The Women’s World Open poker tournament gathered stars in London. Taking place August 7th to 10th, the event was broadcasted and will be televised in the United Kingdom later this year. Its being characterized as an all-female event raised some controversy.

American trio Jennifer Tilly, Shannon Elizabeth and Liz Lieu were among the 36 players. Tilly is both an Academy Award nominated actress and a WSOP bracelet holder. Also an actress, American Pie’s Shannon Elizabeth made it to the final four in the US NBC’s Heads-Up Championship. Lieu is feared for her great poker skills.

European participants include Xuyen Pham, Pippa Flanders, Jackie Meecham, Katharine Hartree, Jackie Vaswani and Deborah Rogers. The prize fund neared $108.000 and the format was that of a world open. The event will be televised with commentary by Jesse May and Shannon Elizabeth.

Some have questioned the need of a gender-based tournament. An online ‘Gaming Intelligence Group’ claimed that this kind of tournaments is “a way of ensuring the physical safety of women. In a game that relies heavily on mental strength and the ability to bluff, the men are the ones being protected”.