World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions
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The World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions is an invitational freeroll poker event.
The first event happened on 1 September 2004 with invitations only being extended to some of the most well-known names on the poker tournament circuit.
It is now an annual freeroll tournament with players able to qualify by being one of the top 18 finishers of any World Series of Poker (WSOP) circuit events (held before the actual WSOP) or by reaching the final table of the WSOP $10,000 No Limit Hold 'Em Main Event. In 2005, the first year of this format, controversy erupted when big-name players Phil Hellmuth Jr, Doyle Brunson, and Johnny Chan, all former Main Event champions and the three players with the most overall World Series bracelets, were able to compete in the Tournament of Champions without qualifying. These players were given sponsor's exemptions by Pepsi, who put up the $2 million prize pool. Despite public protests from other players (particularly Daniel Negreanu and Paul Phillips), ESPN and Harrah's Entertainment had no choice but to allow these players to compete; Hellmuth would end up finishing third, while Chan and Brunson just missed the final table, coming in 13th and 10th, respectively (both were knocked out by Brandon Adams, who would be eliminated from the final table first). From 2006 onward, Harrah's will reserve the right to let in up to 6 players via sponsor's exemptions.
Wins in this event do not count as official WSOP bracelets, but the winner receives a large trophy in the shape of the official World Series of Poker logo.
Contents |
[edit] 2004
The winner took home a $2,000,000 prize. No other participants received prize money.
Position | Competitor |
---|---|
1st | Annie Duke |
2nd | Phil Hellmuth Jr. |
3rd | Howard Lederer |
4th | Johnny Chan |
5th | Greg Raymer |
6th | Doyle Brunson |
7th | Daniel Negreanu |
8th | Phil Ivey |
9th | T. J. Cloutier |
10th | David "Chip" Reese |
[edit] 2005
The 2005 event took place between November 6 and November 8 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
Position | Competitor | Prize |
---|---|---|
1st | Mike Matusow | $1,000,000 |
2nd | Hoyt Corkins | $325,000 |
3rd | Phil Hellmuth Jr. | $250,000 |
4th | Tony Bloom | $150,000 |
5th | Steve Dannenmann | $100,000 |
6th | Grant Lang | $75,000 |
7th | David Levi | $50,000 |
8th | Keith Sexton | $25,000 |
9th | Brandon Adams | $25,000 |
[edit] 2006
The 2006 field of twenty-seven players included the 9 players who made the final table of the 2005 WSOP main event, the winners of the 11 WSOP Circuit events in the preceding calendar year, and some sponsor exemptions.
[edit] Final table
Position | Competitor | Prize |
---|---|---|
1st | Mike Sexton | $1,000,000 |
2nd | Daniel Negreanu | $325,000 |
3rd | Mike Matusow | $250,000 |
4th | Chris Reslock | $150,000 |
5th | Andrew Black | $100,000 |
6th | Darrell Dicken | $75,000 |
7th | Chris Ferguson | $50,000 |
8th | Thang "Kido" Pham | $25,000 |
9th | Daniel Bergsdorf | $25,000 |
[edit] Other qualifiers and invitees
[edit] 2005 WSOP Main Event Final Table Players
- Joe Hachem
- Steve Dannenmann
- John "Tex" Barch
- Aaron Kanter
- Scott Lazar
- Brad Kondracki
[edit] WSOP Circuit Event Winners
- Gregg Merkow (Grand Casino Tunica)
- Vinnie Vinh (Caesars Indiana)
- Abraham Korotki (Harrah's Atlantic City)
- Jeffrey King (Caesars Atlantic City)
- John Spadavecchia (Caesars Palace)
- Peter Feldman (Harrah's New Orleans)
- Clint Baskin (Harrah's Lake Tahoe)
[edit] Sponsor Exemptions
- Phil Hellmuth
- Doyle Brunson
- Gus Hansen
- Mike O'Malley
- Sarah Strom (contest winner)
[edit] External links
- Article on 2005 event by Daniel Negreanu
- Entry on 2005 event from Paul Phillips' blog
- Veni, Vidi, Vici! (coverage of 2005 event)
Major poker tournaments |
World Series of Poker ('70 - '71 - '72 - '73 - '74 - '75 - '76 - '77 - '78 - '79 - '80 - '81 - '82 - '83 - '84 - '85 - '86 - '87 - '88 - '89 - '90 - '91 - '92 - '93 - '94 - '95 - '96 - '97 - '98 - '99 - '00 - '01 - '02 - '03 - '04 - '05 - '06 - '07 – Circuit – TOC) |
World Poker Tour (1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5) --- European Poker Tour (1 - 2) --- Late Night Poker (1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6) |
Professional Poker Tour --- Poker Million --- Poker Superstars (1 - 2 - 3) --- Poker Nations Cup |
World Heads-Up --- National Heads-Up --- Ultimate Poker Challenge (1 - 2 - 3) --- VC Cup --- Grand Prix |