Music fans will best know Grammy-winning DJ Zedd for his collaborations with superstars such as Justin Beiber and Lady Gaga among others. Yet, away from his day job, he’s also been a prominent face at the PokerStars Championships in Barcelona this week, where he was heavily involved in the opening of the Main Event.
Here we bring you the latest from the event and cover some of the impressive names that will feature as they look to land a mega-money win.
DJ Zedd combines entertainment and poker
Poker is entertaining enough as it is. Whether you’re trying to bluff your way to victory against players at the local casino, or having a quick game of video poker through your Lucky Nugget Casino app, you’re guaranteed to have fun, even if you don’t always win. Yet, the event in Barcelona has combined entertainment and poker by including many stars, including DJ Zedd.
The music producer played a 90-minute set to players at Opium nightclub in the city, then he was down to play in the Main Event! A keen poker player, the Russian-born Zedd revealed that he would frequently play with his mates at home on their own custom made table and that he was a big fan of the game.
However, when it came to it, he didn’t last long against the professionals and serious poker players that he was up against, with his run ending on the same day. Another famous face to feature will be comedian Kevin Hart, who will be entertaining players and ensuring that some more entertainment is brought to proceedings.
Big names ready to battle it out
Whilst DJ Zedd might have made a swift exit from the tournament, there are many reasons to still be intrigued by how it plays out, given the calibre of players that are on show. The event runs until August 27 and has attracted names such as Bertrand Grospellier, Felipe ‘Mojave’ Ramos and the highest earning poker player of all time, Daniel Negreanu.
The €5,300 Main Event will generate a prize pool of €7 million with a seven figure sum likely up for grabs to the winner. Last year, that was young Polish player Sebastien Malec, who left with a cool €1,271,041 and the tournament trophy after his great win. He managed to beat the competitive field and secured a seat into the tournament by winning a €27 buy-in online satellite! To this day, it remains his most impressive win by a distance and has contributed significantly to his career earnings of just over €1.4m.
All eyes will be on the Main Event final, where eight players will face-off for the big prize. Last year there was 1,785 entries and although numbers are slightly lower this time around it still promises to be a demanding event. With so much on the line it should be an exhilarating final table and could throw up some serious drama.
Whether it’s a predictable winner such as Negreanu, or another shock like Malec, poker fans will be interested to see how the remainder of the tournament plays out, although it would’ve been quite the story if DJ Zedd had made it to the final table!
