World Cup of Poker

I am playing in an interesting tournament tonight. Pokerstars is hosting the World Cup of Poker (WCP) where 40 countries compete with 5-person teams in heads-up matches. To make the team for your country, you must play in a qualifier where first place automatically becomes a member of the team for that country. The entry is free, just 50 frequent player points to sign up. The 40 teams then play against each other online until there are only 4 teams left. The winning teams receive an all-expense paid trip to London for the finals, where there is a $125,000.00 prize pool and it will be broadcast on TV.

The first of two qualifiers for Canada will be held tonight at 8pm EST, the second one is on Thursday. I have no idea how many people will sign up, but the cap is 2048 players. All matches are played solely heads-up, the winner moving on to the next round. Blinds and starting chips double each new round. I watched the New Zealand qualifier last night (early this morning) during a bout of insomnia, and it was pretty cool. There were only 38 entrants for that country, and the tournament lasted for 5 hours and 9 minutes. I have a feeling it could be a long night....

I really don't expect to be in the top 10% for this tournament, let alone win it, but it should be fun.