PokerStars World Cup of Poker VI: Croatia Leads Going to Final Table
Preliminary rounds for the World Cup of Poker VI wrapped up at the Atlantis Hotel and Resort in The Bahamas Tuesday night. The venture began with 54 teams vying for the title, but only nine made their way to the Caribbean to participate in the final that was held during the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.
The nine teams that made it to the finals represented the countries of Canada, Chile, Chinese Taipei, Croatia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Norway and the United States. Each team consisted of five players.
The event began with three types preliminary events in the first round: nine-handed, six-handed and four-handed. No table held more than one participant from the same country and points were awarded based on finish. After play ended on Monday, here's how the teams scored.
1st: Croatia - 95 points
2nd: Norway - 93 points
3rd: Canada - 85 points
4th: Chinese Taipei - 84 points
5th: Chile - 83 points
6th: Finland - 82 points
7th: USA - 79 points
8th: Germany - 77 points
9th: Italy - 71 points
The next round of play was scheduled as one-on-one heads-up battles between each country's captains. Using the scoreboard from the first round to determine the seeds, the matches were as follows.
Norway (2nd) vs. Italy (9th)
Canada (3rd) vs Germany (8th)
Chinese Taipei (4th) vs USA (7th)
Chile (5th) vs Finland (6th)
Croatia earned a bye in the second round because they came out on top of the first round with the most points. In the second round of play, the higher seed was to determine who plays who from each team while the lower seed picked the order of play. This round of play would determine the amount of chips each team started with at the final table based on the scoring system below, which will also be added to the point totals from the first round of play. Remember, Croatia already locked up the first slot because of its win in the first round.
Each individual win - 5 points
Overall team victory - 10 points
Complete five-match sweep - 15 points
Each team's finish on the scoreboard will then be used to determine how many chips the team will receive to start the final. The top spot (Croatia) will be awarded 100,000 chips to be divided amongst its team members. Each spot from there on down the leaderboard will receive 10,000 fewer chips, with the last-place team getting 20,000. After everything was said on done for the second round, here's how the teams finished up.
1st: Croatia (100,000 chips, 20,000 per player)
2nd: Finland - (90,000 chips, 18,000 per player)
3rd: Canada - (80,000 chips, 16,000 per player)
4th: Chinese Taipei - (70,000 chips, 14,000 per player)
5th: Norway - (60,000 chips, 12,000 per player)
6th: Italy - (50,000 chips, 10,000 per player)
7th: USA - (40,000 chips, 8,000 per player)
8th: Germany - (30,000 chips, 6,000 per player)
9th: Chile - (20,000 chips, 4,000 per player)
As you can see, there was some movement in how the teams placed as compared to the first round. Norway went from second to fifth, Chile dropped from fifth to ninth, Finland shot up from sixth to second and Italy went from the bottom in ninth to sixth.
From here, things get a little tricky. Here are the rules about how the final table will play out from PokerStars.
"Each team will submit a team sheet, detailing the order in which each player will appear. Team members will then play for one orbit at the final table, with a new team member being substituted in at the start of every new orbit. Each new player to the table will then add their share of the chips to whatever stack exists from the player before them. Should a player bust out during an orbit, the next member of their team will come to the table to play on with their own share of the team’s starting chip stack.
"After all team members have played an orbit, each team can substitute any new player they wish, but no more than one substitution can be made per orbit. Once a player busts out, they’re gone for good.
"After all team members have played an orbit, each team can substitute any new player they wish, but no more than one substitution can be made per orbit. Once a player busts out, they’re gone for good."
The final table will be played on Wednesday, with all nine countries vying for the championship. First place is worth $100,000 for the winning team, while each is already guaranteed $5,000.
For more information on the PokerStars World Cup of Poker VI, check out the event's information page.
