Trickett & Brunson WIldCards; First-Ever GPL Season Set to Go

After four members of each team were drafted on Feb. 25, 11 of the 12 GPL franchises have now added their two wild cards to round out their squads.

As expected most Team Managers decided to select themselves as a wild card but two have decided that their best role was off the felt.

Moneymaker, Jaka and Boeree Among Wild Cards

So far the majority of GPL Team Managers have decided they are good enough to play in league matches.

Anatoly Filatov of the Moscow Wolverines and Fabrice Soulier of the Paris Aviators were among the first managers to reveal their Wild Card selections, both selecting themselves.

Chris Moneymaker of the Las Vegas Moneymakers and Liv Boeree of the London Royals followed suit and are also among the managers who will now also play in the league.

Below is a list of the GPL Managers who will serve as wild cards:

• Las Vegas Moneymakers – Chris Moneymaker
• London Royals – Liv Boeree
• New York Rounders - Bryn Kenney
• San Francisco Rush – Faraz Jaka
• Moscow Wolverines – Anatoly Filatov
• Paris Aviators – Fabrice Soulier
• Rome Emperors – Max Pescatori
• Hong Kong Stars - Celina Lin
• Montreal Nationals - Marc-Andre Ladouceur

Akkari, Gruissem Stay on Sidelines

After the draft many thought Andre Akkari would be one manager that might choose to stay on the sidelines instead of insert himself as a wild card and that prediction proved accurate.

The Sao Paul Metropolitans manager chose Felipe Ramos and Joao Baer as his wild cards.

If you would have told us that Berlin Bears Manager Phillip Gruissem would stay on the sidelines during the first season of the GPL, we would have laid odds and bet against you.

However, Gruissem also decided to stay on the sidelines, but we cannot fault him on his selections. Gruissem selected high stake experts Bill Perkins and Daniel Cates as the Bears’ wild cards.

Trickett, Jaffe, Nanonoko and Brunson Also In

While a lot of time was spent on which managers would play, there were several solid “second selections.”

Liv Boeree selected Sam Trickett as her second wild card. Trickett is one of the most dominant Brits in poker history and would be a good fit for the squad. 

Jonathan Jaffe doesn’t play a lot of tournaments but he has enjoyed incredible success over the last couple of years. He will join Faraz Jaka as the Rush’s second wild card.

Max Pescatori selected Todd Brunson as his second wild card. Brunson becomes one of the oldest players in the league and will represent the “old school” of poker. 

Below is a full rundown of GPL franchise wild cards:

• Las Vegas Moneymakers – Chris Moneymaker and Scott Ball
• London Royals – Liv Boeree and Sam Trickett
• New York Rounders - Bryn Kenney and Tyler Kenney
• San Francisco Rush – Faraz Jaka and Jonathan Jaffe
• Moscow Wolverines – Anatoly Filatov and Igor Yaroshevsky
• Paris Aviators – Fabrice Soulier and Alexandre Luneau
• Rome Emperors – Max Pescatori and Todd Brunson
• Hong Kong Stars - Celina Lin and Randy "nanonoko" Lew
• Montreal Nationals - Marc-Andre Ladouceur and Jason Lavallee
• Sao Paolo Metropolitans - Felipe Ramos and Joao Bauer
• Berlin Bears - Dan Cates and Bill Perkins

Maria Ho of the LA Sunset is the only Manager yet to name her wildcard picks.

33-Day Summer Series, Two-Day Live Final at Wembley

The first season of the 2016 Global Poker League will kick off Tuesday with the first rounds to be played exclusively online.

Games will be predominantly six-max and heads-up with a 33-day Summer Series during the World Series of Poker  featuring daily heads-up live matches in the GPL Las Vegas studio.

After a playoff round in September to determine the final four teams, a two-day live final will be held at SSE Arena at Wembley in London.

Players can follow all the action the GPL’s Twitch channel or on GPL.tv and bet on matches at BetStars.com.