Unibet Matches Poker with Football at Celtic Park
The Unibet Open has been around since 2007 and provides not only a lot of poker action, but also a very fun and friendly player experience. This year, Unibet decided to tackle a unique new location, as their first-ever event in Scotland will be hosted at Celtic Park.
For those unfamiliar with European football, Celtic Park is Celtic F.C.'s legendary stadium built in 1892 and holds up to 60,355 fans. The special "Unibet Sports Legends Challenge" could therefore not be more fitting, and we spoke to Head of Events Nataly Sopacuaperu, who's eagerly awaiting this star-studded,sit-and-go matchup.
"We believed hosting a poker tournament at one of Europe's premier football stadiums would be the perfect opportunity to host a sit-and-go with some great sports personalities," Sopacuaperu said. "They have the discipline and drive to win, and with the stadium as a back drop we think this will be some exciting poker action."
Celtic Park, together with Glasgow Rangers' Ibrox Stadium, hosts arguably the biggest rivalry in all of professional sports when the Rangers and Celtic meet, and players from both sides of this derby are represented in the live-streamed sit and go.
On Saturday, June 6, former Dutch international and Rangers defender, Arthur Numan will face off against former Celtic striker Tony Cascarino. Cascarino also played for the Irish national team, and he's by far the most experienced player in this line-up, and the betting favorite on Unibet. Back in 2009, Cascarino won the Grosvenor Poker Tour Grand Final for £168,800, and he has three cashes in the EPT London Main Event as well.
If you're interested in betting on this event, Cascarino comes in at 3-1, while Numan has the longest odds at 16-1. The other participants are Newcastle United star Rob Lee, Chelsea favorite Pat Nevin, Danish star Kenneth Perez, Martijn Reuser, Tommie van der Leegte, and former England cricketer Graeme Swann.
"Unlike your usual poker stream, this will be a special event to follow, as we will have hole cards up throughout the sit-and-go, and we're expecting to see lots of friendly banter at the table," Sopacuaperu said, in anticipation of this celebrity invitational.
The event will be live-streamed on Unibet Poker's YouTube and Twitch channels starting at 3:30 p.m. CET (9:30 a.m. ET). The winner of the Sports Legends Challenge gets a full package for Unibet's next big live event in Cannes that runs Sept. 17-20.
"Besides the featured sit-and-go we also have another exciting Main Event with a €1,100 buy in, which will also be live streamed with hole cards up on all four days, from June 6-9," Sopacuaperu added, as Day 1a live-streaming coverage will start at the completion of the Sports Legend Sit-and-Go.
"The Saturday will be jam-packed with action, as we're also organizing the Live Betting Championship for our 10 finalists that have qualified online, there's a viewing party for the Champions League final on June 6, and later that night the Unibet Open party kicks off at the Corinthian Club."
All participants will need to buy-in either in Unibet's online client or at the Grosvenor Merchant Casino in Glasgow for this event. Players and their friends are required to become a member of Grosvenor Casino to enter Celtic Park ground.
Also, don't forget that PokerNews will be on hand to provide live coverage from the Unibet Open Glasgow Main Event, which takes place June 6-9.
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