The Global Poker League (GPL) which was announced last year by the Global Poker Index (GPI) CEO Alex Dreyfus is shaping up and if plans go well, it will be organized after World Series of Poker (WSOP) this year.
For those who are not familiar with this concept of poker league, GPI has invited sponsors and brands to create poker franchisees and each franchise will own a team of 7 poker players. In the first edition of Global Poker League in 2015, 8 such teams will vie for the trophy. “The team members will be selected in a draft that will be held either during the WSOP or right after the event. Each team will most likely include three players from the GPI 300 or GPI 500, two wildcards and two qualifiers,” said Dreyfus.
“After the World Series of Poker, the first season of the GPL will most likely start in August or in early September,” Dreyfus said, saying that the season would probably be a “10-week competition.” According to Dreyfus, four franchise owners have already come along and remaining four will very soon be on-board.
Similar to the Global Poker Masters, players need not spend on buy-in amounts as well as on travel for GPL. Instead, GPI will be investing around $5 million to start the league in inaugural year. This all comes under the plans of Alex Dreyfus of sportifying poker.
GPI is expecting to get mainstream sponsors after the GPL gets going for a few years which will support the expenses of organizing tournaments as well as create prize money.