Sometimes, an online poker operator makes important and impactful ambassador signings. And sometimes, a poker company signs so many pros that it becomes a blur of names.
888poker has been creating a unique roster of poker pros for years. It was the first site to sign as many female ambassadors as males, and it stood by those female pros. The latest addition to its group of ambassadors – Sam Abernathy – confirms 888poker’s commitment to diversity and looking toward the future of poker.
The 888poker move is also a signal that recent pro departures are not indicative of a waning investment on 888’s part. Former WSOP Main Event champion Martin Jacobson parted ways with 888 in January of this year, Ana Marquez left the team in February, and Chris Moorman departed just last month.
Run It Once is undoubtedly a unique online poker site and poker training business. It prides itself and has developed a stellar teaching reputation due to the skilled pros contributing to the site. With that said, remember when Full Tilt Poker had so many pros – and group of pros – that it became hard to keep up? The list of Run It Once pros may have exceeded even that number. Even so, adding names like Cates and Hastings is certainly newsworthy.
Ambassador Abernathy Joins 888poker
Samantha Abernathy is a part of the newer generation of poker players, born in 1991 and just having turned 30 this year. She had been grinding live poker games in Las Vegas for years, building a bankroll through micro-stakes and small-stakes games.
As a native of Georgia, Abernathy is a graphic designer by trade. She studied the craft and continued to practice well into her poker playing began in 2014.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5LOkSN4fWE
But she couldn’t deny her penchant for games and sports that presented challenges. When she first officially met poker in 2013 at the Seminole Hard Rock in Florida, she knew that her relationship with the game was going to be a long-term one. She immediately began following the World Poker Tour and soon after moved to Las Vegas to focus on poker.
In live tournament poker, Abernathy’s results were already hitting the Hendon Mob database. She made final tables all over Las Vegas in 2014, along with numerous wins in recurring tournaments at Caesars Palace and Aria. She continued through 2015 but hit the international poker stage in 2016 when she went to the Aussie Millions in Melbourne that January. She finished third in the Aussie Millions Main Event for A$625K and racked up a viral play along the way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9Am0D87tEc
More recently, Abernathy played fewer tournaments, but she plans to change that with her 888poker ambassadorship. She told 888poker that she looks forward to growing with the team, reconnect with poker friends, and inspire others to play poker as well. She said:
“I am extremely excited, honored and grateful for the opportunity to join Team888Poker! 2020 was an exceptionally tough year for us all. And I think the most important less I learned through slowing down is that life is too short to not follow your passions above all else.”
https://twitter.com/SamAbernathyy/status/1441117383649685505?s=20
Team 888 now appears to consist of Kara Scott, Sofi Lovgren, Vivian Saliba, Dominik Nitsche, and now Sam Abernathy.
For the first time, a major online poker operator boasts of more women on its professional player roster than men.
Jordan Banfield Joins 888 StreamTeam
Earlier this year, 888poker launched its StreamTeam, a lineup of online poker livestreamers who will highlight their play on 888. The initial group of players included:
Nick “eastyyy22” Eastwood, 30-year-old from Essex, UKRicardo “Mat3usPT” Mateus, 37-year-old from Lisbon, PortugalDavid “New_Dave” Gibson, 29-year-old from London, UKJosh “JoshManleyPoker” Manley, 32-year-old from UKAdam “iamEklo” Tocholke, 34-year-old from Ontario, Canada
The latest member of the team is Jordan Banfield, a 31-year-old man from Calgary, Canada. Though he played poker for years, he spent more time honing his skills during the pandemic. After starting to stream in mid-2020, he improved his game and began to play on a full-time basis.
Banfield’s passion for sports and fitness keep him in a competitive mood and help him at the table. He attributes his health and fitness regimens to his ability to play poker well. And his competitive spirit comes from a variety of sports pastimes like football and snowboarding. Now, as a member of the 888poker Stream Team, he aims to provide content through the collaboration and represent the brand while doing it. He also noted:
“I’m very excited to work with 888poker! One of my biggest dreams when I started streaming on Twitch was to become a sponsored pro for a company that I respect and admire.”
His stream already has 9.3K followers.
https://twitter.com/jordanbanfield_/status/1442483744124940290?s=20
Hastings and Cates Join Run It Once
Phil Galfond’s Run It Once is arguably the most popular poker training entity in the game. In recent years, he also created the Run It Once Poker online site for international players. The entire brand is very recognizable and respected.
When news hits that Dan “Jungleman” Cates and Brian Hastings have joined the “Elite Team” of pros at Run It Once, it sounded impressive. Those two players alone bring decades of poker experience from the highest levels of the game. And the news that Cates and Hastings will represent Run It Once is impressive.
The only thing is that that the Run It Once Pro Roster is massive. Of course, it boasts of some of the biggest names in poker, which gives it the value. It has also grown to a point that it is difficult to track additions to it.
The top names on the page of dozens of Elite Pro include Galfond himself, Ben Sulsky, Jason Koon, Sam Greenwood, Daniel Dvoress, Kevin Rabichow, snd Sam Grafton. Dylan Linde is another recognizable poker pro, as is Patrick Leonard. Fedor Holz, Brian Rast, and George Danzer are in the mix, alongside Jens Kyllonen, Stephen Chidwick, Steve Gross, Di Dang, and Bryan Piccioli.
Cates and Hastings are two of the newest members of that group.
Meanwhile, there is the list of 62 Essential pros, the latest addition to which is Paul Toda. The most well-known of the group is probably Ryan Laplante, but Brian Yoon, Brad Wilson, and Bradley Chalupski are also known by some fans.
In total, there are approximately 150 pros who contribute to Run It Once.
https://twitter.com/PhilGalfond/status/1441497362480787460?s=20
