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In 2011 the World Series of Poker Europe moved from London, England to Cannes, France, and it seems the poker world took notice considering the massive surge in attendance. In addition to the more amenable locale of the French Riviera (October in London is not known for its sunshine and beaches after all) there was also the allure of the television cameras with ESPN set to broadcast an unprecedented six hours of coverage from the 2011 World Series of Poker Europe tournament series beginning this weekend.

Beginning at 6PM EDT on Sunday December 18^th, poker fans can watch highlights from the 2011 WSOPE on ESPN 2, beginning with the Caesar’s Cup Tournament, pitting the Phil Hellmuth-led Americas Team against the Bertrand Grospellier-led team from Europe.

After the 1-hour Caesar’s Cup episode the real action begins as ESPN 2 hosts five straight hours of coverage from the 2011 WSOPE Main Event. The familiar voices of Lon McEachern and Norman Chad will be responsible for the play-by-play, of the record-setting tournament that saw 593 entrants cough-up the €10,000 entrant’s fee. The 593 participants created the largest overall prize-pool in French Tournament poker history, as well as the largest first-place prize at $7,836,414 and $1,927,310 respectively.

“We continue to be proud of our deep relationship with ESPN to deliver fresh programming to poker fans,” said WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart. “As the only European tournament broadcast in the United States, WSOP Europe has become one of the most prestigious events in the world in just a few years time.”