When viewers who are disinterested in the Beijing Olympics can flip their television sets over to ESPN on Tuesday night. On the cable network channel, the $50,000 HORSE tournament will be airing. All of the action will kick off at 8:00pm ET on the Worldwide Leader in Sports. It’s the third time that the largest buy-in tournament in the world is part of the World Series of Poker slate of events. Past winners have included the late Chip Reese (who won it in 2006) and last year’s champion, Freddie Deeb. Because of the large buy-in, this tournament is characterized by high-profile poker players and enormous prize pools. This year, poker’s elite will gather at the final table of the $50,000 buy-in poker tournament.
HORSE is one of the most unique events found at the World Series of Poker. It forces its competitors to master five completely different varieties of poker: Hold’em, Omaha, Razz, Stud, and Stud Eight or Better. Most amateur players excel at just one of these types of poker; the very best poker players in the world are skilled at each of these events. The games rotate every single round, keeping players on their toes. Here’s a look at the fleet of players who will compete on Tuesday night:
Barry Greenstein: A three-time WSOP bracelet winner who won his third piece of hardware during the 2008 World Series in a $1,500 Razz tournament. He’s the step-father to Joe Sebok and one of the most feared poker players on the planet.
Huck Seed: The 1996 World Series of Poker Main Event winner. He’s the owner of four WSOP bracelets.
Scotty Nguyen: The Prince of Poker, who won the Main Event in 1998. He bubbled the final table of the six-handed tournament (Event #31) of the 2008 WSOP.
Patrick Bueno: A French poker pro who is making his second career World Series of Poker final table.
Lyle Berman: The man who many would credit the poker boom to, as he founded the World Poker Tour, which is now entering its seventh season.
Erick Lindgren: Made his triumphant return to the poker spotlight by winning his first WSOP bracelet during Event #4 of the 2008 WSOP. He was the WSOP Player of the Year during 2008 and the WPT Player of the Year during its second season.
Matt Glantz: Making his third final table in his WSOP career and the second in 2008. Heading into the HORSE event, Glantz had finished in the top five in four of his previous five WSOP or WSOP Circuit Event cashes.
Michael DeMichele: Like Glantz, DeMichele made the final table of the $10,000 Mixed Event (#8) in the 2008 WSOP.
The HORSE Event was the 45th tournament of the 55 that make up the 2008 WSOP. ESPN will carry the following fleet of tournaments that will make up the rest of its WSOP coverage:
August 26 from 8-10pm: $10,000 pot-limit Omaha
September 2 to September 30 from 8-10pm.: $10,000 no-limit hold ’em Main Event
October 7 to October 28 from 9-11pm: $10,000 no-limit hold ’em Main Event
November 4 from 9-11pm: WSOP main event final table preview show
November 11 from 9-11pm: WSOP main event final table
The final table will take place just hours before the tournament airs on ESPN, marking a near-live broadcast of poker’s most prestigious tournament.