Kevin Martin Takes on the Big Brother House Once Again
7 years ago
09 Mar
(Photo: Canada.bigbrothernetwork.com)
T witch streamer Kevin Martin has temporarily traded in the virtual world of online poker for the actual world of reality TV and will compete as a contestant on the popular "Big Brother" show in Canada.
The PokerStars Team Online Pro makes his second appearance on Big Brother Canada after having been a houseguest on Season 3 in 2015. Martin lasted 49 days two years ago before being evicted in Week 7 along with fellow contestant Willow MacDonald.
Will Rely on Poker Skills
A native of Calgary, Alberta, Martin is anxious to give Big Brother Canada another go, this time hoping to outlast the field and take home the title. The winner is awarded a grand prize of $100,000, a $30,000 gift card, and a 2017 Toyota ’86 sports car.
I can’t wait to get stuck in to life in the Big Brother Canada house," Martin stated. “I’m really going to miss my regular Twitch fans and playing poker, but I’ll approach the experience in a similar way to a poker tournament and hopefully my skills will come in handy.”
.KevinRobMartin's ready to make it to the end after learning his lesson. Less showmances, more poker face. 🃏 #BBCAN5#TEAMKEVINpic.twitter.com/RWmcIw0uBf
— Big Brother Canada (@BigBrotherCA) March 8, 2017
Twitch Channel Goes Dark
Martin has established quite a reputation as a live streamer on Twitch with 48,994 devoted followers. But communicating with them is verboten once he enters the Big Brother house, as all 16 houseguests do not have contact with the outside world during filming of the show.
Fans of Martin who tune into his 'KevinMartin987' Twitch channel are met with the following message:
"Sorry twitch, no streams for a little while! I'm off to chase my other passion ..... Big Brother!"
Special Tournaments at PokerStars
PokerStars is ecstatic that Martin has entered the Big Brother Canada house. They have promised to support their Team Online Pro by running special tournaments named in his honor while he attempts to outwit his fellow houseguests and win the grand prize.
Kevin’s enthusiasm and talent for engaging with beginner poker players has made him a very popular member of Team PokerStars Pro Online," said Team Manager May Maceiras. "We are going to miss him online but we hope that his recent success playing poker translates to success on the show."
Vanessa as Houseguest
Martin is not the only poker pro to have appeared on Big Brother. Vanessa Rousso was a houseguest on the U.S. version of the program on Season 17 in 2015.
Rousso, who has most recently ventured into the realm of creating electronic dance music, made it to 3rd place before elimination. Vanessa was formerly a PokerStars Team Pro, cutting ties with the site just prior to her Big Brother appearance.
More Poker Pros on TV
Also appearing on reality TV were Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle, who teamed up and competed on Season 15 of "The Amazing Race." The multi-talented Ho was also a Season 3 contestant on "American Idol" in 2004.
More recently, poker pro David Williams competed in the U.S. edition of "MasterChef" last year. Williams has live tournament winnings over $8 million, but his cabbage-wrapped guinea hen with foie gras topped with morel mushrooms and a yellow wine cream sauce landed him as co-runner up in the show's finale.
Also last year, former poker grinder and current Chicago currency trader Alex Jacob won the Tournament of Champions on "Jeopardy." Jacob's bet-sizing skills from his poker days were clearly evident during his dominant performance on the game show.
All eyes will now be on Martin, however, as he hopes to use his previous Big Brother houseguest experience, as well as some psychological strategies learned from poker, to his advantage. We're all rooting for you, Kevin!
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