Even though the Main Event of the 2008 World Series of Poker just played down to the final nine, the action is just beginning on ESPN. The cable network will begin airing several tournaments from the 2008 WSOP every Tuesday night, leading up to the broadcast of the Main Event final table on November 11th. ESPN will broadcast the entire 17-week series in stirring HD, giving viewers a unique glimpse into play from the world’s largest stage. ESPN will air Event #1, the $10,000 Pot Limit Hold’em Championship, tonight from 8:00pm-10:00pm ET.
Lon McEachern and Norman Chad will once again handle announcing duties for the 2008 WSOP on ESPN. The pair has been the voice of ESPN’s broadcasting since 2003. ESPN versions in the 1990s (which were only a few hours of programming total) featured commentary from Dick Van Patten, Jim Albrecht, Gabe Kaplan, and Chris Marlowe. Even though 55 events made up the entire 2008 WSOP schedule, not all of them will be shown to the viewing public. Here’s a look at the tournaments you’ll be able to see every Tuesday night. All times are Eastern:
July 22 – 8-10 p.m.: $10,000 pot-limit hold ’em (Event #1)
Top Finishers:
1. Nenad Medic – $794,112
2. Andy Bloch – $488,048
3. Kathy Liebert – $306,064
4. Mike Sexton – $248,160
5. Amit Makhija – $198,528
July 29 – 8-10 p.m.: $1,500 no-limit hold ’em (Event #2)
Top Finishers:
1. Grant Hinkle – $831,462.00
2. James Akenhead- $520,219.00
3. Chris Ferguson – $388,287.00
4. Theo Tran – $327,148.00
5. Mike Ngo – $268,154.00
Aug. 5 – 8-10 p.m.: $5,000 mixed hold ’em (Event 4)
Top Finishers:
1. Erick Lindgren – $374,505
2. Justin Bonomo – $230,159
3. Andrew Robl – $144,337
4. Roland de Wolfe – $117,030
5. David Rheem – $93,624
Aug. 12 – 8-10 p.m.: $1,000 no-limit hold ’em with rebuys (Event #5)
Top Finishers:
1. Michael Banducci – $636,736
2. Jeff Williams – $406,330
3. Peter Gould – $245,997
4. Lyric Duveyoung – $201,139
5. Alan Jaffray – $164,963
Aug. 19 – 8-10 p.m.: $50,000 HORSE (Event #45)
Top Finishers:
1. Scotty Nguyen – $1,989,120
2. Michael DeMichele – $1,243,200
3. Erick Lindgren – $781,440
4. Matt Glantz – $568,320
5. Lyle Berman – $444,000
Aug. 26 – 8-10 p.m.: $10,000 pot-limit Omaha (Event #50)
Top Finishers:
1. Marty Smyth – $859,549
2. Peter Jetten – $528,256
3. Michael Mizrachi – $331,279
4. Billy Argyros – $268,605
5. Richard Harroch – $214,884
Sept. 2 – 8-10 p.m.: $10,000 no-limit hold ’em main event (Event #54)
Sept. 9 to Oct. 28 – 9-11 p.m.: $10,000 no-limit hold ’em main event (Event #54)
Nov. 4 – 8-10 p.m.: WSOP main event final table preview show
Nov. 11 – 9-11 p.m.: WSOP main event final table
Relive the memories or watch them for the very first time tonight on ESPN.
