2015 Global Poker Masters Team Profiles: Russia and U.K.
This Saturday, the first edition of the Global Poker Masters (GPM) will begin. The event is deemed the "World Cup of Poker" and will see eight national teams compete against one another in a very uniquely formatted event. Each nation will be battling for the right to be crowned poker's world champion.
Taking place March 21-22, the event will be promoted and broadcasted live on Twitch. Saturday, March 21 will see the first five rounds of action play out before the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals take place on Sunday, March 22. Not only will you be able to watch the event live on Twitch, but PokerNews will be providing live coverage from the tournament floor.
For complete GPM schedule information, visit the event's website.
The eight teams involved are from Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, U.K., Ukraine, and the U.S. Each team will consist of five players, and over the course of the next few days leading up to the event, PokerNews will take a look at each one of the nations involved. On Tuesday, we profiled Team Canada and Team Germany, and then on Wednesday we looked at Team France and Team Italy. Now, we'll move to Team Russia and Team U.K.
Team Russia
| Player | Lifetime Earnings | Current GPI Score | GPI Ranking | GPI National Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vladimir Troyanovskiy | $3,388,338 | 2,875.13 | 35 | 1 |
| Ivan Soshnikov | $1,425,364 | 2,795.42 | 42 | 2 |
| Alex Bilokur | $3,407,933 | 2,252.39 | 106 | 3 |
| Anatoly Filatov | $1,289,525 | 2,217.82 | 115 | 6 |
| Vitaly Lunkin | $6,166,727 | 1,885.91 | 176 | 11 |
Team Russia looks very tough on paper. They've got a solid mix of players that have plenty of accolades to back up their play. Match their experience with on-the-felt toughness, and Russia seems poised to really contend for the first GPM title.
Confidence always plays a big part in a poker player's game. Vladimir Troyanovskiy can be considered the team's leader, and he's coming off some nice results from the European Poker Tour Deauville festival. First, he won the FPS High Roller for €141,000, and then he cashed in the EPT Deauville Main Event and the €10,300 High Roller. Ivan Soshnikov is coming off a deep run in the World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic, so he will likely be in form as well.
The other three could be the achilles heel for Russia, as Alex Bilokur, Anatoly Filatov, and Vitaly Lunkin have been blanking as of late. Even so, these three players know how to buckle down and take every event they play very seriously — especially Bilokur and Lunkin. It's rare that these two play an event without giving it their all, and we can expect much more of that on Saturday at the GPM.
Team U.K.
| Player | Lifetime Earnings | Current GPI Score | GPI Ranking | GPI National Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Salter | $2,268,043 | 2,993.63 | 22 | 2 |
| Oliver Price | $1,329,857 | 2,927.83 | 30 | 3 |
| Simon Deadman | $1,865,641 | 2,778.27 | 43 | 4 |
| Louis Salter | $588,634 | 1,937.51 | 157 | 13 |
| Sam Trickett | $20,552,960 | 1,905.67 | 164 | 15 |
We just cited confidence as a big factor for poker players and something that plays a pivotal role in current success. Team U.K.'s Jack Salter should have plenty of confidence right now after recording two final tables at the 2015 Aussie Millions and then finishing fifth in the L.A. Poker Classic $50,000 Turbo High Roller. His brother, Louis Salter, is slowly following in his footsteps and we're sure they will be a tough tandem to deal with for the other countries.
Another tough and talented player from the U.K. will be Oliver Price, and he's also been on some good form as of late. Simon Deadman has been quiet recently, but he's a solid player in his own right who should take this event seriously and bring his best to the table. Sam Trickett could likely be the complete opposite.
Over the years, Trickett has put up many big results, but it goes without question that his heart must be in it. If it's not and he doesn't care too much on that particular day, he could be off to the rail very early. He also recently tweeted about coming down with a fever, and that could play into how well he's able to perform.
One thing is for sure, though, and that's U.K.'s pride in their country. Knowing how much they want to compete well on all international stages around the world should help bring this team together.
In the coming days, we'll be going through the rest of the teams for the first-ever GPM. Tomorrow we'll take a look at Team Ukraine and Team U.S., so keep it locked right here to PokerNews.
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