The first episode featuring coverage of the final table of the PartyPoker.com Premier League kicks-off on Channel 4 in the UK tonight. Coverage begins at 00.05 (24th/25th June), with a second episode concluding the event on the 1st/2nd July at 00.25. A look at the event can be seen at http://www.matchroompoker.com/promo2.php .

Four players confirmed their spots from their league positions, while four players have taken part in heads-up matches for the last two places in the finale. Tony G, Andy Black, Alexander Kravchenko and Marcel Luske automatically made the final for finishing in the first four spots, while Roland De Wolfe and Annie Duke won their way through after heads-up matches. At the final table one point is the equivalent of 10,000 chips with Tony G and Andy Black going into the final in dominant positions. Tony G finished top of the league with 38 points and takes 380,000 chips to the final table.

One of the main stories of tournament has been the failure of Phil Hellmuth to spark. The Poker Brat finished top of the league table last year and dominated the event by winning four heats. This year he has finished last with zero points (a bagel) twice. The tournament has also not been kind to defending champion Juha Helppi, who struggled to get going in a format in which he typically excels. In contrast, an aggressive style was the downfall of Tony G in 2007 but in 2008 the bookies’ favourite has steamrollered his opponents by winning three heats. The tournament has also been great for Andy Black who has also dominated proceedings with a hat-trick of victories.

The final heat was hugely eventful – Roland De Wolfe needed just one point to win an automatic place at the final table and adopted a very conservative style only to bust out with zero points. This meant that against all odds Marcel Luske got the prestigious final table spot. Vicky Coren’s chances of making the play-off matches depended on the Devilfish or Helppi not winning but the Fish triumphed and “Tea Cup” Coren was sent to the rail. The two heads-up matches saw De Wolfe play Scharf for a place in the final and Duke take on the Devilfish. De Wolfe took out Scharf, while Duke won a thriller against the Devilfish.

PARTYPOKER.COM PREMIER LEAGUE - FINAL TABLE CHIP STACKS – 1.5 MILLION ON TABLE

Seat 1 Annie Duke (USA) 190,000
Seat 2 Andy Black (IRE) 330,000
Seat 3 Marcel Luske (HOL) 210,000
Seat 4 Roland De Wolfe (ENG) 200,000
Seat 5 Tony G (AUS) 380,000
Seat 6 Alexander Kravchenko (RUS) 260,000

The groundbreaking format was developed by Matchroom Sport and features 12 of the world’s best players playing in a unique league event for a $1 million prize pool. Commentary for the final will be provided by Jesse May and Phil Hellmuth. Each player took part in six six seater games in the preliminary stages and each player bought in for $60,000, with PartyPoker.com adding $280,000 to make the pool $1 million, up from $500,000 last year. Nine of the twelve players from 2007’s successful event returned with the new faces being “Flying Dutchman” Marcel Luske, Annie Duke and Alexander Kravchenko. As before, eleven-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth led a top field that also includes Dave ‘The Devilfish’ Ulliott, Tony G, Andy Black, Ian Frazer, Roland De Wolfe, Vicky Coren, Juha Helppi and Eddy Scharf.

2008 PARTYPOKER.COM PREMIER LEAGUE POKER FINAL POINTS TABLE

Tony G (AUS) 38 pts
Andy Black (IRE) 33 pts
Alex Kravchenko (RUS) 26 pts
Marcel Luske (HOL) 21 pts
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Roland De Wolfe (ENG) 20 pts
Annie Duke (USA) 19 pts
Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott 19 pts
Eddy Scharf (GER) 19 pts
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Vicky Coren (ENG) 17 pts
Juha Helppi (FIN) 11 pts
Ian Frazer (ENG) 9 pts
Phil Hellmuth (USA) 8 pts

9 points were awarded for a 1st, 5 points for 2nd, 3 points for 3rd, 2 points for 4th, 1 point for 5th and a bagel (zero) for 6th.

2008 Prize Money Breakdown
Final Table ($520,000)

Winner $250,000
Runner-Up $120,000
Third $60,000
Fourth $40,000
Fifth $30,000
Sixth $20,000

2008 Prize Money Breakdown
League Stage ($480,000) 12 Matches

Winner $18000 x 12
Runner-Up $10000 x 12
Third $6000 x 12
Fourth $4000 x 12
Fifth $2000 x 12
Sixth $0

A BAGEL = ZERO POINTS IN A PREMIER LEAGUE HEAT