Poker News Roundup: UFC Deal, World Cup, Isaac Haxton

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This week’s poker news delivers a mix of headlines from big announcements to big wins. We’ll start with the former as the UFC has made its first foray into a poker partnership and signed a deal with PokerStars.

PokerStars Signs Sponsorship Agreement With UFC

When you’re watching UFC 232 this weekend, keep a close eye on some of the sponsors inside the Octagon. If you’re a poker player, one of them will be quite familiar to you. 

PokerStars has announced that it will be teaming up with the UFC to become the first-ever poker partner of the sport. That means we’ll see one of poker’s most popular brands on display in the fight cage. 

Obviously, there are some close ties between those who like to watch mixed martial arts and those who enjoy sports betting and poker, and PokerStars is hoping to capitalize on that. The sport broadcasts to over a billion people in 160 different countries and territories, which means this should deliver some fantastic exposure for PokerStars. 

Playground Poker Club To Host World Cup Of Cards

The partypoker LIVE World Cup of Cards is coming to Canada. If you’re looking for a tournament in early 2019 that will give you a chance at winning millions, you might be interested to buy in. 

It’s been announced that the events from January 20 to February 6 will be hosted at the Playground Poker Club, which is one of Canada’s best casinos. Located in Kahnawake, Quebec, the festivities will have a total of 29 events with nearly $2 million in winnings on the table. The buy-ins will range from a modest $110 all the way up to $1,650, and fireworks are expected right off the bat with a $500,000 guaranteed Grand Prix of Canada, which only costs $220 to enter. 

Haxton Collects Nearly $4M In Super High Roller Bowl

It’s bowl season, which means plenty of winners will be crowned this month but that mostly refers to college football. However, there is one bowl on the poker circuit – with quite a large prize – that took place this past week and produced a big winner. 

Isaac Haxton took home $3.672 million for his efforts at the fifth edition of the $300,000 Super High Roller Bowl. Haxton, who has been very successful on the poker circuit, had never earned a win of this magnitude. However, he is now up to a healthy $23.6 million in live tournament winnings, putting him 13th on the all-time money list. 

A total of 36 players entered the event, which is a rather small field. However, few people have $300,000 lying around to put up for a buy-in. Fellow American Alex Foxen finished second and took home $2.16 million for his performance while Stephen Chidwick of the United Kingdom placed third and won $1.512 million. The only other player to win over a million was the fourth-place finisher, Talal Shakerchi from the United Kingdom, who earned $1.188 million.