure,” said Mike Sexton. “Poker is more than one game. This is a bold move, but a good one!”
In another twist, this year each player recieves a "Double Up" card that they can employ in any one of their heats to recieve double points for that particular game.
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| One man and his dog went to win a tournament. |
Who is playing?
Not only do we have the line-up but Tony G published a PartyPoker blog sharing his thoughts on his "so-called rivals". We've taken the liberty of including Tony's analysis of the tournament.
| Group A | ||
| Player | Who? | Tony G says... |
| Tony G | Sends people on their bikes |
"I have the heart, I have the commitment!" |
| Max Pescatori | 2x WSOP bracelets $3m in cashes |
"This Italian is going broke. He may not be a pirate anymore but I am. Bunga! Bunga!" |
| Luke Schwartz | Talks lots HUNL player |
"Still needs a trike and not a bike. I've taken all James Bord's money - no harm in taking more!" |
| Matt Giannetti | 4th at 2011 WSOP WPT Malta champ |
"He's good but Hellmuth loves him too much." |
| Jennifer Tilly | Former actress WSOP bracelet |
"I don't want to push her into retirement but it may be unavoidable." |
| James Dempsey | Omaha specialist WSOP bracelet |
"He needs to remember that I was pushing the organisers to pick Staszko instead of him." |
| Group B | ||
| Player | Who? | Tony G says... |
| Mike Sexton | In Hall of Fame WPT announcer |
"A legend but I am going to punish him for failing to secure the wine pallets he ordered at WPT Slovakia." |
| Ben Carpenter | PartyPoker grinder Qualified online |
"No idea. Supposed to be mouthy. He's qualified? We'll see." |
| Andrew Feldman | Not an ESPN writer UK online grinder |
"He used to be a paper boy. Don't try and bumhunt me online at 4am, Andrew." |
| Sorel Mizzi | (In)famous online $4m in live cashes |
"Is he cut from the top or bottom of the pack? He could do with the guiding hand of Tony G." |
| Yevgeniy Timoshenko | WCOOP/WPT title "Jovial Gent" |
"Unlike Schwartz he's progressed from trike to bike. Glory days over, Timmy?" |
| Andy Frankenberger | WSOP bracelet WPT Player of the Year |
"Smart guy but you cannot run good forever. You know I was a Forex trader once, Andy?" |
The show will be presented by Kara Scott with commentary from the Voice of Poker, Jesse May.
Where can I follow the action?
The tournament is underway at the Playboy Club in Mayfair, London. Over the next three days the twelve will be whittled down to a champion who will take the biggest slice of the $300,000 prize pool. You can keep up with the game at the PartyPoker blog:
Click here to follow the Premier League Poker Mixed Game Championship!
