Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Onyx Cup - High Stakes Tournament Series Launched by Full Tilt Poker

Onyx Cup - High Stakes Tournament Series Launched by Full Tilt Poker

Recently, Full Tilt Poker announced that it was set to launch the Onyx Cup series. This will bring together elite poker players and provide them with the opportunity to go up against each other in a series of six tournaments. The high stakes no limit Hold’em events will comprise of five preliminary rounds and a grand finale.

The buy-ins in the series will be among the highest the game has ever seen. This will range between $100,000 and $300,000 and the grand finale itself will have a buy-in of $250,000. The prize pool is estimated to be around $3,000,000 and the finals will see an addition of close to a million to this. The tournament is open to all and will take place in Asia, Europe and the United States. The series will be broadcast to 40 countries in over 20 languages.

What Team Full Tilt Has to Say about the Onyx Cup

In a discussion on the Onyx cup series were five members from Team Full Tilt. One was Phil Ivey, who is considered by many in the poker circuit to be the best poker player in the world. He has won all poker variations that can be played both online and in land based poker rooms. Next was Patrik Antonius who has earned 3 million in tournament winnings. He is also well-known as a skilled cash game player.

Gus Hansen who has won several tournaments featuring high buy-ins too was part of the discussion. He has won WPT titles in addition to a bracelet. Also present was Eric Seidel, a professional poker player has been on a successful run in high stakes games in 2011 alone. Tom Dwan a high stakes player who is considered one of the most creative and unpredictable player in the game too was in the discussion.

When asked whether the players were charged about the fact that playing in the game alone could cost close to a million dollars, these members from Team Full Tilt gave positive responses. Phil Ivey added that the tournament is not just about the money, it is about playing against those of high calibre. He stated that winning the event will bring with it a sense of pride that can be more valuable than the prize money.

The players were then asked about their opinion on whether the launch of the Onyx Cup was a surprise or expected. Patrik Antonius responded that the creation of such a series was bound to happen. According to him, poker had been running the same cycle for long - and it had to change. Eric Seidel said that the formation of such a series was a natural progression for the game. He added that Full Tilt Poker is the only organization capable of launching a series where the best players in the world could come together.

When asked whether players would face the additional pressure of performing in a series like the Onyx Cup, Gus Hansen stated that the game always brings with it a certain amount of pressure. According to him, there are few players who can rise above it and perform. He added that players like Phil Ivey, Eric Seidel, Patrik Antonius and Tom Dwan were capable of doing so – which is why they are a part of the series.