PartyPoker European Open

Poker made its return to UK terrestrial television with Channel 5's October airing of the PartyPoker.com European Open. The eight-part program was filmed in Maidstone, Kent, where 36 professional players, Internet qualifiers, and celebrities each put up $10,000 to compete in six heats. Top British players Dave "Devilfish" Ulliot, Surinder Sunar, and Gary Jones all gave it a go, but in the end, the $150,000 first prize was taken by a Canadian, Arthur Manfredi from Toronto, who qualified for his seat online at PartyPoker. Tournament promoter Barry Hearn played a well-fought second, and 21-year-old Michael Shaw from Philadelphia, playing in his first live poker game, provided the story of the tournament while bluffing his way to within inches of the title before falling in third. The tournament continues the strong presence of Matchroom Sports on the poker scene, as they showed that they not only have the savvy to promote televised poker tournaments, but to produce them, as well.