A Look at the Global Poker League's London Royals and Moscow Wolverines
We continue our preview of the Global Poker League franchises this week by taking a closer look at the London Royals and the Moscow Wolverines, two teams that are packed full of talent and will be up there with the favorites to become champions.
London Royals
| Player | Home Country | Live Tournament Earnings |
|---|---|---|
| Igor Kurganov | Russia | $10,459,192 |
| Vanessa Selbst | USA | $11,728,255 |
| Chris Moorman | UK | $4,107,679 |
| Justin Bonomo | USA | $9,690,053 |
| Sam Trickett* | UK | $20,563,347 |
| Liv Boeree* | UK | $2,997,941 |
*Denotes wildcard pick.
The London Royals, led by Team PokerStars Pro Liv Boeree, look to be one of the strongest GPL franchises, at least on paper, with a quartet of the world's most recognizable poker players. Boeree, who recently selected herself as one of the team's two wildcard selections, is no slouch at the table with almost $3 million in live tournament winnings. That's large in part due to her European Poker Tour Sanremo victory, and the Royals are sure to give everyone a run for their money.
Boeree’s first-round draft pick was her boyfriend, Igor Kurganov. While their relationship will have influenced Boeree's decision to pick Kurganov, the Russian's poker prowess would be more than enough for any of the GPL managers to select him. Kurganov is a regular in the biggest tournaments around the world and also has a great track record in the online world. His analytical skills will also be a major asset to the Royals throughout the inaugural GPL season.
Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Selbst was the second pick for Boeree and could turn out to be the steal of the draft. Currently 23rd on the all-time money list, Selbst is one of the most successful poker players in the world — she also has three World Series of Poker bracelets — and she has almost twice the winnings of the nearest female player, Kathy Liebert. Selbst's fearless approach to poker, and the fact she is comfortable in front of the television cameras, makes her one to watch when the GPL kicks off.
Another potential steal for the Royals is the acquisition of Chris Moorman. The popular British grinder is best known for his online poker exploits where he has more than $13 million in winnings, but he is also solid in the live arena too and has a World Poker Tour title to his name. Moorman's online background should make him perfect for the expected fast-paced nature of the GPL matches.
Justin Bonomo was Boeree's fourth-round pick and is another player carefully selected for their online and live poker prowess. Bonomo has just shy of $9.7 million in live tournament winnings, can play a variety of games and formats and, thanks to playing for the highest stakes available, is not going to be fazed by the high pressure of competing under the watchful gaze of the TV cameras and the eyes of the poker community.
As her other wildcard, Boeree selected Sam Trickett. Trickett seems the perfect choice for the London Royals and adds even more talent to one of the strongest rosters in the GPL. Not only does Trickett have more than $20.5 million in live tournament winnings, he plays cash games for the highest stakes available, has competed in many made-for-TV poker tournaments, and is well versed in team poker games after representing Team UK in the Global Poker Masters World Cup, among others. Trickett's name also adds even more star power to this juggernaut of a roster.
Moscow Wolverines
| Player | Home Country | Live Tournament Earnings |
|---|---|---|
| Dzmitry Urbanovich | Poland | $4,831,132 |
| Vladimir Troyanovskiy | Russia | $4,199,228 |
| Andrey Pateychuk | Russia | $2,945,692 |
| Sergey Lebedev | Russia | $1,324,470 |
| Igor Yaroshevsky* | Ukraine | $1,695,666 |
| Anatoly Filatov* | Russia | $1,298,838 |
*Denotes wildcard pick.
Anatoly Filatov is a regular on the EPT circuit and it is there that the majority of his almost $1.3 million in live tournament winnings stem from. With the exception of his first-round pick, Dzimitry Urbanovich, Filatov selected an all-Russian roster during draft day.
Urbanovich is the name on everyone's lips at the moment, and rightly so. The Polish prodigy won more than $4 million in 2015 in one of the greatest breakout years ever. Despite not turning 21 until May, Urbanovich has six six-figure scores and a seven-figure score to his name, the latter being for €1.45 million which he collected for his runner-up finish in the Season 11 EPT Grand Final €100,000 Super High Roller event.
If you follow PokerNews’ Live Reporting on the tournament circuit, then the name Vladimir Troyanovskiy will be one you're familiar with. With 10 six-figure scores since 2013, Troyanovskiy is currently sixth on Russia's all-time money list. Troyanovskiy is more of a high-roller event specialist, so it will be interesting to see how he adapts to the GPL.
Andrey Pateychuk is another name that poker aficionados should know about. With $2.53 million in online winnings, the majority coming from his play at PokerStars under the moniker "ThePateychuk," and $2.945 million from his live play, which includes a World Poker Tour title and an EPT main event title, Pateychuk is a great player and one to watch carefully when the GPL kicks off.
The fourth Moscow Wolverines pick was Sergey Lebedev, who is currently ranked seventh in Russia and 184th in the world by the Global Poker Index. Lebedev has $1.324 million in live tournament winnings, including a career-best score of $466,970 in the $111,111 High Roller for One Drop at the 2015 WSOP where he finished in eighth place from 135 entrants.
Speaking from the Red Square in Moscow on March 28, Filatov announced that the two last members of his team would be Ukraine's Igor Yaroshevsky and himself.
Yaroshevsky tops the Ukrainian Global Poker Index ranking, finds himself 45th in the world, and represented Team Ukraine in the Global Poker Masters World Cup. Yaroshevsky consistently goes deep in poker's most illustrious tournaments and can boast a fourth-place finish in the 2015 World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic ($333,680), a runner-up finish in the $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Turbo event at the 2015 WSOP ($303,767), and a win in the €10,200 No-Limit Hold'em Turbo 6-Handed event at the 2015 EPT Grand Final (€218,300).
Stay tuned to PokerNews in the coming weeks for more details on the GPL and for more insights into the remaining franchises.
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