Qualifying satellites have already begun for the €1,650 buy-in Belgium Poker Championship, which kicks off on November 15th from the Casino de Namur. Organizers of the event have capped the field at 1,000 entrants, but the tournament promises to sport some of the world’s top pros, including 2008 World Series of Poker bracelet holder Davidi Kitai, the first WSOP event winner ever from the European nation.
Other pros slated to appear the Belgium Poker Championship include Anthony Lelouche, Michel Abecassis, Eric Koskas, Guillaume de La Gorce, Anthony Roux, Peter Dalhuijsen, Michiel Brummelhuis, and Rolf Slotboom. Kitai has performed phenomenally in WSOP play. In addition to his landmark bracelet win, he made the final table and finished sixth in a $5,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed event, cashing for $120,693. He was the 404th place finisher in the 2007 Main Event, banking $34,664 in the process.
There were 842 entrants in last year’s Belgium Poker Championship Main Event. When the smoke cleared, Jamel Maistriaux emerged as the tournament’s winner, pocketing €300,092 for his efforts. Maistriaux had four cashes during the 2008 WSOP for over $30,000 total.
The Main Event’s structure resembles that of the WSOP Main Event, with four starting days and a pair of Day Twos:
November 15th: Day 1-A
November 16th: Day 1-B
November 17th: Day 1-C
November 18th: Day 1-D
November 19th: Day 2-A
November 20th: Day 2-B
November 21st: Day 3
November 22nd: Day 4
November 23rd: Final Table
The survivors from Days 1-A and 1-B will combine to form the starting field on Day 2-A. The remaining players after Day 1-C and Day 1-D will take to the tables for Day 2-B. All Day 2 survivors will hit the felts as a group on Day 3.
The second of 12 qualifying tournaments for various starting days of the Main Event began on Sunday. The remaining 10 are as follows:
November 4th: €70 rebuy
November 5th: €220 freezeout
November 8th: €70 rebuy
November 9th: €70 rebuy
November 11th: €70 rebuy
November 12th: €220 freezeout
November 13th: €70 rebuy
November 15th: €220 freezeout (qualification for Day 1B)
November 16th: €120 rebuy (qualification for Day 1C)
November 17th: €320 freezeout (qualification for Day 1D)
Qualifiers take place at both the Casinos Namur and Spa in Belgium. If traveling to a brick and mortar casino is not in the cards, players can also take advantage of Belgium Poker Championship satellites currently being run on major online poker rooms Unibet, Winamax, T6-poker, Poker770, and Chilipoker. A variety of side events, along with Omaha and Hold’em cash games, will be held as well, ensuring that there’s plenty of action for players to take advantage of. Here are some of the side events:
November 19th: €210 Pot Limit Omaha freezeout
November 21st: €310 No Limit Hold’em
November 22nd: €1,130 Two Day Event
November 22nd: €110 Ladies Only freezeout
November 23rd: €510 No Limit Hold’em
The Main Event is scheduled to air on Belgium television. According to a press release distributed by the tournament series, interested poker players can book a €2,500 package “which includes one ticket for the Main Event, seven nights [accommodation], seven breakfasts, seven evening meals with one bottle of wine, and 70 drink vouchers.” Although playing poker after using 70 drink vouchers is not advised, the entire event will be one that the poker community will be buzzing about.
