Sunday, June 28, 2009
2008 WSOP Main Event heads-up combatants in rematch on PokerStars

Ivan Demidov (left) and Peter Eastgate go heads-up for the 2008 WSOP Main Event title



Media release:

World Series of Poker Main Event champion and Team PokerStars Pro Peter Eastgate is to take on his 2008 opponent – fellow team member Ivan Demidov, in a unique heads-up charity tournament to be held online at PokerStars.

When the two first clashed last November, there was over $9 million in prize money at stake; the final table took well over 15 hours making it the longest Main Event final table in WSOP history.

Now, only days before the 2009 Main Event kicks off, the two will face-off against each other again, but this time they’ll be slugging it out for charity. 

The match will replicate the exact  circumstances under which the two pros played in 2008. Eastgate, from Odense in Denmark, will start with 80,300,000 in chips, while Demidov from Moscow, Russia will start with 56,600,000. The blinds will be set at 120,000/240,000, with a 30,000 ante.

In the 2008 final, Demidov managed to snatch the chip lead early on, but lost it again when his jack-high was beaten by Eastgate’s queen-high. The action then reached Level 39, with a big blind of one million chips – the biggest blind level in the history of the WSOP. Demidov never recovered the chip lead, and after 15 hours and 39 minutes of play, Eastgate was crowned the youngest ever world champion.

The two pros are excited about the re-match, which will see $10,000 go to one of their chosen charities. Eastgate is playing for the Danish Refugee Council and Demidov is playing for The Hospice Charity Fund “Vera” INN.

This is the first time that a major live contest like the WSOP final has ever been “re-played” on PokerStars, and is likely to prove a huge draw. PokerStars players can watch the match live on the PokerStars client.