The Defending Champ's Table

Matthew Ashton burst onto the scene last year with four World Series of Poker final tables and the sweetest possible victory in the $50,000 Players Championship. All the way up until the last tournament of the year Ashton was in the lead for Player of the Year but it was Daniel Negreanu who stole the title from his hands by winning the €25,000 High Roller in Enghien-Les-Bains during the World Series of Poker Europe.

This year Ashton's no longer a newcomer to any player he will face, and among those on Day 1 we spotted a series of young, but experienced, players. To Ashton's immediate right we spotted Bryn Kenney, Phil Galfond and James Obst while on his other side we recognized Abe Mosseri and Paul Volpe.

Ashton's road to back-to-back titles will obviously be extremely tough and we will make sure to follow his progress from start to finish