Why does ESPN even bother with 9 players?

[shaniac]

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You just showed why they have more players at the final table.

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You are right, since I plan to watch one tournament out of 13 as opposed to all 13 (which I likely would if there were more players), I've clearly proved that point.

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Don't you mean you'd watch more with LESS players?

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Yes, that's what he meant--fewer players at the table makes curtains happier. In the heat of the moment, curtains clearly mistyped.

ESPN does a pretty good job with player-profiles and some of the color surrounding poker. If a 9-player format gives them more flexibility to do that, then I don't mind. Often the peripheral filler is more interesting than NL tourney hands.

The WPT is certainly a richer source of pure poker material, but it's somehow stuffier and less appealing. Both productions are leagues ahead of the competition. Poker players complain too much.