Tournament: Women’s World Poker Open IV scheduled for London

Officials at the London-based Matchroom Sport promotions firm have announced that the fourth annual Women's World Poker Open will start on 23 March. The tournament features a buy-in of US$3,000 and will show some of the most talented female poker players in the world. Among the twenty-four participants who have signed on for the event is 2007 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event Champion Annette Obrestad.

Obrestad, who endorses the popular online poker site BetfairPoker.com, will join other top female players, including TV poker commentator Kara Scott for this special event. In addition to her hosting duties on various poker shows, Scott has also displayed a high level of skill at the game, as she has cashed in each of the last two World Series of Poker Main Event tournaments.

The tournament format for the Women's World Poker Open is slightly different from the standard no-limit Texas Hold'em tournament. The structure of this event will closely resemble a "shootout" format. Instead of players moving from table to table as the field shrinks, each of the three eight-player tables will play down to the final two survivors. The final two players from each table will meet at the six-player final table, which will be televised in the United Kingdom and other markets.

At last year's event, Englishwoman Aisling Collins took the title by defeating Japanese pro Kim Wooka. Collins will return to defend her title and, along with German pro Soraya Homam and fellow Brit Bev Pace, become the first woman to earn this prestigious title twice in their careers.

Annie Duke, who won the National Heads-Up Championship in Las Vegas earlier this week, has stated that she is not in favor of women-only tournaments and likely would not attend this event. Other notable female pros, such as Cindy Violette and Jennifer Tilly, have yet to announce if they will make the trip to London for the tournament.

Discuss this article below or on our Facebook Fan page.