Main Event Battle Royale – 888poker’s “8-Team” Captains & Wingmen

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Jun 22, 2018 7 min read Last updated Jun 26, 2018

For the second year in a row, 888poker is running their "8-Team" competition during the 2018 World Series of Poker Main Event. Last year, they sent five teams – each represented by a different country and consisting of a captain, wingman, and a qualifier – to compete in a last longer.

Brazil’s Joao Sousa Monteiro, who qualified for the Main Event via a $30 satellite, went the furthest among the qualifiers finishing in 583rd place for $22,449. By doing so, he won a package to this year’s Main Event.

Canada, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Germany will all be returning as teams in 2018, but they will be joined by two new countries; Spain and Russia. Another change this year is the adoption of a scoring system to replace the last-longer format.

Each team member will receive points based on the WSOP Main Event Day they survived and can earn bonus points if they finish the day as the chip leader. Also, the team qualifier who is the last player standing will gain a 100-point bonus for their team.

Have a look at the captains, wingman and qualifiers for each team.

Team Canada

Parker “Tonka” Talbot

(Captain) – One of the most popular poker Twitch streamers in the world with nearly four million followers and thousands of fans, Talbot has more than $3 million in online winnings.

In February 2017, Parker signed up as an 888poker Ambassador and his popularity has only continued to rise. He participated in the highly-publicized King of the Hill II television tournament in September 2017 where he knocked out defending champ Phil Hellmuth.

Mike Leah

(Wingman) You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who grinds poker as hard as Leah. His poker career dates back to 2006 and during that time he’s amassed more than $7 million in live tournament earnings, which puts him eighth on Canada’s all-time money list.

Earlier this year, Leah took down the World Poker Tour Fallsview Poker Classic after a controversial deal. Nonetheless, he saw his name etched on the WPT Champions Cup and won a reported $358,531.

Team Brazil

Vivian Saliba

(Captain) Last summer, 24-year-old Vivian “Vivi” Saliba became the youngest female to enter the WSOP Main Event where she finished in 421st place for $27,743. Thanks to some airtime on Poker Go, her popularity in Brazil exploded.

In late 2017, she won the 888Live London Ladies Event, and she officially signed on as an 888poker Ambassador while at King’s Casino in Rozvadov competing in the 2017 WSOP Europe where she notched a trio of cashes.

Bruna Unzueta

(Wingwoman) With more than 1.5 million followers on Instagram, Bruna Unzueta is a popular influencer in Brazil. She’s hoping to use her popularity to bring some Brazilian support to the WSOP.

“I will have the honor of attending the world's largest poker championship, the WSOP Main Event, which takes place in Las Vegas,” Unzueta said when I was revealed she would be a part of the team. “Very happy with this invitation from 888poker and still being next to Vivian Saliba, a great player that inspires me a lot.”

Team UK

Chris Moorman

(Captain) 888poker Ambassador Chris Moorman is the most decorated tournament player in online poker history with nearly $15 million in earnings. He also sits sixth on England’s all-time money list with more than $5.5 million in the live realm, including both WPT and WSOP titles.

Recently, Moorman released two books – Moorman’s Book of Poker and Moorman: The Inside Story of the Most Successful Online Poker Player of All Time – through D&B Publishing. He’s been an 888-team member since 2016 and this marks his second year in a row as captain of Team UK.

Niall Farrell

(Wingman) At just 30 years old, Farrell sits atop Scotland’s all-time money list with more than $5 million in earnings. He won a bracelet at last year’s WSOP Europe, but he is perhaps better known for taking down the EPT12 Malta Main Event for $588,592. In November 2016, he also won the WPT Caribbean for $335,000 to give him poker’s Triple Crown (the second fastest to do it behind Jake Cody).

At the 2016 WSOP, Farrell made a deep run in the $111,111 High Roller for One Drop taking eighth for $486,383.

Team Spain

Marti Roca de Torres

(Captain) A former economics teacher, 36-year-old Roca de Torres left his job two years ago to pursue online poker. Last year, he was grinding 888poker on a Sunday and saw a satellite he thought might have an overlay, so he registered. He ended up winning it for a seat into the WSOP Europe Main Event at King’s Casino. He then won that tournament for nearly $1.3 million.

Interestingly, Team UK wingman Niall Farrell finished fifth in that same event, meaning the two will have a rematch of sorts in Vegas. Roca de Torres is also a new official 888poker Ambassador.

Fernando Pons

(Wingman) Also an official 888poker Ambassador, Pons rose to fame two years ago when he made the November Nine of the WSOP Main Event. It was there that he turned his €30 satellite ticket from 888poker into a $1,000,000 payday after finishing ninth out of 6,737 players, thus earning the nickname the “PonsMaker.”

The following year, Pons returned to Vegas and managed to win a $550 tournament at the 2017 Wynn Summer Classic for $41,894.

Team Sweden

Martin Jacobson

(Captain) For the first time, the 2014 WSOP Main Event champ will captain Team Sweden (he was wingman for Sofia Lövgren last year). An 888poker Ambassador since December 2017, Jacobson sits atop Sweden’s all-time money list with $16,576,453 in live earnings, not too shabby considering he only plays no-limit hold’em.

Anton Wigg

(Wingman) With more than $2.3 million in lifetime earnings, Wigg currently ranks 10th on Sweden’s all-time money list. Wigg has also won nine EPT side events and the WSOP Circuit Seminole Hard Rock $3,250 High Roller in October 2017 for $111,719.

Wigg is perhaps even better known in online tournaments where he plays as "AnteSvante.” Wigg has amassed more than $7.9 million in online tournament cashes and was ranked as high as the second-best player in the world in 2015.

Team Germany

Dominik Nitsche

(Captain) 888poker Ambassador once again captains Team Germany, which comes as no surprise as the four-time bracelet winner continues to operate as one of the best in the world. Playing since 2006, Nitsche currently sits fourth on Germany’s all-time money list with $14,638,399 in earnings.

Nitsche will be going for back-to-back deep runs in the Main Event after finishing 195th out of 7,221 players last year, good for $46,096.

Andre Krieger

(Wingman) Known as “CommanderKrieger,” the 38-year-old from Meerbusch Germany has been a YouTube sensation since 2009. He has hundreds of thousands of followers and 177 million views online where he records himself commentating on video games.

The professional YouTuber is an influencer, and like Brazil’s Bruna Unzueta he’ll be bringing his klout to this year’s WSOP Main Event.

Team Russia

Arsenii Karmatckii

(Captain) Back in March, Karmatckii bested a field of 861 entries to win the EPT Sochi for a career-high $478,451. That came eight months after he won the €2K German Poker Championship for $217,238. He’s been making a name for himself across the pond, and he’s now in Vegas to play the WSOP for the first time. Recently married, Karmatckii is the inaugural 8-Team Captain for Team Russia.

Daria Feshchenko

(Wingwoman) Another WSOP rookie, is looking to carry her momentum to Las Vegas this summer after having cashed eight tournaments since September of last year. That includes $35,000 for finishing 15th in the partypoker MILLIONS Russia and third in the PokerStars Championship Prague €2,150 Hyperturbo for $15,153.

More recently, she took sixth in Malta’s Merit Poker Retro Festival Main Event for $22,665 earlier this month.

PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, Podcast host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.

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