PokerStars has announced plans to sponsor the Isle of Man snowboarder Zoe Gillings-Brier’s quest to compete in a fourth Olympic games, and has tennis sensation Rafael Nadal’s time with the Red Spade to come an end?
PokerStars continue to strengthen ties with the sporting world. They have agreed to sponsor Isle of Man Olympic Snowboard Cross champion Zoe Gillings-Brier, in the run up to her fourth Olympic appearance in Pyeongchang, South Korea, 2018.
Gillings-Brier, 30, has represented Great Britain in three Olympic games. She finished 15th in the first ever women’s Snowboard Cross event in 2006, eighth in 2010, and ninth in 2014. She also has four third place finishes in World Cup 
events, as well as a first in the German National Championships in 2008/09. She is the reigning Isle of Man Sports Woman of the Year. An award she has won five times.
Her PokerStars roles and responsibilities have already begun with a starring role at the Season 5 United Kingdom & Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT). The event featured a £440 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) Main Event, a combined Chess and NLHE tournament, £1,100 High Roller and a special charity event to raise money for Craig’s Heartstrong Foundation.
PokerStars latest talent lined up with an array of teammates including Chris Moneymaker, Jake Cody and Liv Boeree. Unfortunately, Gillings-Brier exited on Day 1B after having her aces cracked by kings in an all-in pre flop encounter.
349 players entered the main event. £26,400 awaits the winner. Play has reached the final table and the former 2009 Australia & New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT) Sydney Main Event champion, Paren Arzoomanian, holds the chip lead. None of the aforementioned superstars made it that far.
Speaking of her sponsorship deal, the Olympian said that she was ‘extremely grateful’ that her journey towards Korea was being sponsored by the Isle of Man based outfit. She also likened the adrenaline rush that she gets from snowboarding with the rush she gets playing poker. That will continue if she keeps getting it all-in pre AA v KK.
PokerStars Director of Corporate Communications, Eric Hollreiser, has been busy of late – what with PokerStars readying themselves for a re-entry into the American market – but he did carve out some time to say that PokerStars were ‘delighted’ to be able to back the snowboarder’s quest for Olympic glory, and called her an ‘extremely focused and determined athlete.’
Talking about extremely focused and determined athletes, the Isle of Man Sports Woman of the Year joins the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar Jr., Fatima Moreira De Melo and Marcus Hellner as sports stars that are also sponsored by the world’s largest online poker room.
One big name missing from that list is the Grand Slam tennis sensation Rafael Nadal. The Raging Bull became the first huge megastar to join PokerStars in June 2012, but he is currently conspicuous by his absence on the PokerStars Team SportsStars page, prompting suspicions that the Spaniard’s deal with PokerStars may have reached it’s natural end.
