Events
For the first time in the history of the game there is now an official World Poker Champion. In November 2011 the International Federation of Poker (IFP), along with Mind Sports Partners, hosted the first World Poker Championship, known as “The Table”. It was the climax of four days of competition, starting with the London Mind Sports festival staged in the capsules of the iconic London Eye on the banks of the river Thames.
The festival included contests in all forms of mind sports, including Chess, Go, Xiang qi, Draughts, Bridge and for the first time ever an innovative variant of team poker - Duplicate Poker, used to determine the winner of the 2011 Nations Cup.
The Nations Cup
Duplicate poker removes the element of luck and conforms more to a truly sporting occasion. Rather than competing against those at their table, duplicate poker pitches players against opponents dealt exactly the same cards in exactly the same position on neighbouring tables. The only determining factor in the result of the tournament is how skilfully each player uses them.
The format was used during the inaugural IFP Duplicate Poker Nations Cup, which took place on 17 and 18 November 2011, showcasing poker’s evolution from the out-dated notion of being purely a game of chance.
Players from around the world made up the 12 teams taking part including a team from Zynga Poker, forming the world’s first digital nation.
The initial stages were played in the capsules of the EDF Energy London Eye, before the final six teams then transferred to London’s County Hall where Team Germany was crowned the competitions first winner.
IFP The Table
Known as “The Table”, the IFP World Poker Championship featured 135 players comprising of amateurs, celebrities and some of poker’s biggest names, competing in an invitation-only Texas hold’em tournament for the title of IFP World Poker Champion.
Staged in the Rotunda of London’s County Hall, the first day’s action reduced the field to a final nine players, headed by chip leader Raul Mestre. Joining the Spaniard a day later were Igor Trafane, Sandra Naujoks, Takuo Serita, Kinichi Nakata, Victoria Coren, Slavko Tomic, Marsha Waggoner and Tim Reese, all competing for the $250,000 first prize.
At stake for the final nine players was a share of the $500,000 prize pool.
Ultimately it was Mestre who took first prize and the title of Official World Champion, defeating British player Victoria Coren heads up to conclude a thrilling competition.
The next running of the IFP World Poker Championship will feature several key differences, the principle difference being that, rather than staging an invitation-only competition, the IFP will make The Table open to all players around the world, with qualification starting on the IFPs new online poker software to be launched in early 2012.
Until then, The Table proved to be one of the most memorable poker events of the year, as well as being the most memorable Mind Sports event ever staged.