Liv Boeree and Igor Kurganov leave PokerStars
In what has been a real shakeup of a year for sponsorships in poker, two more big names have left Team PokerStars.
Liv Boeree and her partner Igor Kurganov have both announced they were parting ways with the site:
Pokerwise, you may have noticed I haven’t played much the past year — I’ve shifted to giving talks & creating science, rationality & effective altruism content... but I still plan to jump in the odd tourney here and there!
So subscribe to my stuff, eh 😬https://t.co/X3Eb0KwLh0— Liv Boeree (@Liv_Boeree) November 13, 2019
Liv and I are splitting up...
It’s been some fun couple of years and I’m thankful for the experience, the great support to https://t.co/euvfWZIdSN and the people I’ve worked with.
Sorry, splitting up with Pokerstars, not Liv, but all the above is true for both!— Igor Kurganov (@kurganovigor) November 13, 2019
Boeree has been with PokerStars for nine years after winning EPT San Remo. Two years ago her partner Kurganov joined the site and together the two have promoted REG Charity with help from the site and also won the Tag Team bracelets at the WSOP together.
The changing landscape of sponsorship
They are the latest two players to leave the site in the last year along with Jaime Staples, Barry Greenstein, Jeff Gross, Jake Cody, Randy Lew, Kevin Martin and Daniel Negreanu.
Boeree is arguably the biggest name to leave PokerStars after Negreanu. While she doesn't have the poker resume of KidPoker what she has always had has been a wide reaching appeal beyond poker including as a presenter, a model, a guitarist, a philanthropist and a scientist. Indeed, based on her Twitter announcement it looks like she will be spending more time on non-poker projects going forward.
Team PokerStars is now a very different animal these days with a roster of grassroots Twitch streamers, revered author Maria Konnikova and streaming legend Lex Veldhuis. The only name remaining from the hay day of poker is Chris Moneymaker. It would be a real surprise to see him one day leave the site, especially now that PokerStars have a foothold again in the US market.
Are poker sponsorships less important these days? Let us know in the comments:
