Mercier and Reinkemeier Enter PartyPoker Premier League VI; Live Stream Begins March 17
The PartyPoker Premier League VI is just days away, and organizers have added a new element to make the event even more exciting for viewers. On Wednesday, PartyPoker announced that the $125,000 buy-in Premier League will be streamed live on the Internet for the first time in the event’s history.
Complete with hole cards, commentary and interactive competitions, the live stream will kick off at 7 p.m. GMT on Sunday, March 17, covering all heats through March 21, before the final rounds reconvene on March 23.
“The fact that the PartyPoker.com Premier League VI is going to be streamed on the Internet this year is a new realm for the event,” said Premier League commentator Jesse May. “It’s an immersion. It is twelve hours of poker a day for a week of these superstars only playing amongst themselves. I don’t recall something like this ever having been done.”
Also announced on Wednesday was the addition of Jason Mercier and Tobias Reinkemeier to this year’s superstar Premier League cast. Both players are new to the competition but offer a wealth of experience and success with more than $13 million in lifetime tournament earnings between them.
Mercier has been playing nonstop this year, hoping to erase the downswing that plagued him in 2012. Early last month he revealed that 2012 was his first losing year as a professional player. He pledged to earn a profit of at least $1 million in 2013. A Premier League title and payday of $500,000 would get him halfway there.
"It's really cool to be selected alongside Daniel [Negreanu] and Jonathan [Duhamel] to compete against the best players in the world," Mercier told PokerNews on Thursday. "It's exciting to be a part of an exclusive group of 16 players, and to represent PokerStars in the process. Hopefully I can finish in first, and Daniel and Jonathan can take second and third."
Reinkemeier, meanwhile, has already thrived in several big buy-in events this year, finishing runner-up in the Aussie Millions $250,000 Challenge in February for $1.3 million, and final tabling the $25,000 High Roller event at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure for $129,940. As a constant fixture in high roller events, Reinkemeier shouldn't have a problem mixing it up with world’s top players in Premier League VI.
With 15 players locked in for the event at Aspers Casino in London, one more spot is left to fill. Who will it be? We'll have the final entrant for you as soon as an announcement is made.
Here’s a look at the PartyPoker Premier League VI lineup so far:
| Sam Trickett | Phil Hellmuth | Daniel Negreanu | Antonio Esfandiari |
| Phil Laak | Jennifer Tilly | Tony G | Scott Seiver |
| Dan Cates | Luke Schwartz | Marvin Rettenmaier | Dan Shak |
| Jonathan Duhamel | Jason Mercier | Tobias Reinkemeier | ??? |
For more, check out the PartyPoker Blog.
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