In their quest to catch PokerStars, both Partypoker and 888poker have been making moves in the online poker realm. Most recently, 888 announced that they were joining forces with the World Poker Tour, and that they have signed Brazilian player Vivian Saliba as their newest ambassador.
Brazilian Pride
After getting some airtime on PokerGo this past summer, Vivian Saliba, more often called “Vivi,” has become a bona fide star in her home country of Brazil. As such, 888poker has decided to take advantage by signing her as their latest ambassador.
The 24-year-old PLO grinder made a name for herself thanks to two 2017 World Series of Poker events. First, Saliba won $47,923 for finishing in 11th place in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship.
“I prefer PLO because there is way more action compared to Hold’em what makes it more enjoyable to play,” Vivian Saliba told 888poker officials. “A lot of players are new to the game and make many mistakes which is obviously good for me as a professional poker player.”
Saliba then used that money to buy into the WSOP Main Event, becoming the youngest female in the field. She went on to finish in 421st place for $27,743. It was during that run that she captured the hearts of Brazilian poker fans.
Saliba, who learned poker from her father, joins Bruno Foster as 888poker’s Brazilian ambassadors. She has $193,780 in tournament earnings, including a recent win in the 888Live London Ladies Event. She also cashed four times at WSOP Europe, with her best score being $19,442 for placing 59th in the Main Event.
She also made two final tables in PLO events in August and September. She placed 3rd in an €1,100 PLO tournament at the PokerStars Championship Barcelona for $23,749, and 3rd in a R$ 33,000 PLO at the WSOP International Circuit stop in Sao Paolo, Brazil, for $10,375.
Worldwide Outreach
Patching up Saliba is just part of 888poker’s latest strategic surge to connect with more players around the world. It coincides with a partnership recently formed with the WPT, in which 888poker will now run online qualifiers for WPTDeepStacks events.
In continuing their quest to make poker more accessible, 888poker will offer both $109 and $160 qualifiers to WPT events around the world beginning with January’s WPTDeepStacks Berlin €1,500 Main Event.
This WPT partnership is just the latest move by 888poker, who’ve become major sponsors throughout the poker world.
Prior to this, 888poker has been sponsoring high-status events such as the WSOP and Super High Roller Bowl, as well as smaller, country-specific tournament activity such as the new season of German High Roller and the Swedish Poker Championships.
888poker has also upped their online game by bolstering their tournament offerings, including weekly events like the Mega Deep and Whale, as well as the well-received XL Series such as the spring’s XL Inferno and the XL Eclipse this past fall..
888poker’s next major series will be the XL Blizzard in January.
