2007 WSOP coverage starts today on ESPN

Last year, poker fans who couldn't make the World Series of Poker in person had to wait until the end of August to catch the footage.

This year they don't even have to wait until the World Series is over, with ESPN beginning its 2007 WSOP coverage today, July 10.

And showing just how far poker's popularity has come, it'll even be airing directly opposite the Major League Baseball All-Star game.


Featuring a new show opening, updated theme music and a slick graphics update, the first HD episodes air back-to-back tonight at 8 and 9 p.m. (EDT), and will highlight Events 1 and 3 from this year's Series.

Episode 1 features history in the making, as Chicago resident Steve "MrSmokey1" Billirakis tries to take down the $5,000 World Championship Mixed Hold'em event and usurp Jeff Madsen as the youngest WSOP bracelet winner ever.

Immediately following Episode 1, Episode 2 picks up with the second-largest non-Main Event field in poker history. Just under 3,000 runners squared off in the $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event, with a dominating run by the man with the best hair in poker, Alex Jacob, only up-ended at the last minute by upstart Irishman Ciaran O'Leary.

ESPN's 2007 WSOP coverage will continue airing on Tuesdays throughout the summer and fall (with a break July 24), and will include 16 hours of Main Event coverage plus three weeks of episodes dedicated to the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event won by Freddy Deeb.

ESPN's pay-per-view broadcast of the Main Event also starts July 17 at 3 p.m.

courtesy of Christopher Hunt

News Added: 10 July, 2007

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