Matchroom Sport nominated for poker innovation award - 19/01/2010

Matchroom Sport's Poker team has been nominated for the Poker Innovation award at the 2009 European Poker Awards, to be held at the Aviation Club in Paris on February 12.

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Last year Matchroom Sport broke new ground with several exciting new formats in televised poker. The Full Tilt Durrrr Million Dollar Challenge saw internet superstar Tom "Durrrr" Dwan take on three heads-up opponents in London, while the fifth edition of the PartyPoker.com World Open was a revelation with a new triple-stack format.

The PKR Heads-Up Grand Slam was another new edition to the calendar in 2009, with 32 of the best players in the world battling it out one-on-one to take the inaugural crown. February also sees the fourth edition of the PartyPoker.com Premier League Poker being staged in Las Vegas for the first time. Poker Million saw a new sponsor in Full Tilt Poker and its strongest ever line-up while the world's sporting elite gathered to take part in the PartyPoker.com Sports Stars Challenge. Off the screen, the Boylepoker.com Poker Show with Jesse May and Padraig Parkinson became the first ever live online radio show and was an instant hit with the community.

"It's a real honour to be recognised by the industry for our role within the game," said Eddie Hearn, managing director of Matchroom Sport. "The whole team at Matchroom have a deep passion for poker and I hope that is transmitted within our shows. 2009 was a huge year for us with the launch of two new properties in the Full Tilt Durrrr Million Dollar Challenge and the PKR Heads-Up Grand Slam. The revised triple stack structure at the PartyPoker World Open V proved a bit hit with the players and audience alike and 2010 is set to be even better, starting with the strongest ever line-up in the PartyPoker Premier League in Las Vegas in February.

"As producers, promoters and distributors, we understand the importance of the role we play in developing the game all over the world and as the audience evolves, we look forward to continuously raising the bar and pushing the boundaries in poker TV production."

The PartyPoker.com World Open V is nearing the end of its run on Wednesday nights on Channel 5, while the PKR Heads-Up Grand Slam has just begun its eight week run on Sky Sports 2 and HD2 at 10pm on Tuesday nights. The Full Tilt Durrrr Million Dollar Challenge will start on Sky Sports on Monday 1 February and Premier League Poker will be hitting Channel 4 later this year.