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Team Europe Wins 1st Caesars Cup- Poker's Answer to Golf's Ryder Cup
Mon, Sep 28th, 2009 @ 12:00am
The 2009 World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) just hosted the first-ever Caesars Cup, at Casino at the Empire, in Leicester Square, Central London. Players on two teams -- Europe versus The Americas -- played a series of heads-up matches to determine which team would win bragging rights and the first Caesars Cup trophy. Team Europe bested Team Americas by a 4 to 1 margin.
The format was a best four-of-seven series of No-Limit Hold'em. The first team to win four matches would be declared the winner.
The first four matches were comprised competitions between of two-member teams. Two players sat at the end of each table. Each team was dealt out one hold'em hand. Before the flop, Player 1 acted on his/her own. After the flop, the two hole cards were passed face down over to Player 2, who played the next street. On the turn, the cards were passed back to Player 1. On the river, was on Player 2. So, each player would either play a combination of pre-flop and the turn, or post-flop and the river.
On paper, Team Americas looked to be the favorite, as its members hold a combined total of 45 WSOP gold bracelets, more than 12 times the number of wins by the Europeans. Team Americas members also reported tournament career winnings totaling more than $52 million. However, Team Europe were generally younger and far more accomplished in the world of online poker rather than live tournaments.
About Team Europe: Technically, Team Europe may include players from any nation in Europe. This year, players came from the following countries: Norway, Finland, Sweden, Italy, Denmark, and Scotland. Oddly enough, although some players have ties to the host city of London, no English players played at the inaugural Caesars Cup. Team Europe was comprised of:
Betfair qualifier John Harvey is a 47-year-old unemployed pipe inspector from Edinburgh, Scotland. He's likely to come away as the player with the fondest memories of the Caesars Cup: he busted Daniel Negreanu and Phil Hellmuth on a thrilling hand. Of his experience, he remarked: "I still can't believe it. It was a great honor to play with this group. That's all I can say."
About Team Americas: Technically, Team Americas may include players from anywhere in North, Central, or South America. However this year, there were seven Americans and one Canadian. Six of the eight players live in Las Vegas, while Phil Hellmuth and Barry Greenstein live in California. Team Americas was comprised of:
Daniel Negreanu had this to say about the event: "My view of the Caesars Cup is similar to what is going on in golf with the Ryder Cup. There are players representing their country on each team. And that helps to create a very special event that people will care about. So far, it has gone that way. Everybody is really into it. It is lots of fun. The format and matchups are great. I mean, Huck Seed and Phil Hellmuth on the same side? That's exciting for me to watch. As for being the captain, it's fun for me. I do not look at it anything other than they will all look to me as someone to be the glue that can hold it all together and be the strategist, which is what I love to do. I am really honored to be the captain, for sure."
The event was filmed entirely by Poker Productions. The two-hour program will air on ESPN in North America and ESPN International elsewhere. The first broadcast date is expected to be 7 February 2010. The show will be a two-hour broadcast.
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