UBOC II Poised for Start

The second annual UltimateBet Online Championship (UBOC) series, hosted by UltimateBet pros Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth Jr., kicks off tonight at 8:00 p.m. EST with a $200+15 six-handed no-limit hold'em tournament, featuring a $100,000 guarantee. The series, set to take place over the next 10 days, showcases 13 different events ranging in buy-in from $100 to $1,000.

UltimateBet has guaranteed a total of $2 million dollars in prize money spread across the various events, though its $1,000+50 main event claims the bulk of that money, offering participants $750,000 in guaranteed loot. According to the UltimateBet website, many of the site's top pros, Duke and Hellmuth included, will be on hand throughout the series providing color commentary as they "call" each event, while many of them plan to get in on the action themselves.

Last year's inaugural main event was won by Internet pro Brock Parker playing on UB as "Maria Nuccia," though he is perhaps better known by his "t soprano" screen name elsewhere. Parker and his heads-up opponent "Fred420" each took home $168,450 in prize money after they agreed to an even split early in the match. After the chop, the two played on for the title, a silver UBOC bracelet and ultimate bragging rights and it was Parker who eventually took it down.

The lineup of events for UBOC II is as follows (all times are EST):

Event 1 (Dec. 7): $200+15 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold'em, $100,000 Guar. 8:00 p.m.
Event 2 (Dec. 8): $100+9 No-Limit Hold'em w/ Rebuys, $75,000 Guar. 2:00 p.m.
Event 3 (Dec. 8): $200+15 Pot-Limit Omaha, $50,000 Guar. 6:00 p.m.
Event 4 (Dec. 9): $200+15 No-Limit Hold'em, $200,000 Guar. 5:00 p.m.
Event 5 (Dec. 9): $500+30 No-Limit Hold'em, $150,000 Guar. 8:00 p.m.
Event 6 (Dec. 10): $200+15 Limit Hold'em, $60,000 Guar. 8:00 p.m.
Event 7 (Dec. 11): $200+15 No-Limit Hold'em, $100,000 Guar. 8:00 p.m.
Event 8 (Dec. 12): $200+15 Pot-Limit Omaha 8 or Better, $40,000 Guar. 8:00 p.m.
Event 9 (Dec. 13): $200+15 No-Limit Hold'em, $150,000 Guar. 8:00 p.m.
Event 10 (Dec. 14): $500+30 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold'em, $100,000 Guar. 8:00 p.m.
Event 11 (Dec. 15): $100+9 No-Limit Hold'em w/ Rebuys, $75,000 Guar. 2:00 p.m.
Event 12 (Dec. 15): $500+30 Pot-Limit Omaha, $150,000 Guar. 6:00 p.m.
Event 13 (Dec. 16): $1,000+50 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event, $750,000 Guar. 5:00 p.m.

Ultimate Bet will also be giving away $100,000 to the winner(s) of its Championship Leaderboard challenge. Players will earn a minimum of five points for cashing in a bracelet event and up to 100 points for claiming a title. The player with the most leaderboard points at the end of the series will be quite handsomely rewarded.

The final table of the UBOC 2 Main Event will be broadcast live via web radio on Ultimate Bet's website. Satellites for all 13 events are running around the clock, with buy-ins as low as $1.00. Complete information regarding the second annual UBOC can be found at http://www.ultimatebet.com/poker-tournaments/events/uboc.