PartyPoker and PokerStars Add Twitch Poker Streamers

PokerStars and PartyPoker added to their growing list of Twitch streamers in the past few days. Both poker sites recently announced signings of poker streamers like Kevin Martin, Jaime Staples, Arlie Shaban, and Op-Poker.

When PokerStars lost several of its high-profile poker streamers in the last few months, the buzz suggested partypoker would sign several. That proved to be the case, as PartyPoker signed former Big Brother Canada winner Kevin Martin to its new “Team Online” roster.

Jamie Staples joined his younger brother, Matt Staples, on Team Online. The Staples brothers join a growing team of poker streamers which included Travis Darroch, Patrick Tardif, and Ryan Schoonbaert.

While announcing his signing with partypoker, Kevin Martin tweeted, “I’m really pleased to be joining team partypoker. It’s a brand that is doing some impressive things while keeping the player the priority. I’m ready to jump in head-first. It’s going to be an amazing year on Twitch.

Partypoker “Makes Up for Lost Time”

When he announced Team Online in February, partypoker Managing Director Tom Waters said his card site was behind the proverbial 8-ball on poker streamers. Saying he planned to “make up for lost time”, Waters added partypoker remains “a bit behind the curve when it comes to streaming.”

Partypoker’s Social, Community and Twitch Specialist Colette Stewart told Poker Industry PRO at the time, “[W]e believe for poker streamers there will be a lot more competition than previously. Partypoker has made a big commitment to the platform and that should spur on a lot more streamers, putting on higher quality content streams, and generating more enjoyment for viewers.”

PokerStars’ Somerville and Veldhuis Still Dominate

Though PokerStars lost several streamers in 2019, the world’s top online cardroom still leads the pack. PokerStars team member Jason Somerville began as the innovator and remains the master of Twitch poker. PokerStars’ Lex Veldhuis is a Twitch sensation, too. Benjamin “Spraggy” Spragg remains active for PokerStars.

Still, it is a time of transition for PokerStars’ celebrity partnerships. Jake Cody left PokerStars in March, while Randy “nanonoko” Lew left the team in April. Barry Greenstein, a longtime Team PokerStars member, left the roster recently.

Arlie Shaban Joins PokerStars

Given his feats of endurance, Arlie Shaban addition adds a dedicated poker player to the team. Shaban said on a Twitter post, “I’m extremely humbled to be a part of the team and really look forward to what the future holds! Thank-you @PokerStars for this amazing opportunity!”

Mr. Shaban gained prominence last year when he streamed over 1000 hours of live poker on Twitch over 125 consecutive days. Shaban’s livestreamed online poker marathon was not just a feat of endurance, but also a feat of entertainment. It’s hard to stay interesting to one’s audience for that length of time.

Op-Poker Streams for PokerStars

Three members of the Op-Poker Team also joined the ranks. James Mackenzie, Nick Walsh, and Eva Reberc create poker strategy content on Twitch and YouTube. Their streams partly focus on novelty poker variants like Fusion, 6+ Hold’em, and Showtime. Op-Poker also promotes the Esports/poker game hybrid Power Up and the Power Up Championship.

Along with those novel game variants, Mackenzie, Walsh, and Reberc discuss PokerStars new virtual reality game, PokerStars VR. The team also livestreams Spin & Go events at times.

Cliff Spiller

Cliff Spiller has been an online writer for more than a decade. He worked for Small World Marketing for years, where he covered topics like gaming, sports, movies, and how-to guides. He's covered US and international gambling news on BestOnlineCasinos.com, USPokerSites.com, and LegalUSPokerSites.com since 2014.

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