With the second World Team Poker (WTP) Championship Event just around the corner, Team Canada has finalized its roster with the additions of Peter Jetten and Erik Cajelais.
Jetten has proven his skills in both the online and live tournament poker world. After running $75 into a $100,000 bankroll online, Jetten has moved on to become one of the top young players in the game today. He has accumulated 12 cashes at the World Series of Poker (WSOP), including a 54th place finish in last year’s Main Event. Although he hasn’t captured that breakthrough win as of yet, Peter has earned over $1.8 million in his live tournament career.
Since beginning his poker career in 2005, Cajelais has been one of the most underrated players on the circuit. He has earned seven cashes on the World Poker Tour (WPT). His most significant victory, however, came in 2009 at the WSOP Europe, where he captured the £2,500 Pot Limit Omaha/Texas Hold’em championship for £104,677. For his poker career, Erik has taken down almost $2.1 million in earnings.
With the additions of Jetten and Cajelais, Team Canada captain Greg “FBT” Mueller has assembled what is considered to be one of the strongest teams that will contend for the WTP Championship. Along with such notables as Shawn Buchanan, Terrence Chan, Eric Cloutier, Owen Crowe, Steven Goosen, Daniel Peter, Nenad Medic, Gavin Smith, and Kyle Wilson, Team Canada should be well versed in all forms of poker that will be presented during the WTP Championship.
24 teams will be in play when the WTP Championship kicks off at the South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on May 24th. Teams representing Australia, Brazil, China, Cyprus, England, Germany, Greece, Iran, Israel, Italy, Korea, Lebanon, New Zealand, Pakistan, Russia, Spain, the Ukraine, Vietnam, and the United States will join Canada in the three-day battle.
In addition to these nations, a “celebrity” team headed by Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss is expected to join the fray.
Defending champion Team China, with co-captains Johnny Chan and David Chiu, will face stiff challenges from several nations in their title defense. Team United States, with captain Doyle Brunson and team members Phil Hellmuth and Allen Cunningham, among others, is expected to be a fierce crew.
One of the dark horses has to be Team Israel, with captain Eli Elezra heading a squad composed of Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, Robert Mizrachi, Josh Arieh, and David Levi, among others.
The format of the World Team Poker Championship Event will test every squad in different disciplines of poker. Three different games will be rotated: Limit Hold’em, No Limit Hold’em, and Pot Limit Omaha. Team captains can swap out members based on their particular strengths and can also consult with players during play.
Eight players will comprise each table during Round 1 and the top two finishers will move on to the final table. A nation can only take one seat at the finale, however. In the event that a nation has more than one player make the finals, the chip stacks earned will be combined.
Although there are 21 nations listed as participating in the upcoming WTP Championship Event, there are several others looking to get in on the act. Such countries as Costa Rica, the Caribbean Islands, Denmark, India, Mexico, Norway, the Philippines, and Wales have partial rosters, but have not been able to form a full fledged team. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for more details.
