The inaugural countries and the preliminary teams have been determined for March’s Global Poker Masters 2015, the tournament envisioned by its founder, Global Poker Index (GPI) Chief Executive Officer Alexandre Dreyfus, to be poker’s version of soccer’s (football’s) World Cup.
The eight countries that have qualified for the Global Poker Masters were determined by the number of players that a country had in the GPI300, the multi-year ranking of the best players in the world. The United States, with 140 of the 300 slots, was by far the #1 of the qualifying countries. In comparison, the United Kingdom, the second-best country, had 25 players in the GPI300. Germany (18), Canada (17), Russia (16), France (7) and Italy (6) all locked up their slots without any issues. For the final slot, it came down to a three way battle between Argentina, Denmark and Ukraine, with five players each in the GPI300. After running the tie-breakers, Global Poker Masters officials determined that Ukraine held the edge over the other two countries and would take the #8 slot.
With the countries determined, naming the players for each squad had to be determined. Each team would be comprised of five players: each nation’s Player of the Year, the three other top-ranked players on the GPI300 and a wildcard player to be named later (the criteria for that selection has yet to be determined). If a player decides not to take part in the Global Poker Masters, then the next highest ranked player on the country’s GPI will take that player’s spot.
Each team will be strong in their own right but, if the rankings are the determining factor, then favorites have already emerged. Because of their #1 ranking, Team USA appears to be the strongest of all with Daniel Colman, the U. S. Player of the Year, heading the listings (according to Dreyfus, Colman has already decided to bypass the tournament, however). Dan Smith (#2 GPI300), Pratyush Buddiga (#6) and Jake Schindler (#7) are all tentatively members of the Team USA squad.
Despite their #3 ranking, Team Germany also has some serious firepower. German POY Ole Schemion (#1 GPI300) is joined by Marvin Rettenmaier (#25), Martin Finger (#46) and 2014 World Series of Poker Player of the Year George Danzer (#48) to set up a formidable squad. Team United Kingdom (U. K. POY Oliver Price, Stephen Chidwick, Jack Salter and Simon Deadman) and Team Canada (Canadian POY Ami Barer, Sorel Mizzi, Mike McDonald and Andrew Chen) also may have something to say about the outcome when the Global Poker Masters hits the felt.
Although they may not have the apparent strength of these four teams, the remaining four squads are tentatively set with some notable names. Team Russia features Vladimir Troyanovskiy and Vitaly Lunkin; Team France has Benjamin Pollak, Slyvain Loosli and Fabrice Soulier (and none of those men was the country’s POY); Team Italy has Dario Sammartino and POY Mustapha Kanit and Team Ukraine taps POY Eugene Katchalov and Oleksii Khoroshenin to head their team.
As the Global Poker Masters is set for March during the European Poker Tour stop in Malta, GPI officials hope to have final rosters firmly set within the next few weeks.
The Global Poker Masters is the latest attempt by Dreyfus to “sportify” the game of poker and make it more appealing for sporting audiences and, in particular, sponsors. The tournament doesn’t have a buy-in (prize money for the tournament is provided by the individual sponsors of the event), meaning that those that participate will be doing it for the pride of their country, much like the World Cup or, for another comparison, the Olympics. As to the format of the tournament, GPI officials are in discussions with the players to decide what would best serve the Global Poker Masters and is expected to be announced soon.
Whatever is decided, however (and if the list of players and wildcards remains steady), the Global Poker Masters looks to be a truly exciting event. If it is successful, the Global Poker Masters may be the start of something that could expand poker beyond its current realm.