Twitch sensation Jason Somerville continues to be the market leader for online poker on the live streaming monolith after passing 10 million views earlier last week.
Jason Somerville is the new ’10 million Twitch Viewer Man’.
Ok, it doesn’t have the same ring as the ‘6 Billion Dollar Man’ but his cyber exploits are equally as impressive when it comes to his unofficial role as recreational poker player gatekeeper.
Anyone who has traveled to Burning Man Festival in Black Rock City will understand the importance of the meet and greet at the gates. Seasoned burners meet the newest virgins with the huggiest of hugs before getting them to roll around in the dirt.
Somerville is that man for online poker. There is nobody on this planet who gets to meet and greet as many online poker virgins as the World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner. And that makes him one of the greatest marketing machines in poker.
PokerStars saw that potential when they signed him as a member of Team Pro back in February 2015. With the backing of the world’s largest online poker room, Somerville’s, Twitch channel jcarverpoker has become the benchmark for online poker streaming.
On Monday, March 21, Somerville’s Twitch stream view ticker went over the 10 million mark. His Run It UP! Show has been so successful he is now selling merchandise all over the world and was hired to stream live from the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) and the Aussie Millions.
Somerville is not alone. Like most magically mammoth marketing machines his success has been born out of his ability to amass a community. His members are called Run It UP! Warriors. He has created that community through hard work and a dedication that’s rare in this world.
The PokerStars Team Pro can be found streaming online seven days per week for a minimum of six hours at a time. It’s a vital component in the cog of the Twitch streaming machine, that and originality, of which Somerville provides buckets loads.
Online Poker Still in its Infancy
Streaming online poker on Twitch is still in its early shoots of growth. Somerville is holding the baton. Many celebrities of the poker world are following in his footsteps. Some not so familiar names are working hard enough to get noticed with Jaime Staples at the top of that list.
To get into the mountain pass regions that video gamers regularly tread on Twitch, online poker exponents have a lot of climbing still to do. According to Socialblade.com, the most prolific Twitch channel is RiotGames registering an astonishing 816,426,891 views. Even the 100th most popular site roomonfire pulls in 38,059,623 interesting sets of eyeballs.
According to an article written on expandedramblings.com in Feb of this year, there are 1.7 million broadcasters on Twitch, 58% of them spend more than 20 hours a week watching an average of 11 million videos broadcast each month, and the average age of those viewers is 21. According to Alexa.com Twitch.tv is the 128th most popular website in the world. 29% of their visitors come from the US.
Somerville is currently hitting the airwaves from PokerStars new US campsite over in New Jersey. On May 24-30 he will be hosting another Run It UP! Live festival in Reno, Nevada where players will be able to meet the fabled hero and take part in a Main Event carrying a $150,000 guarantee.
Here’s to 20 million and counting.
