Chris Ferguson will be one of the 'aces'
Following the success of Poker After Dark, American television network NBC is to launch Face the Ace, where contestants compete for $1 million by battling 3 Full Tilt pros heads up.
In a kind of ‘double or nothing’ format, the revolutionary concept sees the contestant select a pro from behind four smoke-glassed doors. They can play a maximum of 3 heads up matches against 3 different pros, for $40,000, $200,000 and $1 million respectively. Should they lose an encounter, they depart with nothing.
The show will air on Saturday, Aug 1st at 9 p.m. CET, with Europeans no doubt able to catch up on Pokertube. On the unique format, Poker After Dark and National Heads-Up Poker Championship announcer Ali Nejad commented, ‘There’s no safety net here like there is in Millionaire. If you don’t win your match, you lose whatever it is that you had won’. Steve Schirripa of hit gangster series The Sopranos will host the show.
Contestants qualified on Full Tilt poker via a series of freerolls. The ‘Ace’ roster consists of Patrik Antonius, Andy Bloch, Allen Cunningham, Chris Ferguson, Phil Gordon, Gus Hansen, Jennifer Harman, Phil Ivey, John Juanda, Howard Lederer, Erick Lindgren, Mike Matusow, Huck Seed, Erik Seidel and Gavin Smith.