Alexandra Botez Defeats Bill Perkins in Poker-Chess Hybrid ‘Challengers Choker Cup’ Semi-Finals

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  • Namita Ghosh June 16, 2020
  • 2 Minutes Read

Andrew Finan’s gaming firm Queenside Games created quite the buzz last November with the launch of an all-new hybrid game combining the two mind sports – poker and chess. There can be no successful game without a tournament and hence took shape the Challengers Choker Cup.

The tournament began on May 7, pitting eight of the world’s most renowned poker and chess players against each other. The champion is to be named on June 25, and one of the two likely winners is Romanian chess streamer Alexandra Botez.

Botez, a Canada-based chess player, booked her berth in the finals after defeating the well-known hedge fund manager and the man behind the poker streaming venture Thirst Lounge Bill Perkins in their semi-finals clash on June 11.

Perkins was apprehensive of his talented opponent and tweeted so before their match.

Botez proved dominant and won the game by a convincing 3-to-1 margin of victory! Perkins, good-humoredly shared news of his crushing defeat on Twitter.

Watch the live stream below.

Incidentally, Perkins had come into the semi-finals after scoring a dramatic win over Matt Staples in the first round of the tournament. The game was live-streamed with commentary by Jeff Gross and Chess International Master Malcolm Pein. Making the spectacle more entertaining for the viewers, Perkins came back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Staples by a 3-2 margin.

Botez defeated wildcard entrant Allessio Gallucci on her way to the semi-finals and has advanced to the ‘Challengers Final’ after winning her match against Perkins.

 

Choker – The Rules

Choker mixes chess and poker together in a simple manner. Players are dealt five cards each from a 44-card pack, with a chess piece on each card. The betting rounds happen after two, four, and five cards are dealt, and once the betting rounds are completed, the player places the chess pieces they have been dealt in specially marked zones. With these stages over, it’s now a traditional game of chess from here on, with the winner taking down the pot, and checkmate becoming ‘Chokemate.’

 

The Finals

All eyes are now on the final match in the tournament – the ‘Challengers Final’ that takes place between Botez and Eric Rosen starting at 4 PM EDT on June 18.

It doesn’t end here, however. The ultimate winner will have to face the five-time U.S. Chess Champion and Choker brand ambassador Hikaru Nakamura.

 

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