In a continuous effort to catch up to PokerStars, both 888poker and partypoker have been making various steps in the online poker world. Just recently, 888poker announced they were teaming up with the World Poker Tour, and also they have brought in Brazilian poker player Vivian Saliba as their newest brand ambassador.
The Brazilian Pride for Poker
Vivian Saliba, age 24, usually called by her nickname ‘Vivi', has become an instant star in her home country of Brazil right after she got some airtime this past summer on PokerGo. Due to this rise in popularity, 888poker has decided sign her up as their newest ambassador.
Saliba's name got recognized thanks to her winning two events at the 2017 World Series of Poker. She initially won $47,923 for 11th place in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship, and the money won she then used to buy into the WSOP Main Event, which made her the youngest female poker player in the field. She settled in 421st place for $27,743. It was during that time that she gained the attention and captured the hearts of Brazilian poker fans.
Also, she made two final tables in the PLO events both in August and September. She got 3rd place in a €1,100 PLO tourney at the PokerStars Championship Barcelona for $23,749; and she again got 3rd place in a R$ 33,000 PLO tourney at the WSOP International Circuit stop in Sao Paolo, Brazil for $10,375.
Saliba learned poker at the age of 17 in Sao Paolo and currently deems herself as mainly a PLO player, said, "I prefer PLO because there is way more action compared to Hold'em what makes it more enjoyable to play. A lot of players are new to the game and make many mistakes which is obviously good for me as a professional poker player."
New and Past Activities
The partnership made with WPT is just one of their latest moves, and with this 888poker has made themselves a major sponsor on one of the most-prestigious events of the poker world.
Before this, 888poker has been sponsoring high-stakes events such as the Super High Roller Bowl and the WSOP. They have also sponsored smaller country-specific tournament activities such as the Swedish Poker Championships and the new season of German High Roller.
888poker has also amped up their online game by boosting up their tournament offerings, including events such as the Mega Deep and Whale, and also the very popular XL Series such as spring's XL Inferno and this past fall's XL Eclipse.
The next major series hosted by 888poker shall be the XL Blizzard this coming January.
Global Reach
Reeling in Saliba is just one of 888poker's latest strategic plans to connect with more players of various nationalities all over the world. It concurs with the joint partnership they recently formed with the World Poker Tour, in which 888poker shall now host online qualifiers for WPTDeepStacks events.
To make poker more fun and accessible to their players, 888poker is offering both $109 and $160 qualifiers to WPT events all over the globe, starting with January's WPTDeepStacks Berlin €1,500 Main Event.
With Saliba in, she now joins the 888poker team of ambassadors with the likes of PocketFives leading all-time money winner Chris Moorman; four-time bracelet winner and recent One Drop high Roller Champ Dominik Nitsche; Swedish pro Sofia Lövgren; high-stakes tourney pro Parker ‘Tonkaaaa' Talbot; and fellow Brazilian player Bruno ‘Foster' Politano.
Saliba said, "I couldn't be happier about joining. As a professional poker player, I always looked forward to a partnership. 888poker is one of the biggest poker companies, and I am very fortunate to be a part of it. I am ready to give 100% and see us both growing together. There are many aspects I like about 888poker. First of all, the 888live events because of the affordable buy-ins with good structures and amazing locations. I also like the online platform because of the variety of different tournaments and cash games with a large number of players online at any time."
Source:
https://www.888poker.com/magazine/ambassadors/vivian-saliba-joins-888poker-team-brazil/