Run It Up Founder Jason Somerville No Longer a PokerStars Ambassador

Jason Somerville
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  • Attreyee Khasnabis January 3, 2020
  • 2 Minutes Read

There has been a steady exodus of renowned poker pros from the PokerStars roster of Team Pros over the past two years. After names like Felipe Ramos, Jason Mercier, Vanessa Selbst, and Bertrand ‘Elky’ Grospellier parted ways with PokerStars, six-time bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu too ended his association with the Red Spade in May last year. Just days before the year-end, India’s longest-serving PokerStars Ambassador, Aditya Agarwal, also announced his departure from the brand’s pro roster.

The latest poker pro to cut the cord with the Red Spade is Run It Up (RIU) founder Jason Somerville (cover image). Somerville announced the end of his collaboration with PokerStars on January 2.

In the two-minute-long video, Somerville said, “I feel a ton of gratitude toward PokerStars for taking a chance on me and Run It Up.”

The Twitch pioneer had been signed on by the online poker giant back in 2014. Often credited as the “Godfather of Twitch Poker,” Somerville successfully created a community of nearly 235,000 followers on Twitch.

In the face of PokerStars’ shift in marketing strategy, Somerville’s exit, though sad, is not shocking. With the company now looking to focus on up-and-coming streamers to reach out to wider audiences, it is only a matter of time before the ‘old guard’ of Team Ambassadors is replaced by a newer brigade of lesser-known poker streamers.

Somerville opened up about the advantages and disadvantages of donning the PokerStars patch. “It was tough being limited by my PokerStars exclusivity on the content that I could create,” he stated.

However, he is looking forward to newer things in 2020. He also alluded to having plans for uploading more general gambling-related content. He called sports betting something he “has fallen in love with,” and as it continues to proliferate across the U.S. in terms of legalization, more opportunities for content will inevitably arise.

“As of right now I feel extremely grateful for all the love and support of the poker community, the twitch community,” Somerville said. “It means more to me than you’ll know and we’re not done yet.”

For now, Somerville remains tight-lipped about where all these plans will lead, but a planned stream is likely to reveal more details. Run It Up Reno 10 is also due to start on April 10, 2020, when people will definitely be pressing him for more information.

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