Taking place during EPT Malta on March 21-22 the inaugural Global Poker Masters will see the top eight most successful nations on the GPI compete against each other in a freeroll.
That means the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Russia, France, Italy and Ukraine will all be represented in the team-based event.
Bryn Kenney, Stephen Chidwick, Ole Schemion, Mike McDonald, Anatoly Filatov, Fabrice Soulier, Dario Summartino and Eugene Katchalov are just a handful of the players who have been invited.
Global Poker Masters Looks to Attract Sponsors
The Global Poker Masters, which has been nicknamed the World Cup of Poker, is part of the GPI’s continuing efforts to “sportify” poker, according to GPI CEO Alexandre Dreyfus:
“GPI’s goal is to sportify the game of poker and the presentation of this innovative event will go a long way towards accomplishing that goal,” he said.
“There is no buy-in for the event, we want to create an international competition where players are playing for pride, country and for the love of the game in hopes to showcase the game’s best.
"Through the GPI, it will create a solid platform for poker to be promoted through new distribution channels and mainstream partners.”
The exact format of the event is still being determined but it will be a series of Sit & Go's on the first day, heads-up on Day 2 and then end with a six-player final table.
Here’s a look at the roster as it currently stands (Bryn Kenney replaces Dan Colman, who already declined his invitation):
TEAM USA
Dan Smith (GPI#2)
Daniel Colman (GPI#5, National Player of the Year)
Pratyush Buddiga (GPI#6)
Jacob Schindler (GPI#7)
TEAM UNITED KINGDOM
Stephen Chidwick (GPI#11)
Jack Salter (GPI#29)
Simon Deadman (GPI#34)
Oliver Price (GPI#36, National Player of the Year)
TEAM GERMANY
Ole Schemion (GPI#1, National Player of the Year)
Marvin Rettenmaier (GPI#25)
Martin Finger (GPI#46)
George Danzer (GPI#48)
TEAM CANADA
Ami Barer (GPI#4, National Player of the Year)
Sorel Mizzi (GPI#13)
Mike McDonald (GPI#16)
Andrew Chen (GPI#21)
TEAM RUSSIA
Anatoly Filatov (GPI#32, National Player of the Year)
Vladimir Troyanovskiy (GPI#55)
Ivan Soshnikov (GPI#63)
Vitaly Lunkin (GPI#77)
TEAM FRANCE
Erwann Pecheux (GPI#59, National Player of the Year)
Benjamin Pollak (GPI#61)
Sylvain Loosli (GPI#155)
Fabrice Soulier (GPI#174)
TEAM ITALY
Dario Sammartino (GPI#17)
Mustapha Kanit (GPI#41, National Player of the Year)
Andrea Dato (GPI#54)
Giuliano Bendinelli (GPI#170)
TEAM UKRAINE
Eugene Katchalov (GPI#53, National Player of the Year)
Oleksandr Gnatenko (GPI#207)
Artem Metalidi (GPI#218)
Oleksii Khoroshenin (GPI#283)
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