Discovery's Dsport gets Poker league's broadcast rights

New Delhi  :  After signing chess master Viswanathan Anand as its brand ambassador, Poker Sports League has given exclusive broadcasting rights for its second season to DSport, the sports channel of Discovery Communications.

The first broadcast of Poker in India will be covered in English, to begin with, according to a PSL statement.

For Season 2, the league has franchised 12 teams with each team committing close to Rs 15 crore over the next eight years. The season has announced a prize pool of Rs 3.6 crore.

The teams this year will consist of a total of 10 players each, comprising of one mentor and playing captain, two pro-players, two from free live qualifiers, three from free online qualifiers and two wild-card entries.

While the first season saw 140 players getting drafted, this year the drafts will have close to 170 players, who can be eligible for participation, according to a PSL statement.

"PSL's biggest challenge has been to overcome preconceived notions and change people's perception with regards to Poker. Hence, our positioning has been clear from the very start and this will further get established by getting the league broadcast on a sports channel. DSport's wide coverage of international sporting properties made it the natural choice," Amit Burman, co-founder PSL, said in the statement.

The statement quoted Anand saying that Poker as a sport had ample potential and it was time Indian should realize it and give the sport the kind of attention that it deserved.