Phil Hellmuth will be one of the participants in the star-studded King of the Hill poker tournament presented by Poker Night in America.
The heads-up tournament will take place on August 22-23 and the brand new Rivers Casino & Resort in Schenectady, New York will happily play host to it. As announced by organizers, the event’s field will feature four players only, those being Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Cates, Doug Polk, and Frank Kassela, also known to be some of poker’s top names.
Each of the four participants will pay a $50,000 buy-in for the right to clash against their fellow poker stars in what will be a winner-takes-all battle.
The tournament will kick off at 3 pm local time on August 22 with the first of two heads-up matches. The second one is set to begin on 8 pm local time. They will both be broadcast with a 30-minute delay on Poker Night in America’s Twitch channel. The final is set for 5 pm local time on August 23. Everyone interested will be able to tune in and watch that concluding heads-up match on Twitch.
There is still no information about whom each of the players will play against in the semi-final matches. What we know so far is that the tournament will be a freezeout, the winner will take $200,000 in prize money for the two days of play, and that the broadcast will show the hole cards, thanks to the 30-minute delay.
While Hellmuth is a player everyone in the poker community is familiar with, it is always nice to remind that he is the record-holder for the most gold bracelets won in WSOP’s history with his 14 pieces. What is more, he was the 1989 WSOP Main Event Champion.
The heads-up poker format is one Hellmuth feels comfortable with. In 2005, the player won NBC’s first-ever National Heads-Up Championship. In 2015, the player finished runner-up to Mike Matusow in that year’s edition of the championship.
Doug Polk and Daniel Cates are also well-known for their experience in heads-up poker. They are actually recognized as two of the world’s best and most feared heads-up experts. The two players are well-accomplished on both the live and online poker scenes, boasting millions of dollars in earnings.
Last but not least, Frank Kassela has over the years established himself as one of the most versatile poker professionals. He has won three WSOP gold bracelets in three different formats – Seven Card Stud, Razz, and 2-7 Lowball Draw.
The King of the Hill tournament will be followed by two-day cash games on August 24-25. It has been revealed that these will be invite-only, but it is still unknown who will participate in them. However, there will certainly be familiar faces among the players. The cash games are set to begin at 3 pm local time and will be broadcast from 3:30 pm with a 30-minute delay.
