The Global Poker League China announced the names of the eight teams that will compete in the debut season. The names of the team managers and players will follow in the coming months.

You won’t find Chinese President, Xi Jinping, playing roulette or craps. Jinping believes gambling is bad news and has vowed to do everything in his power to prevent his people from getting involved.

So when it comes to poker and its route into the largest population in the world, we have to play a very different game. A game that the Global Poker League (GPL) plays to perfection.

Season 1 of the GPL was not about gambling. It was a season that taught the poker community that the desire for competition is enough to turn people on.