On Sunday following the NFL on FOX in most major markets is the debut of the “PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge.” The one-hour episode is the first in the five part series, which will see Team PokerStarsPro front man Daniel Negreanu coach and then battle contestants as they seek to claim the $1 million grand prize. The show is reminiscent of NBC’s “Face the Ace,” which is sponsored by rival online poker room Full Tilt Poker and features pros solely from the world’s second largest room. Check your local listings for details, as the time slot that the "Million Dollar Challenge" airs in ultimately varies by market. Let’s take a look at what you can expect to see unfold.

Players winning freerolls on PokerStars and then submitting their 60 second videos to the online poker site made their way to the “Million Dollar Challenge,” which will generally air around 4:30pm ET on Sunday for one hour. Qualifiers invited to participate in the show received round trip airfare to sunny Los Angeles to film, with four rounds awaiting them. In the first, contestants will square off in a heads-up No Limit Hold’em match against a celebrity opponent such as Playboy Playmate of the Year Jayde Nicole, NBC football analyst Jerome Bettis, and MMA champion and “Celebrity Apprentice” candidate Tito Ortiz.
In round two, players will tangle with a member of Team PokerStars Pro like 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion Chris Moneymaker (pictured at left), “The Robin Hood of Poker” Barry Greenstein, and Go Daddy Girl Vanessa Rousso, who finished second to Huck Seed in the 2009 National Heads-Up Poker Championship. During the first and second rounds, contestants will have the aid of Negreanu, who will be seated next to them in the former before moving into an isolation booth. Winning round one means a trip to the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in January, while taking down a member of Team PokerStars Pro translates into $25,000 in cash.

Then, the real fun starts. Rounds three and four require contestants to defeat Negreanu heads-up. If a player bests the Poker Hall of Fame candidate in round three, they’ll take home $100,000. All $100,000 winners earn a seat at the Table of Champions, where the victor will face off against Negreanu for $1 million. If a player loses at any point, they’ll leave with nothing. Money will be donated to charity in the event that the celebrities or pros emerge victorious at any step along the way.

You can catch the “Million Dollar Challenge” on five Sundays between now and the end of the year: October 11th, October 18th, November 22nd, December 13th, and December 27th. The show generally airs after the NFL on FOX, but a press release distributed by the world’s largest online poker room noted that it will actually air beforehand in some markets. FOX owns the rights to televise NFC games and, on Sunday, will air Washington at Carolina, Dallas at Kansas City, Tampa Bay at Philadelphia, Minnesota at St. Louis, and Atlanta at San Francisco.

Chris Rose, of “Best Damn Sports Show Period” fame, will serve as the host of “Million Dollar Challenge.” On the show’s premiere, Father Andrew Trapp takes to the stage and, according to an article that appeared in USA Today, wins at least $25,000. During the show, PokerStars will offer viewers a chance to enter a freeroll and Negreanu(pictured at right) noted in the same press release that he is looking forward to watching the new poker franchise debut on the network station: “I’m thrilled to be part of this show. I love the concept and I know that it will be packed with great poker and all the bells and whistles, hip graphics, and drama that FOX is known for.”

Catch the “PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge” following the NFL on FOX this afternoon.