2008 PokerNews Cup Championships - Melbourne, Australia | 2008 PokerNews Cup Championships - Australia

One year ago to this very day, final preparations were being made for the first ever PokerNews Cup event, which premiered at the Crown Casino on October 21st, 2007. The flagship event welcomed more than 1,500 players from over 22 countries along the way to crowning local amateur Dory Zayner its inaugural champion.

Fast forward one year later and we find ourselves less than 24 hours away from the opening event of the 2008 PokerNews Cup Championships in Melbourne, Australia. The first event -- a $230 buy-in no limit hold'em tournament -- is set to kick off at 10:10 a.m. on Sunday, October 12th at the Crown Poker Room.

Two additional tournaments have been tacked on to this year's eight-event schedule -- one of which being the Tony G Celebrity Shootout Bounty tournament, scheduled for October 15th at 7:10 p.m. The series' $2,200 buy-in Championship Main Event begins Friday, October 17th and expects to attract over 400 runners.

Main Event satellites are still being held daily at the Crown. For more information, visit the PokerNewsCup website.

Live coverage of Event 1 begins on Sunday at 10:10 a.m. We hope to see you then!