ESPN2 is slated to begin broadcasting the North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Monday, April 19.
Viewers can tune in every Monday at 10:00 PM EST to catch two episodes of the NAPT. The familiar faces of Lon McEachern and Norman Chad will be providing the commentary. The duo has been ESPN’s voice of poker since 2003. Supermodel Joana Krupa will join the two, providing eye candy and insight into the poker world between hands.
The first two episodes of the NAPT cover the PokerStars.net High Roller Bounty Shootout. These episodes feature poker legends such as Daniel Negreanu and Phil Hellmuth. The first season of the NAPT will broadcast two episodes every Monday for five weeks. The final six episodes are scheduled for the summer.
The NAPT made just three stops in 2010, but had strong attendance at each event. Deuce Cracked instructor, Vanessa Selbst, took down the final tournament, NAPT Mohegan Sun, on April 12. She collected a pay day of $750,000.
Jeffrey Hass, Global Poker Tour Director, believes the NAPT installments will inspire people to win a live event. “It will make the NAPT an aspirational event and will drive a lot more people to compete. Not only will they want to win the money and have the opportunity to compete at the highest level, but let’s face it: The dream of poker players everywhere is to win a poker tournament on ESPN. That’s what we’re giving them.”