Ultimate Poker Challenge
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Ultimate Poker Challenge (UPC) is a series of weekly poker tournaments acting as super-satellites into the series semi-finals.
The first and second seasons are available on NTSC DVD. In the United States, it is a syndicated program.
Contents |
[edit] Format
Players are entitled to enter multiple super-satellite tournaments (entry into the semi-finals is transferable.)
Players can also qualify for the semi-finals based on the points leaderboard for their finishing position in each event. In the first season, "Silent" Steve Simmons placed highest on the points leaderboard and received $40,000. The second place finisher received $20,000.
Beginning with season 4, the show was renamed to Ultimate Poker Challenge Presents Cash Poker: The Ultimate Gamble. The format changed from weekly tournaments to following the action at cash games.
[edit] Crew
Each tournament was commentated by Chad Brown, with Brandi Williams performing interviews along with intros and outros to commercial breaks. Daniel Negreanu provided cover for Chad Brown in episodes 19 and 20. Each tournament featured a professional poker player as guest commentator, who would offer poker tips for the home viewer along with their commentary.
Beginning with season 4, Brian Mollica took over commentating duties with Williams continuing in her role as interviewer. Brown is frequently featured in the game.
Executive producer Dan Pugliese played in several tournaments throughout the series.
[edit] Results
[edit] Season 1
| Week | Guest Presenter | Winner | Prize | Runner-Up | Other Finalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris "Jesus" Ferguson | Nick "The Kid" Bouyea | $10,000 | Phillip Matthews |
|
| 2 | Chris Hinchcliffe | Erik Seidel | $8,000 | "Silent" Steve Simmons |
|
| 3 | Rob "Hux" Huxley | Andy Bloch | $13,500 | Cong Tran |
|
| 4 | Jennifer Harman | James Van Alstyne | $12,600 | Todd Brunson |
|
| 5 | Kyle Morris | Ken James | $12,640 | Dan Alspach |
|
| 6 | Mike "The Mouth" Matusow | Kathy Liebert | $11,500 | Don Barton |
|
| 7 | Robert Williamson III | David "Four Racks" Luttbeg | $8,000 | Matt Dean |
|
| 8 | Clonie Gowen | Steve Simmons | $13,400 | Kristy Gazes |
|
| 9 | Renee Wexler | "Cowboy" Kenna James | $8,400 | Tony Toscano |
|
| 10 | Daniel "Kid Poker" Negreanu | Joe Toth | $6,800 | Tony Kassab |
|
| 11 | Brandi Williams | Recap Show | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 12 | Mark Tenner | Chris Hinchcliffe | $8,000 | Max Pescatori |
|
| 13 | Antonio "The Magician" Esfandiari | Vandy Krouch | $8,200 | Dr Andy Robins |
|
| 14 | Phil "The Unabomber" Laak | Champie Douglas | $8,000 | Ned Shabou |
|
| 15 | Kenna James | "Pistol" Pete Lawson | $8,000 | David Plastik |
|
| 16 | Russ Hamilton | Robert Keith Young | $4,400 | Nick Bouyea |
|
| 17 | Phil Hellmuth | Kris Crudup | $6,000 | Avi Freedman |
|
| 18 | Amir Vahedi | "Miami" John Cernuto | $6,800 | Scott Epstein |
|
| 19 | Matt Savage | Kenna James | $9,000 | Karina Jett |
|
| 20 | Evelyn Ng | Robert Bright | $7,400 | Shawn Rice |
|
| 21 | Daniel Negreanu | "Happy" Jeff Shulman | $8,400 | "Minneapolis" Jim Meehan |
|
| 22 | Paul Phillips | Dennis "Mickey" Seagle | $8,000 | Steve Simmons |
|
| 23 | Robert Williamson III | "Gentle" Joe Awada | $7,400 | John Phan |
|
| Semi-Final Pt. 1 | Daniel Negreanu | (leads to Semi-Final 2) | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Semi-Final Pt. 2 | Daniel Negreanu | (leads to Grand Final) | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Grand Final |
|
James Van Alstyne | $100,000 | Jeff Stoff |
|
[edit] Season 2
| Week | Winner | Prize | Number of
players |
Buy In | Prize Pool | Runner-Up | Other Finalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vince Burgio | $41,020 | 61 | $2,000 | $118,340 | George Bartlett |
|
| 2 | Rafe Furst | $35,650 | 70 | $1,500 | $101,850 | Santiago Terrazas |
|
| 3 | Ronnie Ebanks | $51,410 | 53 | $2,500 | $128,525 | Dan "The Brooklyn Express" Pugliese |
|
| 4 | William Edler | $61,110 | 60 | $3,000 | $174,600 | Todd Brunson |
|
| 5 & 6 | Roy Obriecht | $21,140 | 146 | $500 | $70,810 | Ben Hutton |
|
| 7 | Rukhsana Guevarra | $28,235 | 194 | $500 | $94,090 | Ali Lari |
|
| 8 | Tom Cope | $45,740 | 139 | $1,000 | $134,830 | Sandy Blecker |
|
| 9 | Vince Burgio | $24,055 | 31 | $2,000 | $60,140 | V S Senthil Kumar |
|
| 10 & 11 | "Razor" John Phan | $21,680 | 149 | $500 | $72,265 | Howard "Tahoe" Andrew |
|
| 12 | Gary Do | $24,445 | 42 | $1,500 | $61,110 | Matt Sterling |
|
| 13 & 14 | Ryan Larsen | $32,980 | 100 | $1,000 | $97,000 | Derek Harrington |
|
| 15 | William Edler | $32,010 | 33 | $2,500 | $80,025 | Richard Brodie |
|
| 16 | Joe Bartholdi Jr | $27,160 | 35 | $2,000 | $67,900 | Don Mullis |
|
| 17 & 18 | Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi | $41,905 | 36 | $3,000 | $104,765 | Kathy Liebert |
|
| 19 & 20 | Allen Cunningham | $34,920 | 30 | $3,000 | $87,300 | Gavin Smith |
|
| 21, 22 & 23
Grand Final |
Andy Bloch | $167,500 | 55 | $10,000 | $541,750 | Blair Rodman |
|
| 24 | "Razor" John Phan | $47,000 | 24 | $5,000 | $117,600 | Herbert Montalbano |
|
[edit] Season 3
| Week | Winner | Prize | Runner-Up | Other Finalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John K Robertson | $9,470 | Max Grottschneider |
|
| 2 | Brian Riley | $7,385 | Brian Faires |
|
| 3 | David Brooks | $7,855 | Rami Owera |
|
| 4 | Michael "Shoes" Gambony | $12,050 | Cal Dykes |
|
| 5 | Paul Buntin | $10,365 | Roxci Rhodes |
|
| 6 | Ed Tonai | $6,015 | Rick Troendly |
|
| 7 | Rick Fuller | $10,670 | Ken Wa |
|
| 8 | Stacey Guenther | $6,180 | Mike Giordano |
|
| 9 | Ted McNeely | $12,950 | James Carroll |
|
| 10 | Craig Gray | $29,255 | Kris Crudup |
|
| 11 | Patrick Fee | $21,040 | Matthew Lesage |
|
| 12 | Christy Combs | $5,790 | Ted McNeely |
|
| Grand Final | Amir Vahedi | $181,390 | Chip Jett |
|
| Additional Event | Dan "The Brooklyn Express" Pugliese | $5,780 | Becky Makar |
|
[edit] External links
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
