Team America Loses to Team Europe in 1st Caeser's Cup

Poker News - October 2nd, 2009 - Written by Glen

The first annual Caeser's Cup has come and gone, leaving disappointment on the side of the American team. The Cup consisted of Heads-up and two-on-two matches between two teams of eight players, all fighting for bragging rights in what will soon be a televised event.

Team America consisted of Daniel Negreanu, team captain, Doyle Brunson, sponsor of Doyle's Room and 10 time WSOP bracelet winner, Phill Hellmuth, sponsor of UltimateBet and 11 time WSOP bracelet winner, Phil Ivey, of Full Tilt and multiple bracelet winner, as well as Huck Seed, John Juanda, Jennifer Harman, and Barry Greenstein. The European Crew, spearheaded by Annette Obrestad, toted Ilari Sahamias, Peter Eastgate, Patrik Antonious, Gus Hansen, John Harvey, Dario Minieri, and Bertrand Grospellier. The European team out played the American team, thus sending him home the losers in a 4-1 series.

The two-on-two matches were played in a unique fashion. The first player of the team would hold the cards prior to the flop, but after the flop hit, the cards would goto the second. The player who held the cards was responsible for the action, and many of these tournaments ran very short, some as low as twenty minutes.

Throughout the evening, the American players were met with bad beats, hard luck, and failure. In the first event, Antonious and Samahias sent the current WSOP main event finalist, Phil Ivey, and Huck Seed packing. The second win was also one for Team Europe, as a pair of aces couldn't stand up to the Wheel that Team Europe had acquired. The third event put Jennifer Harmon and Doyle Brunson at the table, this time besting the European team with a string of good luck. The fourth two-on-two match was the shortest of the night, lasting barely twenty minutes until Europe had bested America once more. Gus Hansen and Peter Eastgate obliterated Team America, represented by John Juanda and Barry Greenstein.

The fifth and final match was a heads-up competition between Huck Seed and Obrestad herself. Seed's A-3 would end up losing to an all in pot, won by A-7 from Obrestad.

The Caeser's Cup will film on ESPN sometime in February 2010, allowing fans from around the world to relive the action between some of the biggest names in poker. Unfortunate as it is for USA players to watch our beloved poker pros go down, it is comforting to know that we will once again have a chance come next year.

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