Poker Million

The History of Poker Million

The brainchild of Ladbrokes and Barry Hearn's Matchroom Sport, the original Poker Million I first took place in the Hilton Hotel on the Isle of Man in November 2000. That first event set the standard for the rapid growth of Poker Million year on year as it soon came to be recognised as the ultimate tournament to play.

30 million viewers worldwide tuned in to watch the first Poker Million final, won by John Duthie, a 42 year old TV Director from London. Since then, TV coverage of Poker Million has become more extensive as more shows were broadcast in subsequent years.

Following a break, Poker Million II returned to our screens in 2003 with sensational impact. The era of the celebrity poker player was born and household names joined professional poker players who in turn joined poker enthusiasts for a stunning climax to the event.

Playing at his first event, snooker-player Jimmy White shocked the poker world by claiming the $150,000 first prize, combining great flair and nerves of steel to turn over many of the leading fancies.

The final, broadcast live on Sky Sports 1, was played under the testing Texas Hold'em rules with renowned poker players Joe Beevers, Guy 'The Iceman' Bowles, Bruce 'Elvis' Atkinson and Tony 'The Lizard' Bloom also in the hunt for the $350,000 prize fund, at the time, one of the biggest in the sport.

Viewers were given the opportunity to see the top players' strategies as all cards were visible via cameras placed underneath glass panels on the tables.

Each player was also wired up to a heart monitor, so the viewers could see how relaxed or nervous the players really were during the crucial hands.

White attributed his success, in which he also beat his old rival Steve "The Nugget" Davis to take the top prize, to the "hours spent practising at Ladbrokespoker.com" and said he would celebrate his surprise victory (White was 100-1 before the competition started to land the prize, and was the 8-1 outsider in the 6-man final) by "having a game of poker tomorrow"!

Celebrity participants including the then Ryder Cup Captain Sam Torrance, and Barry Hearn, Chairman of Matchroom Sport, joined the 36 players, 28 of whom were amongst the world's leading professional players, in the $10,000 entry tournament.

Davis, who was second man out in the Final admitted, "I didn't stand up [against bad cards] as I could've done...but I loved it nonetheless."

In 2004, Poker Million III underwent an expansion with 72 professionals, enthusiasts and celebrities alike each seeking the $300,000 first prize. With the likes of snooker stars Stephen Hendry, Mark Williams and shock 2003 winner Jimmy White sitting alongside rugby World Cup star Mike Tindall and sports celebrities Tony Cascarino and Phil Taylor, Poker Million III was guaranteed to generate great excitement.

For the first time in its history, half of the 2004 players had qualified online via Ladbrokespoker.com, and the progress of the online qualifiers was eagerly anticipated.

Jon Backman, Nicholas Barbu and Frederick Richardson represented the online qualifiers in the 6-man final, hoping to strike a blow against some of the professional and better-known names. In the end however, it was some of the most successful and admired poker players in the world who found themselves in the big-money shake-up on the night of Friday 9 July, 2004.

With Ladbrokes adding $855,000 to the prize pool and a guaranteed first prize of $1,000,000, Poker Million IV was always going to be a tense affair.

Reflecting the growth of online poker’s ability to generate finalists for major TV events, 70 of the 72 finalists were regulars at Ladbrokespoker.com and 66 qualified online at Ladbrokespoker.com.

After 13 tough heats and semi finals rank outsider Tony Jones shocked the poker world by beating TV Celebrity Helen 'Hells_Bells' Chamberlain in a heart-stopping finale.

The Romford father-of-three kept his cool to walk away with the $1,000,000 first prize. Starting the evening as an 8/1 outsider, Jones obliterated the international competition including last year's champion Donnacha O'Dea from Ireland and highly-fancied sixth place finisher Bengt Sonnert from Sweden.

Europe’s richest and most prestigious live televised poker tournament returned for a sixth year

When Europe’s richest and most prestigious live televised poker tournament returned for a sixth year and the winner was Hendon Mobster Joe "The Elegance" Beevers!!

Professional poker player Joe Beevers from Hendon received an early Christmas present after scooping the top prize of $1,000,000 (£496,474) at the Ladbrokes Poker Million VI grand final. Broadcast live on Sky Sports 2, the nail-biting final of Europe's richest and most prestigious live televised poker tournament saw Joe go head to head with five card sharps to be crowned the 2007 Ladbrokes Poker Million VI Champion.

After qualifying online at Ladbrokespoker.com for as little as $5 (£2.48), 77 players, including celebrities Danielle Lloyd, Matt Dawson and Brian McFadden, competed in weekly heats to win a seat at the final. With $2,150,000 (£1,067,420) up for grabs at the final table, the poker elite (including four poker millionaires) battled it out in a marathon game lasting nearly seven hours, which finished at 2.45am.

Joe, aged 40 said "It's fantastic to have gone all the way and won the Ladbrokes Poker Million VI, especially after finishing 2nd to Jimmy White in 2003. We'll have a fantastic Christmas now and I can't wait to come back online and defend my title next year."

A fixture in the poker calendar since 2000, the Poker Million is Ladbrokes' longest-running televised tournament has become the most significant and exclusive event of the year.

Samantha Alleyne, PR Manager for Ladbrokespoker.com said: "The 2007 Poker Million VI was the biggest and best yet. High profile players from around the world squared up against the cream of the UK players and online qualifiers. Qualifiers for the Poker Million VII begin in the New Year and competition is sure to be as fierce as this year."