In this week’s ‘Calling the Clock’ the only thing worth talking about is the prominence of Daniel ‘Jungleman’ Cates in the Global Poker League (GPL). Nothing else matters.

The Global Poker League (GPL) is no longer a figment of your imagination. You can poke it. You can prod it. You can find yourself in the divorce courts watching nothing but it.

Alex Weldon at parttimepoker.com nailed it when he summarised the first day of the GPL’s existence by calling it a ‘delightful mess’. It’s a stretch to say the team is ‘winging it’ but it does have that feel in between moments of ESPN quality.

The online six max format was as attractive as a TV test card, but the introduction of the webcam for the heads-up matches was pure genius. On one hand you had an emotionless borefest, and on the other you had Daniel Cates.