Where is the 2007 Tournament of Champions?
There are a lot of things being added to this year's World Series: new events, new sponsors, new chips, and new cards, just to name a few. But something else is notable by its absence — the 2007 Tournament of Champions (TOC).
There is no "normal" time of year for the TOC. In its three-year history, it has bounced around the schedule like a second-class sit-com. In fact, almost everything about the TOC has been inconsistent, from the entry requirements to the location to the field size. There have only been three constants:
1. It's an invitation-only freeroll.
2. There's a $2 million prizepool.
3. It's one of the most intriguing tournaments of the year.
Let's refresh our memories with a look back at the past Tournaments of Champions.
2004 TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
Date: September 2, 2004
Location: ? (results were confidential until aired)
# of Players: 10
For the inaugural year of the TOC, ESPN created a single-table sit-n-go with a winner-take-all first prize of $2 million. It was a made-for-TV event held a few months after the WSOP, and the invited players were chosen because they were fan favorites. Although each invitee had won at least one WSOP bracelet, only four of them earned one that year. Here's the breakdown of invited players, how many WSOP bracelets they had won (as of 2004), and the year of their most recent bracelet:
T.J. Cloutier: 5 bracelets (2004)
Daniel Negreanu: 3 bracelets (2004)
Annie Duke: 1 bracelet (2004)
Greg Raymer: 1 bracelet (2004)
Doyle Brunson: 9 bracelets (2003)
Johnny Chan: 9 bracelets (2003)
Phil Hellmuth: 9 bracelets (2003)
Phil Ivey: 4 bracelets (2002)
Chip Reese: 2 bracelets (1982)
Howard Lederer: 2 bracelets (2001)
Clearly, these players were chosen for criteria other than their WSOP performances. Erik Seidel and Men “The Master” Nguyen both had six bracelets, earned as recently as 2003, but didn’t make the cut. Neither did Ted Forrest, who had five bracelets, including two that year.
This tournament was taped in private, and everyone involved had to sign non-disclosure agreements (apparently with hefty financial penalties) to keep the results secret until it aired on ESPN a few weeks later.
The highlight for most fans was watching poker brat Phil Hellmuth finish second to Annie Duke — becoming the only $2 million "bubble boy" in poker history. There was also plenty for fans to talk about, with rumors circulating about possible deals chopping the prize money, and the potential conflicts with brother and sister (Howard Lederer and Annie Duke) playing in the same freeroll. However, Duke reportedly refused to deal, won the event fair and square, and walked away with the full prize and a great story for her book.
2005 TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
Date: November 6-8, 2005
Location: Caesars Palace, Las Vegas
# of Players: 114
For its second year, Harrah's made two big changes. First, they tied entry into the TOC to its new WSOP Circuit tournaments, with invitations going to the top players from each stop on the Circuit, as well as the nine final tablists from the 2005 WSOP Main Event. Second, they spread out the prize money to the top nine players, with half ($1 million) going to first place.
But a controversy stirred with the last-minute announcement of three special invitations for Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, and Phil Hellmuth, who were involved with the ad campaign for the sponsor that contributed the $2 million prizepool (SoBe Adrenaline Rush).
Several players cried foul about the late change to the rules, because there was no mention of so-called "sponsor exemptions" when players were trying to qualify by playing Circuit events. Both Daniel Negreanu and Paul Phillips (neither of whom qualified for the TOC) blogged about the negative change in equity to the other players. (Read Negreanu's arguments here, and Phillips' arguments here.)
Controversy aside, this was a fantastic tournament, and the televised final table (aired by ESPN on Christmas Eve) was one of the highlights of poker's peak years. Mike Matusow and Phil Hellmuth were the chip leaders most of the tournament, and both finished in the top three. While the trash talking was fun to watch, the poker skill on display was incredible. Hellmuth would finish third (earning $250,000), Hoyt Corkins would take second ($325,000), and Matusow would cap poker's greatest story of redemption with a million-dollar victory.
For a more detailed report on this amazing tournament, check out the article I wrote for Card Player.
2006 TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
Date: June 25-26, 2006
Location: Rio Casino, Las Vegas
# of Players: 27
The third year ushered in more changes for the TOC. The event unofficially kicked off the 2006 World Series of Poker, starting at the Rio the day before Event #1. And to avoid the controversy from 2005, it was made clear from the beginning that there would be sponsor exemptions.
There were only 27 players invited, and because it was only seven months after the previous TOC, it included the same nine final tablists from the 2005 WSOP Main Event — giving them free entry into two TOCs. The other seats were filled by the twelve WSOP Circuit Champions and six sponsor exemptions.
Once again, the final nine players would share in the prize money, with $1 million going to first place. The final table featured one of the most interesting lineups of the summer (second only to the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event) — including Gus Hansen, Chris ‘Jesus’ Ferguson, Daniel Negreanu, Mike Matusow, Mike Sexton, Andrew Black, and Darrell ‘Gigabet’ Dicken.
With a good blind structure for the players, the final table was a marathon of poker skill with plenty of post-flop play. It took 7 1/2 hours to play down from ten players to the final three — Daniel Negreanu, Mike Matusow, and Mike Sexton. That's when things got really exciting, with great skill, lots of table talk, and high stakes ($1 million for 1st, $325,000 for 2nd, and $250,000 for 3rd).
Matusow's run at a repeat ended about 11:30 pm, leaving Negreanu and Sexton nearly even in chips to battle heads-up for the title. Amazingly, they would play for another 6 1/2 hours, until Sexton clinched the victory with pocket aces around 6:15 am. (Earl Burton, reporting for PokerNews.com, counted over 500 hands — 300 during heads-up play. Here's a link to his excellent tournament report.) A few days later, Sexton announced that he would donate half of his million-dollar prize to charity, reminding everyone why he deserves the title “the Ambassador of Poker.”
2007 TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
Date: ?
Location: ?
# of Players: ?
In my opinion, the Tournament of Champions is one of the most prestigious tournaments of the year, and I'd nominate the 2005 event as one of the best televised final tables ever. The TOC even has an official video game.
So where is the 2007 Tournament of Champions? Shouldn't we know something by now?
I have no hard facts, but my gut tells me that they failed to find a sponsor willing to contribute the $2 million prizepool. I can't think of any other reason not to have it. ESPN would certainly tape it for broadcast, because it has a better guarantee of a big-name final table than most preliminary events. And there shouldn't have been space or scheduling problems if they were to follow last year's format and use it to kick off the World Series.
Of the three years, I prefer the format from 2006. Holding it right before the WSOP was a great idea, creating a symbolic end to the poker year before starting fresh with Event #1. Ten players weren't enough, but 114 were too many — 27 was just right. (Although I'd prefer fewer sponsor exemptions.)
If potential sponsors balked at the price tag, they should try again with the prizepool dropped to $1 million ($500,000 for first). And if they still couldn't find anyone to step up to the plate, I certainly think Harrah's could donate the $1 million as a show of good faith to the players. Unfortunately, Jeffrey Pollack may not have that kind of pull with the corporate bean counters.
While my instinct blames the lack of sponsorship, there's a little voice in the back of my head that tells me if they really wanted it, they'd have found a way to make it happen. So there may be something else that I'm not taking into account.
I'm going to do some digging and see what I can find out. Hopefully we haven't heard the last of the TOC, because it would be a shame to lose such a prestigious poker tournament.
2007 Tournament of Champions?
Saturday, March 31, 2007
