The last crowned TOC winner Mike Sexton will hope to defend the title.

The World Series of Poker has announced that they will be bringing back the Tournament of Champions (TOC) in 2010 with one major change. The tournament will be an All-Star game with the majority of the participants being voted in by fans.

In a move that Ty Stewart, Vice President of Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment, called “An announcement on par with the advent of the November Nine,” the TOC will be a 27 player field with 20 of the players voted in by fans at www.WSOP.com.

“We have heard the support from fans, players and the media,” said Stewart. “An All-Star game is something that poker needs. It’s also a chance for the fans to play the role of TV producers and chose they players they want to see.”

“The Tournament of Champions brand has a heritage in delivering the big moments,” Stewart said. “We’re thrilled to reinvent it around a model that should elevate the game by engaging millions of poker fans.”

There will five automatic entries, the three previous TOC winners and the reigning WSOP Main Event and WSOP Europe Main Event champion. This year’s five automatic bids are being awarded to Annie Duke, Mike Matusow, Mike Sexton, Joe Cada and Barry Shulman.

“Tournaments like the Tournament of Champions help elevate poker to the level it deserves and I am honored to participate,” said Duke. “Winning the TOC marks one of the most memorable events in my poker career and I’m ecstatic that the WSOP has decided to bring back this prestigious event.”

The top 20 vote getters will be be able to compete for the $1 million prize pool. To be eligible to be voted in players must have previously won a WSOP bracelet. The voting will be open from March 15, 2010 at 12:00 p.m. EST through June 15, 2010 at midnight. The WSOP has awarded two sponsor exemptions seats and will announce later how those can be won.

ESPN will be filming the event as part of their coverage of the WSOP. The All-Star game will be aired for a two-hour broad cast on Tuesday, August 3, 2010. ESPN will mirror their extended coverage of the Main Event last year for this year as well due to the fact they had higher ratings than they had seen in a couple years.

The first day of play will be on Sunday, June 27, 2010 where the 27 player field will play down to a final table of nine. The final table will return Sunday, July 4, 2010 to play down to a winner with a half million dollars going to first place.

The TOC was first played in 2004 and ten players were invited to play in the winner-take-all format. Duke won the tournament after tearfully knocking out her brother, Howard Lederer, and then defeating Phil Hellmuth heads-up. Matusow won in 2005 when viewers were treated to runner-up Hoyt Corkins using earplugs when battling The Mouth and Hellmuth. In the last TOC played Sexton outlasted a final table that included Matusow, Daniel Negreanu and Chris Ferguson.

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