Poker multipokerseries Asia. The Global Poker League (GPL) announced plans to enter the Chinese market in early 2017 by introducing a new exclusive poker tournament for Asia. The launch of China GPL is expected to take place after February.
The launch of the new poker league could be interpreted as an attempt to take advantage of the thriving eSports scene that enjoys great popularity in China.
The inaugural season of GPL China will have a total of eight competing teams and each will be from a different Chinese city; Great Dragons of Beijing, Shanghai Golden Tigers, Guanghzou Pioneers, Shenzhen Eagles, Hangzhou Legends, Xi'an Warriors, Chengdu Pandas and Tianjin Guardians. The composition of each team will be determined by their managers as usual.
The new league will be different from its international counterpart, but the two will continue to share a series of similarities. Alexandre Dreyfus, executive director of the organization revealed in a press release stating that GPL China will operate separately from the major league, however, will be in the established No-Limit Hold'em format.
The launch of GPL China poses as an appropriate course of action as it would greatly increase GPL's reputation, not to mention that it would contribute to the popularity of poker as a sport and a game of skill. In fact, the eight teams that compete will have professionals, qualified and celebrities; In addition, the China GPL will feature a real-time stream of live events in an attempt to ensure the GPL is seen as an eSports competition
The latter was generally well received by the poker community, but there were a number of issues to be addressed, such as technical issues with live streaming and minor errors in overall production as well as some criticism of the commentary. The opening season of the Chinese league will give the GPL the opportunity to rectify the said issues
