Winamax Recruits Adrian Mateos and Mustapha Kanit

Winamax, the French online poker operators, have celebrated the news that France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal will soon merge their player pools by signing up two of the biggest stars in the European game Italy’s Mustapha Kanit and Spain’s Adrian Mateos.

On their website, Team Winamax’s translator Zitoune wrote:

"Winamax is proud to reveal the names of the first two professional players who will be representing Team Winamax amongst the Spanish and Italian communities… it is difficult for us to hide our excitement at welcoming Mustapha Kanit and Adrián Mateos Diaz to Team Winamax. Benvenuto! Bienvenido!"

Stéphane Matheu, the Team Winamax coach, said of the announcement:

"The Team is blowing up to huge proportions with the arrival of Mustapha and Adrián. Adding two players of this caliber to the Team will make the group aim even higher. Not to mention that these are two incredibly kind people. We are at the start of a new era, and it's very exciting!"

The two signings are a clear sign that Winamax are looking forward to the recently-released news that the four nation’s will share their player liquidity, PokerTube’s Jose Aguilar writing an informative piece on the huge breakthrough for European online poker last week.

Both players are famous beyond European borders, of course, boasting live winnings close to the $10million mark, ‘the most renowned players in their respective countries, and are amongst the most respected players in the professional circuit,’ as Winamax state.

Italian-born Kanit went on a ridiculous heater 2 years ago, prompting the question ‘Is Mustafa Kanit real?’ as he scooped almost everything including a $1,653,491 payday at the Monte Carlo Super High Roller last year.

"I have always had a lot of respect for Team Winamax" Mustapha Kanit explained during a recent visit to the company offices in Paris. "The notion of a Team is very real with them. Having observed them in tournaments, and having had conversations with team members whom I regularly converse with, such as Davidi Kitai and Sylvain Loosli, we can see that they are true friends and are constantly helping each other."

Adrian Mateos was equally enthusiastic about his appointment to the team, tweeting…

…and adding that he is:

"Very pleased with his decision to join Team Winamax. I am honoured with the trust that Winamax places in me. As with everything I do, I intend to give it my all within the Team."

Mateos and Kanit will join the likes of Davidi Kitai and Sylvain Loosli to promote the Winamax brand across Europe.