Rafael Nadal Parts Ways With PokerStars
8 years ago
10 Oct
PokerStars this week ended their 3-year partnership with tennis legend Rafael Nadal, stating that The 13-time Grand Slam winner:
āHas played an important role for our brand, and while his time as a member of Team PokerStars SportStars has concluded for now, we remain close to him and his teamā.
With the siteās recent focus on the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar Jr, it was Lee Davy on CalvinAyre.com who first spotted the Spanish tennis star missing from the Stars line-up. Writing on October 5th, Davy said:
āThe only way I found out was because I noticed his mugshot had been removed from the PokerStars Team SportsStar page.ā
This has since been confirmed by PokersStars, who added:
āOur strategy and work with Rafa has led our strategy to evolve, and consequently, our current focus in on working with Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar Jr.ā
Olympic Gold medallist āEl Ninoā Nadal became the first of PokerStars āmega-stars of the sporting worldā back in June 2012, stating at the time:
"When I discovered the game of poker, I chose to join PokerStars because they understand what it takes to be the best and associate themselves with the qualities of champions. I'm very happy to be working with them."
Nadalās involvement in poker, however, was restricted to global advertisements for the site, and celebrity match-ups, rather than any real āpoker playingā.
Rafa won a Starsā organized charity game against retired Brazilian footballer Ronaldo in 2014. Nadal won $50,000 for his charity, the Rafa Nadal Foundation. Ronaldo recently proved his own poker prowess with a deep run in the Caribbean Adventure, finishing 15th in the Main Event ā good for a $41,280 payday.
āIn poker, you need self control, the ability to analyze your opponent and read the game to know when to go for it, a strategy that is not too dissimilar to tennis,ā Nadal said after the event. āIt was close for most of the match and Iām delighted to have won. I called all in on the final hand, which proved to be a good move.ā
Nadalās biggest success as a PokerStars Ambassador came when he won the $100,000 EPT Charity Event which included Daniel Negreanu in the line-up. Nadal eventually defeated Fatima Moreira De Melo heads-up to add $50,000 to the coffers of his chosen charity āThe Good Hands Projectā.
"He came in really solid and he didn't make any mistakes. And then he knew when to make the adjustment, to play more aggressively, and he did," said Negreanu in the post-event press conference. "The bottom line is that everybody wins because it's all going to good causes."
Nadal also played Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Selbst heads-up in the lead-up to the 2014 EPT Grand Final at the Casino de Monte Carlo. Despite losing, Nadal commented:
āIt was a great honor to play against a strong competitor and although I lost, I had a lot of fun.ā
Selbst returned the compliment, saying:
āRafa played a great game, but the format and the cards were in my favor,ā adding, āI had an excellent time with Rafa and Iām looking forward to the re-match!ā
That re-match may never happen now with Nadalās departure from the PokerStars stable, but there will be no shortage of other sporting stars ready and willing to pit themselves against the Team Pro line-up.
Stars announced last week that they will sponsor Zoe Gillings-Brier, the Olympic snowboarder who hails from the Isle of Man ā also home to the PokerStars HQ.
30-year old Gillings-Brier, the āSnowboard Xā expert (where six athletes race down a mountain course of jumps and turns - just like motocross -and the fastest to the bottom wins) is seeking to compete in her 4th Winter Olympics in South Korea in 2018.
Her involvement with the poker site began immediately, although relatively unsuccessfully, with a Day1b exit in last weekās UKIPT Main Event in her home town of Douglas -her pocket aces being cracked by a pair of kings.
āItās great to be linked with a company from my home country.ā
That's what Gillings-Brier blogged on her new partnership. She also mentioned her 18th place out of 110 runners in the charity event organized alongside the main UKIPT tournaments, finishing just outside of the prizes.
With Nadalās departure, and Gillings-Brierās new sponsorship, the PokerStars Team SportStars now looks like this:
- Cristiano Ronaldo: Three-time football World Player of the Year
- Neymar Jr: Brazil national football team captain
- Fatima Moreira De Melo: Dutch field hockey Olympic gold medalist
- Marcus Hellner: cross-country skiing Olympic gold medal winner from Sweden
- Zoe Gillings-Brier: Snowboard X Olympian from Isle of Man
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