Party Poker’s third Poker Nations Cup was played out in Cardiff, Wales on April this year, and the footage will be broadcast on the UK’s Channel 4 on September 16-17. But for those who really cannot wait, four hands have been posted online as a sneak preview.
This popular and prestigious team event features teams of top poker players from Germany, Great Britain, Holland, Ireland, Sweden and the United States. Each team had five well-known professionals – each of whom paid up a $5,000 buy-in – plus a Party Poker satellite winner. The website added $100,000 to the prize pool, bringing it up to $280,000.
The Nations Cup works like this: there are 6 heats in which each player competes once to score points for their team (individual winners also scored $20,000, which is not a bad incentive next to patriotism.) After the heats, the points each player scored were tallied to determine each team’s stack size for entering a final “tag” tourney in which team captains decided when to make substitutions and to take time-outs. The winning team would be the one with the last player standing, earning glory for their country and $100,000 for themselves.
The Nation Teams were as follows:
GERMANY
Andreas Krause
Benjamin Kang
Michael Keiner (Captain)
Sebastian Ruthenberg
Thomas Bihl
Thomas Potzel (Qualifier)
GREAT BRITAIN
Francis Durbin (Qualifier)
Ian Frazer
Joe Beevers
Neil Channing
Roland de Wolfe (Captain)
Surinder Sunar
HOLLAND
Daan Ruiter
Eric Van der Berg
Hans Ritburg
Marcel Luske (Captain)
Quirijn Van der Peet (Qualifier)
Thierry Van den Berg
IRELAND
Ciaran O’Leary
Darren O’Brien (Qualifier)
Donnacha O’Dea
Liam Flood
Marty Smith
Padraig Parkinson (Captain)
SWEDEN
Anders Henriksson
Bo Sehlstedt (Captain)
Johan Ocklind (Qualifier)
Johan Storakers
Mats Rahmn
William Thorsson
USA
Chad Brown
Chris Ferguson
Jamie Gold
Montel Williams (Celebrity Player)
Robert Williamson III (Captain)
Thomas Keller
Since the USA had no qualifier (because Party Poker does not accept US players,) team leader Robert Williamson III invited chat show host and poker player Montel Williams, who has proved his poker worth at the WSOP.
Sweden were the defending champions, taking the cup last year after a gripping finale that saw the British team fall from runaway favorite to third place, while team USA went from short stack to second place, beaten by the methodic Swedes and their champion Anders Henriksson.
For those who can’t wait to see the action from this year’s cup, you can get a taste of the action in YouTube. You can see Germany’s own Benjamin Kang facing Dutch online qualifier Quirijn Van der Peet here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5Mou9YQDyg in a heart-stopping hand narrated masterfully by Vicky Coren, who manages to bet and lose £100 to her co-narrator in the process.
There is also an United Kingdom vs. Ireland scrum here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vUz5_kxELA, where the respected British player Surinder Sunar faces old-school Irish monster Donnacha o’Dea in a fast hand with a twist at the end.
If you want more Holland vs. Germany action you will find it here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR4UbvFz5aU as Germany’s young star Benjamin Kang faces seasoned Dutch captain Marcel Luske (who has been playing poker for roughly as long as Kang has been alive.) Prepare to see fantastic poker being played post-river.
The last teaser sees legendary WSOP champion Jamie Gold from the USA (who has won the largest ever Main Event prize at $12,000,000) versus baby-faced Swedish online qualifier Johan Ocklind, who has cut his teeth in style at the Scandinavian Poker Masters against the likes of Patrick Antonius and Tony G. The young online player squares up against the 2006 World Champion; get ready to watch some high quality bluffing and calling right here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbHbdad2fzg.
The footage was produced by Presentable TV for the UK Channel 4, and presented by Vicky “Teacup” Coren, whose commentary is spot-on. After broadcast in the UK the footage will be released internationally.
