Poker Pros Liv Boeree and Igor Kurganov Part Ways With PokerStarsThe Duo's Departure Is The Latest In A Growing Trend With The Company |
|
One of poker’s premier power couples has ended their business relationship with PokerStars after many years as sponsored pros with the company.
High-stakes pros Liv Boeree and Igor Kurganov, who have been dating for several years and teamed up to win the $10,000 tag team championship at the 2017 _World Series of Poker, announced the split from the company on Twitter Wednesday.
Boeree, who has $3.85 million in live tournament earnings, was with the company since 2010. Kurganov, who plays some of the biggest buy-in tournaments on the planet and has more than $18.4 million in earnings, signed on as a team pro in 2017.
It's been an amazing nine years but now it's time for @PokerStars and I to part ways. I want to say thanks to the incredible staff and my fellow team mates for all the wonderful memories, will miss you all! pic.twitter.com/RfRIbMwQaf
— Liv Boeree (@Liv_Boeree) November 13, 2019
The move indicates the continued shift in the marketing strategy of PokerStars. Since the company was sold to Amaya in 2014 for $4.9 billion, it has opted to discontinue deals with many established poker pros and shifted its sponsorship deals to popular Twitch streamers and celebrities.
Earlier this year, Daniel Negreanu, arguably the face of PokerStars, split ways with the company as well, ending a 12-year relationship. Jason Mercier, Barry Greenstein, Isaac Haxton, Vanessa Selbst, Bertrand Grospellier, Randy Lew, Victor Ramdin, and Jeff Gross were also among the high-profile pros that have cut ties with the company in the last several years.
In a follow-up tweet, Boeree noted that she has been playing very little poker over the last 12 months and is looking forward to putting more effort into her content career and will be working more on her YouTube channel in the immediate future.
Kurganov didn’t mention any future plans, but will likely continue to grind the highest-stakes tournament he can find.
Liv and I are splitting up…
It’s been some fun couple of years and I’m thankful for the experience, the great support to https://t.co/euvfWZIdSN and the people I’ve worked with.
Sorry, splitting up with Pokerstars, not Liv, but all the above is true for both!— Igor Kurganov (@kurganovigor) November 13, 2019
The marketing shift isn’t surprising. An August report showed that PokerStars relies less on poker and more on sports betting and casino games for the bulk of their revenue. The company has less of an incentive to use poker pros as a tool to grow their business.
Copyright © 2001-2024
CardPlayer.com. All rights reserved.
