Poker After Dark: International Week Debuts June 18
New episode features 6 pros born outside of the United States.
(PRWEB) June 15, 2007 -- A few accents among the players will be evident during this week's edition of Poker After Dark as six top pros that were all born outside of the U.S. each put up $20,000 to contend for the $120,000 winner-take-all prize. Competing are Gus Hansen (Denmark), David Benyamine (France), Patrik Antonius (Finland), Daniel Negreanu (Canada), Marco Traniello (Italy), and "Yukon" Brad Booth (Canada).
This is an entertaining match that features some fast aggressive play, good-sized pots right out of the box, big pocket pairs, a stunning early elimination, a good suckout or two, and a lengthy heads-up match between the last two standing that lasted nearly 3 hours for the title. Fans will unquestionably enjoy the high level of competition and repartee that takes place between these outstanding players.
And here's an interesting fact ... with the 2007 World Series of Poker taking place at the time of this airing, even though this group of players has collectively amassed more than $17 million in tournament winnings, only Negreanu has ever won a World Series bracelet. And surprisingly, the player with the most World Series of Poker cashes next to Negreanu's 25 is Traniello with 13, though he has only been competing in World Series events since 2005. Hansen usually skips the World Series, Antonius has cashed 8 times, and Benyamine and Booth have each cashed only once.
But performance at the World Series is not the sole criterion of achievement for many pros. High-stakes cash game play is the specialty of many of these players, and chances are some have earned more money playing in these games than they have in tournament play. With the exception of Negreanu and Hansen, the other four players were not that well-known even a couple of years ago. But their accomplishments since have made them all virtually household names.
Brief profiles of all six players follow. The match will begin airing late night Monday at 2:05 AM, June 18, and will continue for five consecutive nights in the same time slot. A special program called the "Director's Cut" will air late night Saturday, June 23, at 1:00 AM, right after Saturday Night Live. This show will feature a behind-the-scenes look at the week with highlights and insightful player interviews, and conclude with the winner sitting down with Shana Hiatt to discuss and analyze the match. (www.nbcsports.com/poker)
Hansen, Gus: (Seat 1)
| | - Has won three WPT open titles and was inducted into the inaugural WPT Hall of Fame in 2004
- Lifetime tournament winnings in excess of $4.89 million, and ranks 27th on the all-time money list
|
Benyamine, David: (Seat 2)
| | - Has won one WPT open title and one WPT invitational title
- Lifetime tournament winnings in excess of $1.09 million, and considered one of the world's best cash game players
|
Antonius, Patrik: (Seat 3)
| | - Former male model and tennis player now considered one of the best short-handed cash game players in the world
- Lifetime tournament winnings in excess of $2.19 million
|
Negreanu, Daniel: (Seat 4)
| | - Owns three WSOP bracelets and two WPT titles
- Lifetime tournament winnings in excess of $9.76 million, and ranks 3rd on the all-time money list, 1st on the WPT all-time money list
|
Traniello, Marco: (Seat 5)
| | - Former renowned hair stylist from Italy who achieved 7 cashes in his first World Series of Poker in 2005 and now has a total of 13
- Lifetime tournament winnings in excess of $208,000
|
Booth, Brad: (Seat 6)
| | - Highly regarded by his peers as a premier high-stakes no-limit cash game player who occasionally plays tournaments
- Career tournament winnings in excess of $642,000
|
(Statistical information courtesy of The Hendon Mob player database)
Dennis Oehring is a freelance writer based in Las Vegas and is associated with POKER-PROductions.
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