Sahil Agarwal, Jasven Saigal and Danish Shaikh ‘Mutually’ End Contract With Thrill Poker

In a breaking news update, Sahil Agarwal, Jasven Saigal and Danish Shaikh, all members of Team Thrill have ended their contracts with Thrill Poker. All three players posted the same announcement on their Facebook walls last night, stating, “Hey guys i`m no longer part of Team Thrill. We have mutually decided to end this contract. It was fun till it lasted. I wish Thrill Poker And Team Thrill all the very best in their future endeavors”.

Brand alliances are certainly considered a win-win situation for both the parties concerned. The company gets extra mileage from in-the-spotlight players sporting their logo, while for players it is proof of their earned success, plus a welcome additional income. The past year and a half saw a tumultuous time for international brand-player alliances; with several break ups, especially at PokerStars and other big companies. This fall-out season seems to have now trickled down to India with the three players of Team Thrill and Thrill Poker mutually ending their contracts and speculations of another revamp also in the offing at Adda52.

Team Thrill was launched in April last year, with six members comprising of Danish Shaikh, Sahil Agarwal, Jasven Saigal, Haresh Kukreja, Dhaval Mudgal, and Shravan Chhabria. The team had been officially introduced during ‘The House of Spew’ (THOS) Series in Bengaluru. At the end of July, 2015, Thrill Poker added Nikita Luther to the team.

Thrill Poker echoed the ‘mutual’ separation sentiment and when contacted, Tanmay Sahay, Chief Marketing Officer Thrill Poker stated, “We have ended the contracts of Jasven, Sahil and Danish. It was a decision taken mutually after much deliberation. However, they remain close friends to the company and to me and Aditya (Aditya Oberoi) personally.”

While nothing has been specifically said, rumours report that there have been revisions in contract terms, especially concerning Mudgal. Sahay however, was quick to refute this and says, “The contracts of the pros remain unchanged. There is a rumour that Dhaval’s contract has been revamped – that is untrue.”

Sahay did confirm that Mudgal, Chabbria and Luther were very much on board to continue in their roles as part of Team Thrill for a second year, while negotiations were on with Kukreja. He also added, “Of course the existing pros will have to shoulder a larger responsibility now and we will look to add fresh faces to the team in the coming months as well but not right now.”

In the meantime, speculation is swirling about another brand alliance – online site Adda52 and the members of its pro team (Team Spades). Sources claim that the site is also seeking to revamp its team, with several strategic changes in negotiation terms.