News: Pius Heinz joins PokerStars

German November Nine finalist Pius Heinz has joined Team PokerStars. Find out more here.

Eoghan O'Dea will be hoping to call upon the luck of the Irish

Pius Heinz is bidding for glory

In what has been a quiet interim period for November Nine player signatures, Team PokerStars have snapped up Pius Heinz at the eleventh hour.

The demise of Full Tilt Poker and Ultimate Bet has meant there's been less of a clamour to secure player sponsorship deals in the build up to poker's showpiece spectacle. Table short stack Sam Holden is the only other player to have clinched a deal, having signed with 888 Poker.

Despite starting off in 7th with 16,425,000 in chips, 22 year old Heinz possesses a fine online pedigree, and is considered one of the tournament dark horses. He boasts victories in the Full Tilt Sunday Mulligan and PokerStars $150k guaranteed. Fellow PokerStars pro Micky Petersen noted, "I’ve played with Pius Heinz online and he is very strong in my opinion".

Heinz, who warmed up for his Main Event run with a 7th placed finish in a $1,500 NLH event for $83,286, declared "I’m pretty relaxed about the game. There are a lot of tough players left but I’m confident I can win it. Joining PokerStars has given me an extra lift, too. I’m looking forward to being part of the team".

He joins fellow Germans Sandra Naujoks, Sebastian Ruthenberg and Boris Becker on the Team PokerStars roster, and will be donning his first PokerStars patch at the upcoming EPT Prague.

All eyes will be on Pius on Sunday, as he looks to justify his signature with a strong performance in the November Nine.