Tournament of Champions

Kidd7138 · #1 11-16-04, 10:52 PM

Did anyone else see WSOP Tournament of Champions on ESPN tonight? I'm not sure if it was new or not. When I tuned in the table was down to Johnny Chan, Annie Duke, Howard Lederer, Phil Hellmuth, Greg Raymer, and probably a few others that I just don't remember seeing.

Anyways it was a winner take all $2 million tournament. In the end Annie Duke beat Hellmuth heads up which sent him cursing down a dark corridor. It was an interesting heads up match where multiple times both people flopped top pair and the kicker was the deciding card. I've never really been a fan of Annie Duke and she did have some luck in the tourney, but by the end she seemed to have Phil quite baffled.

Aequitas58 · #2 11-16-04, 11:48 PM

Sounds like it was a great tournament... too bad I missed it last night.

jimmytheg · #3 11-17-04, 06:23 AM

you didnt see it right after their coverage of the main event ended? i figured everybody here saw it. It was a really good event, but i won't believe for a second that no deal was made

BlibbityBlabbity · #4 11-17-04, 08:54 AM

Maybe Annie wouldn't deal?

Can't you just see her dancing around the room in front of the other 9 of them like an elementary school pixie screaching "IIII beat you, III beat you!".....

With brother Howard standing there, red in the face, shrugging his shoulders and saying "I know, I know, I have to deal with this EVERY time I lose ANYTHING to her

"

Aequitas58 · #5 11-17-04, 10:03 AM

There had to be a deal... but I doubt ESPN knew anything about it. They were paying for a winner, not a 3-4 way tie. There's nothing glamorous about three champions; besides, in this fast-food nation, we want to see one winner, a big payoff, and drama.

I think they like the whole idea though: good ratings, etc - and I wouldn't be surprised if we saw another TOC after next year's WSOP.

jimmytheg · #6 11-17-04, 10:15 AM

They've set up their own poker tour, sponsored by Harrah's, that concludes with the tournament of champions next year. They are having tournaments at Harrah's casinos around the country throughout next year, all of which we be filmed and televised by ESPN

BlibbityBlabbity · #7 11-17-04, 10:16 AM

"In 2005, the World Series of Poker begins its evolution from a month-long special event into a year-round sport," said Ginny Shanks, senior vice president of acquisition marketing for Harrah's. "The road to the World Series of Poker Championship will be a challenging and arduous one. But unlike professional football, basketball, golf or auto racing, even the greenest of amateurs can mount a challenge for the title."

Players will earn points based on their performance in the circuit tournaments and the World Series of Poker. The top 100 point-earners will receive a free invitation to the 2005 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions, where a single winner will take home a top prize of $2 million.

Looks like you have to earn your invite this year....

Link to circuit schedule on WSOP site<daydream>...Wonder if I could win a sat into an event in Atlantic City????</daydream>

eddo31 · #8 11-17-04, 12:42 PM

i like the idea of turning the toc into an event that you have to qualify for. it just makes sense, both for the players and for espn.

all of the rhetoric over at rgp about who should and who should not have been in the event seemed a little bit ridiculous (even though i agreed with daniel), but with an expanded field hopefully there will be significantly less bitching.

i also think that a deal was made. i think that annie and phil defintely chopped up the first place money, and that at that point they were playing for pride alone. neither one of them was going to tank the heads up match, so i dont think that espn should really have any complaints even if a deal was made. it was still some great poker, and even better entertainment.

SirFWALGMan · #9 11-23-04, 03:42 PM

I saw this a few weeks ago. Annie was on Letterman talking about it also. She definalty DOMINATED Phil. She got into his head and punked him. Not saying who is better long term, but this night belonged to her! The showing the 2nd Pair trick was priceless! It really set Phil off!

I like Annie alot. She is one of my favorite players. Might be because she is cute, but I like the personality she shows on TV and she seems like a really great player!