Towards the end of 2014, the Global Poker Index (GPI) announced plans of launching a Global Poker Masters (GPM) tournament that would bring together teams from different countries which comprise some of the best poker players in the world. The GPI has confirmed that this epic event will take place on the 21st and 22nd of March at the Hilton Hotel, Malta.
The event will be based on a team format and will feature teams from 8 of the top ranked countries based on the GPI ranking system. There is no entry fee for this event as it will be by invitation only. The 8 countries that will feature in the GPM include the UK, USA, Russia, Germany, Italy, France, Ukraine and Canada.
The GPI has confirmed that each team will have a total of 5 team members, the top 4 will be automatically chosen based on their GPI ratings and the 5th player will be a wildcard that will be selected based on an innovative method that the GPI is yet to announce. This is the first time that an event like this is taking place and the GPI wants to heavily promote the event and turn it into one of the most popular events on the poker circuit.
The GPI has plans to live stream the event and is working with a number of technology providers to ensure that coverage is seamless. The event will also be translated into 5 languages and will be streamed with no delays. In a statement, Alex Dreyfus the CEO of the GPI said
There is no buy-in for the event. We want to create an international competition where players are playing for pride, for their country and for the love of the game. The fact that we do not have a buy-in for the event also helps us to connect with non-poker partners as it takes the gambling factor out of the game. The players will join the Masters to play poker, not to gamble their money.
The GPI are working extremely hard to promote and advertise this event as a successful tournament could help Dreyfus achieve his goal of turning poker into a sport. Dreyfus would eventually like to turn this event into a possible world cup of live poker.
Some of the 40 team members that will most likely attend the GPM include Dan Smith, Stephen Chidwick, Ole Schemion, Ami Barer, Eugene Katchalov, Erwann Pecheux, Dario Sammartino and Anatoly Filatov. To find out the full list of participants, please visit the GPI website.
