In 2010, the TV show The Big Game appeared, starring names like Phil Hellmuth, Phil Laak, Barry Greenstein, Doyle Brunson, Jason Mercier and Daniel Negreanu. Among these stars was one amateur player who received $100,000 and had 150 hands to survive in this competition.
Revival after years
In 2023, information was released about the continuation of this show, but now under the name The Big Game on Tour, and in May 2024 we saw the first series. The entire game took place at Resorts World in Las Vegas, but now an amateur player nicknamed "loose cannon" had just $50,000 to start with at $100/$200/$200 blinds. Sitting against him were names like Phil Hellmuth, Lex Veldhuis, Alan Keating, Jennifer Tilly, Phil Laak, Sam Grafton and Maria Ho. Nikki Limo and Lily Newhouse were there as the "loose cannon."
A second series awaits
The creators have told us that the first series of The Big Game on Tour was a success and so we'll be seeing a second series. We only got new information about that one last night. Casting for "loose cannon" is underway, so who will be the new amateur player is not yet known. However, we do know who will be sitting opposite him.
The legendary Antonio Esfandiari, who made history in 2012 when he won the WSOP Big One for One Drop with a $1,000,000 buy-in, has accepted the invitation to play. At the time, he earned a record-breaking $18,346,673 in prize money. Antonio also has 3 WSOP bracelets at home. However, he hasn't been appearing in the game lately, so it will definitely be interesting to watch him on this show.
He will be joined by Phil Hellmuth, who has a record 17 WSOP gold bracelets to his name. The eternal rivalry between Esfandiari and Hellmuth will be the main attraction for the viewers. The two also faced each other in the High Stakes Duel show, where Hellmuth clearly won all three of their matches together to take home $350,000.
Who will complete the line-up?
The line-up will also include high stakes cash game regular Alan Keating, acclaimed online player and popular poker streamer Lex Veldhuis, sports talk personality Nick Wright and Rob Gronkowski, a 4-time Super Bowl winner who was also on the NFL's 100th Anniversary All-Time Team and has appeared on TV shows such as Family Guy and The Simpsons.
Exactly when we'll see a second season of The Big Game on Tour is not yet known, but it should be sometime in the first half of 2025. Are you looking forward to it?
Source - pokernews, poker.org, wsop, cnn, hendonmob
