Saturday, April 19, 2008

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Poker After Dark Season 4 in the can

Leeann Tweeden: PAD's new host.

By Sean Lind

Expect some big changes in the latest season of Poker After Dark. With multiple game structure variations being played, each episode should be epic.

In the first three seasons of PAD, each game was a six-player winner-takes-all freezeout. The latest season will include all of the following:

• Double elimination heads-up battle between the 4 NBC Heads-Up Championship winners. Chris Ferguson, Paul Wasicka, Ted Forrest and Phil Hellmuth will each put up $50,000; winner takes all.
• Two weeks of $200/$400 cash play. Week 1 players: Howard Lederer, Dee Tiller, Gabe Kaplan, Patrik Antonius, Doyle Brunson and Eli Elezra. Week 2 players: Guy Laliberté, Phil Hellmuth, Tom Dwan, Allen Cunningham, Mike Baxter and Antonio Esfandiari.
• Online qualifier Paul Featherstone will play against five of his favorite players, Mike Matusow, Jennifer Harman, Phil Hellmuth, Gavin Smith and Mike Sexton.
• Mike Matusow, with a PAD record of 0-8, will have two six-player freezeout matches to try and break his streak. His first try will be against David Williams, Phil Hellmuth, Gavin Smith, Clonie Gowen and Phil Laak, all former PAD winners.
• Mike's second try will see him face David Williams, Andy Black, Lee Watkinson, Dewey Tomko and Allen Cunningham, all of whom have made the final table at WSOP Main Events since 2001 but have not captured the title.
• The "Brilliant Minds" match featuring Bill Chen, Chris Ferguson, Andy Bloch, Brandon Adams, Jimmy Warren and David Sklansky, all of whom are viewed as some of the game's best mathematicians.
• "The Mayfair Club" will bring together players who were regulars at the legendary underground New York club: Dan Harrington, Mickey Appleman, Jay Heimowitz and Steve Zolotow, along with Mike Shichtman, the manager of the club during its heyday.
• Finally there will be a "Nets vs. Vets" event. Three successful online players will team up against veteran pros and world champions. The online players are Tom "durrrr" Dwan, Brian "sbrugby" Townsend and Andrew "good2cu" Robl. They will compete against Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan and Huck Seed.

Along with the new events and play, the "Speak Your Mind" segment will let you hear from poker authorities such as Phil Gordon, Gabe Kaplan, Cory Zeidman, Phil Hellmuth, Todd Brunson and David Grey.

To top it all off, PAD Season 4 introduces Leeann Tweeden as the new host. You might recognize her from her role as the host for the 2008 National Heads-Up Poker Championship.

The order for the events to be shown on TV has not yet been determined, but the first episode will go on the air during the week of July 4. Additional information on the upcoming season as it becomes available, as well as profiles of all the players will be available at www.nbcsports.msnbc.com/poker in the near future.

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