partypoker Names Matt Staples as New Team Online Announced

The poker world had some inkling that there was big news on the horizon, but announcement by partypoker of a brand new ‘Team Online’ still came as a big shock – and Matt Staples was named as the first of the high-profile new squad…

partypoker’s announcement promised “a collection of some of the world’s most high-profile online poker content creators and streamers”, with further names expected to be released over the coming days.

Matt’s brother and fellow poker streamer Jaime, as well as the also hugely-popular Jeff Gross, are both rumoured to be in the mix for spots on Team Online, particularly following their high-profile departures from PokerStars last week.

partypoker explained that:

“Team Online forms part of a wider company strategy earmarked for the following weeks and months with the focus on streaming quality, engaging content across partypoker’s main Twitch channel."

It follows the recent announcement that the site would be joining forces with Bill Perkins’ Twitch TV streaming channel ‘The Thirst Lounge’ as sponsors.

Matt Staples has grown out of the shadow of brother Jaime to become a poker streaming force in his own right, building as partypoker termed it: “a sizeable community following across his Twitch and various other social media accounts in recent years”.

Matt Staples said of the announcement:

“I am incredibly excited to be entering into a sponsorship with partypoker. Becoming a sponsored pro is something I’ve aspired to for a while now, and I couldn't be happier about the partnership." He added: “There's nothing I like more than streaming tournaments on Twitch and I’m pumped to have the opportunity to showcase and help grow partypoker and their Twitch community.”

 The 22-year old’s TwitchTV channel now has over 3 million views and 52,000 followers, making his call-up to Team Online a very clever move by partypoker.

Along with Jaime, Matt took part in the famous weight loss/gain prop bet against Bill Perkins last year, winning $150,000 from the billionaire hedgefund guru and philanthropist.

partypoker’s press release also stated:

"Over the coming days, partypoker will be unveiling further new additions to Team Online via its official blog and social media channels".