Welcome to Mixed-Max!

Welcome back to the amazing city of Cannes for the start of another event here at the 2011 World Series of Poker Europe!

Today's new event is a very new event, the inaugural €10,000+400 Split-Format No-Limit Hold'em -- or "Mixed-Max" as it's come to be known amongst the players. Today's Day 1 will see the first eight levels dealt as a regular old freeze-out, but the tables will be shrunken to six-max for tomorrow's Day 2. That will set the final bracket for the run to the bracelet, and Days 3 and 4 will be played entirely heads up.

About 50 players have put up the requisite €10,000 so far, and we expect to see that number rise significantly as the day progresses. Jason Mercier has already made his way into the tournament area, and we also have eyes on the likes of Dan Fleyshman, Marco Traniello, Freddy Deeb, Dan Smith, Jon Aguiar, Justin Bonomo, Daniel Negreanu, and Isaac Haxton.

We're scheduled to get under way in just about 20 minutes time from the picturesque Majestic Barrière. We'll be back to give you the story once the cards go in the air.