FULL EUROPEAN CASH GAME 2 REPORT AT POKERCHANNELEUROPE.COM/ECG

Despite being billed ‘a fish’ by other players, it was Sammy George who won series 2 of the PokerHeaven.com European Cash Game after joining the table late in the day. He managed to outplay some of the most respected players in the game, and reverse the pain of his early exit and heavy losses in last year’s event.

The game saw some of Europe’s best and emerging talent compete with a minimum chip stack of €10,000. Early on it was former champion Eric Liu and Andy Black whose battles dominated the table, but it was Sammy George who triumphed in the end.

Sammy George
Credit: James Lyndsay

10 countries were represented, and 11 players joined the table over the course of 12 hours at the Hospital Studios in Central London: Ricardo Sousa, Bruno Fitoussi, Andy Black, Leo Margets, Eric Liu, Francois Balmigere, Andrew Feldman, Sammy George, Simon Munz, Andreas Hoivold, and Jens Kyllonen. For the 8 players at the table at the end of the night, the final standings were:

Sammy George €44,075 (€+24,075)
Sion Munz €22,550 (€+12,550)
Andy Black €21,275 (€+11,275)
Jens Kyllonen €20,725 (€+10,725)
Francois Balmigere €11,275 (€-3,775)
Andrew Feldman €23,100 (€-6,900)
Eric Liu €22,575 (€-17,425)
Ricardo Sousa €6,950 (€-23,050)

Leo Margets left the table earlier in the evening, in profit, garnering praise for some well-timed play, while Bruno Fitoussi and Andreas Hoivold posted losses.

7 x 1 hour TV episodes will premiere exclusively on The Poker Channel every Friday at 2200 CET from 9 October, to over 17m TV homes in 20 countries. Full broadcast details, player interviews and TV previews are available at http://www.pokerchanneleurope.com/ecg.

Each episode will also be available in full on pokerchanneleurope.com a day after the TV broadcast.

The Pokerheaven European Cash Game Series 1 line-up included WSOP 2008 winner, Peter Eastgate, Andy Black, Neil Channing and Cardrunners instructor, Eric Liu, the eventual winner of the event. Series 1 has been broadcast in over 40 countries, in multiple languages, and reached over 100m TV homes in Europe. The Producer of series 1 and series 2 is Emblaze Productions, whose credits include The Million Dollar Cash Game and The Million Pound Challenge.

Andy Black

  • Born 1965 – Belfast, Northern Ireland
  • While studying for a law degree he started playing poker
  • Knocked out of the 1997 WSOP Main Event by eventual winner Stu Ungar
  • Lived as a monk for five years
  • Highest WSOP main event finish was 5th in 2005
  • Tournament winnings total more than $4.1 million
  • 16 wsop cash finishes totalling $2,189,351

Leo Margets

  • Full name Leonor Margets-Perez
  • From Barcelona
  • Last woman standing at the 2009 WSOP Main Event finishing in 27th place
  • All time earnings – $375,264
  • 2009 only her second year as a pro and she has earned $372,993 this year alone.

Bruno Fitoussi

  • President of VIP-Gaming
  • From Paris
  • Tournament winnings – $ 2,355,383
  • 3rd on Frances all time money list for poker players
  • Finished 15th in 2003 WSOP main Event
  • In woo1 he won the world heads up championship beating Amarillo Slim to take the title
  • He also works as an architect

Jens Kyllonen

  • From Helsinki
  • Started playing poker fulltime once he completed his army national service
  • In February 2009 he won the Pokerstars EPT Scandinavian Open, Copenhagen taking home $ 1,120,815
  • $1,253,250 total winnings

Sammy George

  • Nickname “any two” as he will literally play any two cards
  • $43,245 Tournament winnings
  • Will take on Tom Durrr Dwan in a heads up challenge soon

More player profiles coming soon

Season 2 of the PokerHeaven.com European Cash Game premieres on The Poker Channel in October 2009 but you can watch the whole event EXCLUSIVELY LIVE online. Join us on Monday 14th September from 1200 BST/1300 CET for live uninterupted coverage of season 2.

Watch Season 2 of the European Cash Game.

Player line-up*

  • Jens Kyllonen – Finland
  • Andy Black – Northern Ireland
  • Eric Liu – USA
  • Leo Margets – Spain
  • Ricardo Sousa – Portugal
  • Andreas Hoivold – Norway
  • Bruno Fitoussi – France
  • Simon Munz – Germany
  • Ludovic Laclay – France

*Full list of players to be confirmed.

The PokerHeaven.com European Cash Game has its World Exclusive Premiere on The Poker Channel starting on Friday 19th December 2008 at 2300 (CET) across Europe and 11pm (GMT) in the UK and Eire. Featuring 2008 World Series of Poker Champion: Peter Eastgate, Andy Black, 2008 Irish Open Winner: Neil Channing, EPT London Finalist Eric Liu and many more…

PokerChannelEurope.com users can catch an exclusive extended preview of every episode every Thursday and if you miss the premiere of the programme on The Poker Channel then you can watch every episode in full each Saturday following the premiere on the TV channel. Full details are found below.

Show 1

Extended Preview from 18/12/2008

Premiere on The Poker Channel 19/12/2008 at 2300 CET and 11pm GMT

Full Episode on PokerChannelEurope.com from 20/12/2008

Show 2

Extended Preview from 25/12/2008

Premiere on The Poker Channel 26/12/2008 at 2300 CET and 11pm GMT

Full Episode on PokerChannelEurope.com from 27/12/2008

Show 3

Extended Preview from 01/01/2009

Premiere on The Poker Channel 02/01/2009 at 2300 CET and 11pm GMT

Full Episode on PokerChannelEurope.com from 03/01/2009

Show 4

Extended Preview from 08/01/2009

Premiere on The Poker Channel 09/01/2009 at 2300 CET and 11pm GMT

Full Episode on PokerChannelEurope.com from 10/01/2009

Show 5

Extended Preview from 15/01/2009

Premiere on The Poker Channel 16/01/2009 at 2300 CET and 11pm GMT

Full Episode on PokerChannelEurope.com from 17/01/2009

Show 6

Extended Preview from 22/01/2009

Premiere on The Poker Channel 23/01/2009 at 2300 CET and 11pm GMT

Full Episode on PokerChannelEurope.com from 24/01/2009

Show 7

Extended Preview from 29/01/2009

Premiere on The Poker Channel 30/01/2009 at 2300 CET and 11pm GMT

Full Episode on PokerChannelEurope.com from 31/01/2009

Watch the episodes online or find out what channel Poker Channel Europe broadcasts on in your area on the official poker channel european cash game page.

PokerHeaven.com’s European Cash Game will be shown on the following channels -

The Poker Channel – 19th December 2008 – 23:00

Each episode premieres on The Poker Channel, 2300 every Friday starting 19 December 2008.
The Poker Channel is Europe’s largest dedicated gaming TV network and broadcasts to more than 15 million cable and satellite homes in France, Germany, UK, Ireland, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Malta, Greece and Switzerland. For further info on how to receive The Poker Channel go to: www.pokerchanneleurope.com

Each episode will be repeated across Europe from January. Broadcasters include:

Prima TV, Romania – every Friday from 9 January 2009 – 00:30

One of the most popular television stations in Romania, Prima TV has a youthful image and a reputation for broadcasting top-quality programming. Prima TV brings good humor, Romanian-reality, popular culture and lifestyle programming into your home. www.primatv.ro

ESPN Classic – every Thursday from 2 January 2009 at 23:30

ESPN Classic Sport broadcast in 40 European countries and is devoted to connecting today’s fans to the timeless elements of sport by airing the greatest games, moments, stories and personalities in sports history.

CNBC – End January 2009

Consumer News and Business Channel is a cable and satellite television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBC Universal.

Check back for the latest updates on when you can watch the European Cash Game on TV, more broadcast details will be added regularly.