To the best in the game, it's the true "player's championship." Only in its third year, the $50k H.O.R.S.E. World Championship has become one of the most prestigious titles in all of tournament poker, and PokerListings.com's live 2008 World Series of Poker* coverage now turns its full attention to the most daunting field of poker pros ever assembled battling it out for the revered bracelet and a share of the $7 million prize pool.
Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles (PRWEB) June 28, 2008 -- To the best in the game, it's the true "player's championship."
Only in its third year, the $50k H.O.R.S.E. World Championship has become one of the most prestigious titles in all of tournament poker, and PokerListings.com's live 2008 World Series of Poker* coverage now turns its full attention to the most daunting field of poker pros ever assembled battling it out for the revered bracelet and a share of the $7 million prize pool.
The shortlist of H.O.R.S.E. World Champions is, well, short. Very short. But the two names on it exemplify the absolute best the game has to offer.
One: the late Chip Reese, considered by most the greatest all-around poker player ever. And two: respected veteran pro Freddy Deeb, who claimed he played "the best poker of his life" to take the title last year
What exactly does it mean to win it? This is how Deeb explained it in his exclusive PL.com post-win interview:
"It's a great accomplishment. It's an all-around best player I think, a real championship tournament. I've never been a player to worry about holding a bracelet or not. But holding this bracelet is like holding ten others, all together."
Unsurprisingly, given the prestige of the title and the value of the buy-in, only the best pros enter the fray and this year was no different.
In the field of 148 runners: Johnny Chan, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, T.J. Cloutier, Mike Matusow, Barry Greenstein, Howard Lederer, Gus Hansen, Patrik Antonius, Allen Cunningham, Ted Forrest and, of course, last year's champ Deeb.
The rest of the list is equally impressive -- except for perhaps one notable omission. One poker superstar surprisingly not involved in the $50k Championship this year -- who would in fact likely be one of the favorites -- is eight-time bracelet winner Erik Seidel.
The reason: he was busy trying to take bracelet number nine at the final table of Event 43, $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Split Eight-or-Better.
PokerListings.com caught up with Seidel for an exclusive interview, and he explained his decision:
"I was planning to play in the H.O.R.S.E. if I got knocked out of this, so I consider this a $50,000 bonus that I got to stay in this one.
"If I win this it'll be good, but if I don't I'll be disappointed for sure. It's just great, though -- all you can ask for is to be in there and have a shot at it, which I do."
Live 2008 WSOP* coverage continues all weekend at PokerListings.com with updates, blogs, player interviews and photos directly from the Rio for all ongoing events.
Live coverage is, as always, capped off by the PokerListings.com daily video recap with host Amy Macbride, bringing viewers up to speed on all the day's big winners, critical hands and major talking points.
Visit the PokerListings.com World Series coverage section to access all features.
About PokerListings.com:
PokerListings.com (http://www.pokerlistings.com) was launched in 2003 and quickly became the largest online poker guide in the world. It provides poker players with in-depth reviews of all major online poker rooms, the world's best sign-up bonuses and promotions, breaking poker news and detailed content on strategy, tours, tournaments and the game's best players. PokerListings.com also has the best live poker tournament reporting on the Web, with unrivaled year-round coverage from the World Series, the World Poker Tour, the European Poker Tour and more.
(*World Series of Poker and WSOP are trademarks of Harrah's License Company, LLC ('Harrahs'). Harrah's does not sponsor or endorse, and is not associated or affiliated with PokerListings.com or its products, services, promotions or tournaments.)
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