Lock Poker Pro Roster Shrinks By One

Lock Poker remains in the news for all of the wrong reasons.

The latest headline Lock Poker would probably prefer not to see involves the departure of one of their best-known pros.

The pro in question: Brett Jungblut, better known to many players by his nickname “Gank,” who announced via the TwoPlusTwo forums that he was choosing not to continue his association with Lock Poker.

Jungblut’s relatively brief statement began with a clear decision to cut ties with Lock Poker: “After much thought and due diligence over the past few weeks, I have come to conclusion that it is time for me to no longer represent Lock,” Jungblut wrote.

Jungblut rose to fame in online poker’s early days

While not a marquee name like Phill Hellmuth or Daniel Negreanu, Brett Jungblut – who according to his Wikipedia resides in New Jersey – can lay claim to legitimate poker fame. Jungblut first became known to poker players via his success in the early days of online poker, where his screen name – Gank – became a regular fixture on tournament leaderboards and cash game discussions.

Jungblut was hardly the only online poker screen name to draw attention, but his profile was raised considerably when ESPN devoted significant coverage to a group of players – nicknamed “The Crew” – in their 2005 World Series of Poker coverage.

Jungblut, along with Dutch Boyd and Scott Fishman, were the core members of this loose association of poker players, and while The Crew didn’t have much staying power, the brief amount of intense attention the group received ensured that all of their names became far more recognizable.

Latest of online poker site’s pros to depart

Jungblut is not the first pro to leave Lock Poker in 2013 – only the most recent to do so. A few weeks ago, Chris Moorman (a UK pro) and Paul Volpe (an American hailing from Pennsylvania) both announced (on the same day) that they were severing ties with Lock Poker, effective immediately.

Jungblut echoed some of their sentiments in his statement. Like Moorman and Volpe, he expressed regret for Lock’s current situation, but remained hopeful that it would be resolved: “It is my hope that Lock will continue to make strides to improve customer satisfaction & reduce payout delays. The last thing I would ever want is my fellow poker players harmed by a brand I represented.”

Lock’s pro team remains stuffed with big names

While Jungblut no longer appears on the list of Lock’s sponsored pros, that’s not the same thing as saying that the list is now somehow barren or vacant.

In fact, some of poker’s biggest names continue to represent Lock Poker. Michael Mizrachi – winner of multiple WSOP bracelets – leads the list of prominent pros who continue to lend their name to the beleaguered online poker room.

Right behind Mizrachi on Lock’s list of “Elite” pros is Annette Obrestad, who remains one of the best-known online poker players in the world – and holds a WSOPE Main Event bracelet to boot.