Welcome to Day 1 of the 2010 WSOP Tournament of Champions
![[user25067]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
After a three-year absence and a massive overhaul of the format, the Tournament of Champions returns with a bang today to the World Series of Poker. 27 of poker's elite, 20 of them chosen by popular vote, will gather around three tables in a little less than thirty minutes' time to compete in a $1 million freeroll that will leave nine players with pockets full of loot and 18 empty-handed.
The lineup is straight out of the poker history books. Former TOC winners Mike Matusow, Mike Sexton, and Annie Duke along with 2009 WSOP Main Event winner Joe Cada and 2009 WSOP-Europe champion Barry Shulman all received auto-bids into this year's event and will be joined by Top 20 vote-earners Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, Erik Seidel, Chris Ferguson, Allen Cunningham, Johnny Chan, Scotty Nguyen, Barry Greenstein, John Juanda, Jennifer Harman, Huck Seed, Dan Harrington, T.J. Cloutier, Sam Farha, Howard Lederer, Greg Raymer, Joe Hachem and Antonio Esfandiari. Rounding out the 27 are WSOP Academy Playoff winner Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier and WSOP.com U.K. online qualifier Andrew Barton.
The ESPN cameras are getting into place and some famous faces are beginning to wander in to the Amazon Room. Sit tight and stay tuned. Action is scheduled to begin at 12 Noon.