The much-awaited Global Poker League held its draft on February 25 where the 12 teams picked four players each from a pool of over 200 players. Two of the franchisees, Rome Emperors and Montreal Nationals stood out after they succeeded in selected some great players.
Rome Emperors is managed by Max Pescatori, a top poker pro with $4,176,786 in live tournament winnings, placing him second on the Italian all-time money list. He has so far won four World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets. His first pick was Mustapha Kanit which was expected given his spectacular track record in both online and live poker events.
He currently tops the Italian all-time money list with $6,065,335 in winnings in live tournaments and over $4,250,000 in online winnings. The next member chosen was Dario Sammartino, a regular on the European Poker Tour (EPT) and ranked fourth on the Italian all-time money list with $3,266,924 in winnings.
Global Poker Index: Draft Show – February 25 2016
The third selection was that of Timothy Adams, the only non-Italian on the team. The Canadian has live winnings of $2,676,915 and online poker winnings of $1,407,249. He has also won a WSOP gold bracelet. The final pick was an Italian again, Walter Treccarichi. He recently had a major win at the $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em Six-Max Shot Clock event, winning an Aussie Millions ring and taking home winnings of AU$113,118. His career live tournament winnings are $819,053, putting him at the 28th place on the Italian all-time money list. Pescatori is expected to pick himself as one of the two wildcard slots.
Canada’s Montreal Nationals is managed by Marc-Andre Ladouceur. With winnings of $1,704,748 in live tournament and $1,072,854 in online, Ladouceur is also expected to pick himself as a wildcard entry.
In his first turn, Ladouceur decided to go for Mike McDonald. Placed third on the Canadian all-time-money list with earnings of $12,981,820, McDonald has an impressive track record holding the title of the youngest-ever winner of an EPT Main Event after winning the EPT Dortmund title at 18.
The 2014 WSOP Main Event champion Martin Jacobson was Ladouceur’s subsequent choice and is likely to bring in Swedish fans. Pascal LeFrancois was next to join the team.
LeFrancois has live tournament winnings of $2,577,792, which includes a 10th place finish in 2010 WSOP Main Event and a win in the $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em event at the 2010 WSOP.
The last selection was of Xuan Liu, the team’s sole female member who has more than $1,600,000 in live tournament winnings and over $610,000 in online winnings. Liu is already well-known after having participated in the Girl Got Game poker TV show. These two teams will be strong contenders to make the semi-finals of the GPL.
