ESPN conducted a media conference call Wednesday, Oct. 27, to preview the 2010 World Series of Poker, presented by Jack Link’s Beef Jerky with cohosts Lon McEachern and Norman Chad, coordinating producer Kathy Cook and WSOP vice president Ty Stewart.
ESPN’s coverage of the final table will be aired Tuesday, Nov. 9 from 10 p.m. – midnight ET on ESPN and ESPNHD, with McEachern and Chad calling the action. For the first time coverage will be streamed live on ESPN3.com (with a five minute delay), with commentator James Hartigan and a rotation of professional poker players in the booth, beginning Saturday at 3 p.m. ET as two players emerge from the November Nine. Coverage on ESPN3.com will continue with heads up play with the final two, Monday, Nov. 8 at 11:30 p.m. ET until the conclusion of the main event. To hear a full replay of the call click here. Select comments from the conference call:
On the production of the WSOP final table…
Cook: “The unpredictable nature of the game is what makes it so great to watch and produce for us. Once again, we will produce this on a quick turn around for our fans…truly a marathon for our team…We’re sending a terrific production team, 71 people. We’re going to have 21 cameras the final table, microphones on all nine players, the dealer, tournament director and the crazy crowds will all be miced…One of our goals was to appeal to the hardcore fans by expanding and creating a new statistical language for poker fans. You’re going to see a lot of stats on how aggressive a player is, pre-flop, post-flop tendencies, show downs won or lost, win percentages, chip swings…We’re really going to give our viewers an unprecedented look on how the final table is being played out.”
On the nine who have made it to the Final Table…
McEachern: “I’m sure it’s surreal for them…Look at the table, and it paints a portrait of really where poker is today. A bunch of young, aggressive players, international players sprinkled with a seasoned pro and an amateur.”
Chad: “We start with 7,000 and we always end up with remarkable storylines. The two that strike me this year is that this is the youngest main event final table ever…Everyone is in their twenties with the exception of the one true amateur…The other remarkable final story… Michael Mizrachi and Soi Nguyen. Michael Mizrachi if he wins will be an unprecedented double for winning both the Poker Players Championship and the Main Event in the same year so he could rewrite the books. And Soi Nguyen is the every man that we always love to have…He’s the only true amateur at the final table, so its kind of hard not to root for him.”
Stewart: “We know that Poker is of course game of skill, but this final table is something special. It’s like the ultimate game show with eight guaranteed millionaire winners.”
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