Major changes are in store for the latest installment of the PartyPoker and Matchroom Sport sponsored World Open poker tournament. In addition to several new faces participating in the popular televised event, the World Open V will also have a new place to call home and a new structure.
Previous versions of the World Open have taken place in a television studio, but this year, a change in venue is putting the action in the middle of the Palm Beach Casino in London. The tournament will still be taped and televised on the Five Network in Britain and distributed internationally. Longtime poker commentator Jesse May will once again be providing commentary. The tournament will take place from October 11th to 15th. A total of 48 players will pony up $10,000 to participate and take a shot at the $250,000 first place prize.
A number of pros from Europe and abroad are confirmed for next month’s event, including the entire team from PartyPoker. World Poker Tour host and semi-finalist for this year’s Poker Hall of Fame class Mike Sexton, Remy Biechel, Felipe Ramos, Ian Frazer, and the latest addition to the PartyPoker team, Bodo Sbrzesny, will all be participating. They will be joined by a slew of other pros like Jennifer Tilly, Phil Laak, Neil Channing, Scott Fischman, Roberto Romanello, Andy Black, J.C. Tran, Steve Sung, November Nine member James Akenhead, and World Open IV winner Marty Smyth.
Online poker rivals Tom “durrrr” Dwan and Luke “_FullFlush1_” Schwartz have also been tapped to play in the event. The vocal and opinionated Schwartz has been highly critical of durrrr’s play and social life, so the prospect of the two players sitting at the same table in a brick-and-mortar casino could make for some good television.
The sit and go structure for the World Open V will change slightly from past versions. The preliminary heats will feature eight-handed play instead of six-handed, while the final table will expand from six-handed to seven-handed. If the World Open V follows the same setup as other PartyPoker and Matchroom Sport poker events, the winners of each of the preliminary heats will advance to the final table. The runners-up at each table will then compete in a second chance heat with the winner taking the seventh and last seat at the final table. One final noteworthy change to the event is the implementation of triple stacks to allow for more play.
The big name pros will not be the only participants in the World Open V. PartyPoker has been running a number of satellites into the tournament. The online poker site is offering opportunities to qualify for as little as $3. The tiered satellite system offers daily tournaments for $3 and $8 in which players can qualify for the daily $70 satellite. For every 10 players in the $70 satellites, one will advance to the weekly $650 event. For every 20 entrants in the $650 event, one will win a prize package that includes buy-in to the World Open V, a hotel stay in London during the event, and $1,000 in spending money.
The fourth installment of the World Open boasted a final table of Smyth, Channing, Marc Goodwin, Andy Ward, Dixie Dean, and Ryan Fronda. Heads-up play came down to Smyth and Channing, who entered the final table with the two largest chip stacks. In the end, Smyth prevailed to take down the event and its $250,000 grand prize. Shortly after winning the World Open in April of 2008, Smyth claimed his first World Series of Poker bracelet when he took down the $10,000 World Championship of Pot Limit Omaha for $859,549.
