Poker tournaments, and their specific Player of the Year races, haven’t usually gone the natural route of having a title sponsor. Unlike their tournament brethren in golf (which seems to have a sponsor for every tournament it runs), poker runs off the monies generated by the players themselves. Poker Central is looking to change that, however, by announcing a major sponsor for their High Roller of the Year race and simultaneously announcing the next dates for one of their popular “made for streaming” High Roller series.
Poker Central, Automotive Giant Jeep Partner for POY Award
Already running their High Roller of the Year competition, Poker Central signed up Jeep as their new partner, officially making it the Jeep High Roller of the Year. For most of 2019, players have been taking part in a select list of 35 High Roller events. These events have buy-ins that range from $10,000 up to $100,000 and bring in a select group of players that have become recognized as some of the best in the game.
“The ongoing success of the High Roller of the Year structure and the growth of Poker Central’s events domestically and globally are evident as we welcome Jeep as our partner,” said Sam Simmons, the president of Poker Central. “Jeep’s support of the High Roller of the Year award demonstrates the broad appeal of poker and the passionate community that surrounds it.”
The High Roller of the Year competition includes many of the featured tournaments on Poker Central’s streaming outlet PokerGO, including the Super High Roller Bowl, the U. S. Poker Open and the Poker Masters. In its inaugural season, Sam Soverel was the overall champion and, in 2019, he’s well on his way to defending his title. Currently he sits atop the 2019 High Roller of the Year standings, but there are some strong players that are stalking him on the leaderboard:
1. Sam Soverel, 1160 points
2. Ali Imsirovic, 995
3. Cary Katz, 925
4. Stephen Chidwick, 910
5. David Peters, 865
6. Sean Winter, 810
7. Keith Tilston, 665
8. Jake Schindler, 660
9. Brandon Adams, 590
10. Nick Schulman, 410
At this time, there is no information on whether Jeep’s new sponsorship deal will add anything as to an award for the ultimate champion.
2019 Poker Masters Dates Announced
While announcing the new partnership with Jeep, Poker Central also revealed the dates for the upcoming Poker Masters series. The dates for the schedule will be November 1-10 at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, with 10 High Roller tournaments set to be played out. It all starts with a $10,000 buy in tournament on November 1 and concludes with the $100,000 buy-in Main Event. Last year, the champion of the $100,000 Main Event was David Peters, but it was Imsirovic who had the best series of all and won the coveted Poker Masters purple jacket.
While the Poker Masters looms on the horizon, it is the inaugural event for Poker Central and PokerGO in London that many have their eyes on. The British Poker Open, a 10-event schedule of High Roller tournaments, will begin on September 2 and should draw the deepest pocketed pros from across the European continent for battle. After the conclusion of the British Poker Open, the Super High Roller Bowl London will take place beginning on September 13.
Poker Central seems to have gone, no pun intended, all in with the High Roller format. These tournaments have gained in popularity over the past few years, but little is known as to how successful they are as far as viewership goes (for that matter, it isn’t known what PokerGO’s viewership is; as a private entity and a streaming outlet, there are few ways to measure their audience). And with the new sponsorship with Jeep, Poker Central is beginning to market these tournaments so that they might stick around.