Matt Staples was announced Monday as the first member of Partypoker’s new Team Online, a move designed to make the online poker room a bigger player in the increasingly popular world of Twitch poker streaming.
Staples has more than 52,000 followers on his Twitch channel, which has amassed more than 3 million views.
Staples Brothers Popular on Twitch
Staples made the announcement that he would be joining Partypoker via his Twitter account on Monday.
“Very excited to announce that I have officially joined @partypoker Team Online,” Staples wrote. “The future looks very bright and I’m more motivated than ever to deliver solid content on Twitch and to work with this team to do some great things.”
The 22-year-old Stables hails from Alberta, Canada, and has been playing poker since he was 18 years old. He now mainly plays mid-to-high stakes tournaments on his Twitch stream.
His brother Jaime is also a successful Twitch poker streamer, and the two gained notoriety for a $150,000 weight prop bet with Bill Perkins that required both brothers to reach the same weight within one year – something they accomplished by having Matt gain over 50 pounds while Jaime slimmed down over 100 pounds to win the bet.
Partypoker Looks to Improve Streaming Content
According to Partypoker officials, the move was made to get their brand up to speed in the changing world of online poker.
“We have been a bit behind the curve when it comes to streaming, but we are hoping to make up for lost time by compiling an elite team that will be able to stream entertaining and engaging content 24/7,” Partypoker managing director Tom Waters said in a blog post on the company’s website. “We are delighted to have Matt join the team and will be able to announce some more exciting additions to Team Online in the coming days.”
Pavlovic Becomes Second Team Member
Another team member was announced on Tuesday. Hristivoje “ALLinPav” Pavlovic announced that he was also joining the Partypoker Team Online crew, with the site saying that more additions would be coming in the days to come.
“Signing with Partypoker ranks as one of my proudest achievements,” Pavlovic said in a Partypoker blog. “I’m stoked to represent a company that has strong ethics at its heart, and I can’t wait to help build the great game of poker.”
Partypoker has also said that current members of their pro team like Fedor Holz, Patrick Leonard, and Ludovic Geilich would also be streaming more regularly to round out their pivot towards Twitch.
The creation of the Partypoker Team Online comes just days after the company let go streamer “IT5PAYDAY.”
Staples had a successful first day as an official Partypoker streamer. Early Tuesday morning, he finished 12th in the $320 PartyPoker Gladiator event, cashing for $2,253.
