Felipe Ramos Latest Pro to End PokerStars Partnership
January 12, 2018 12:50 pmJanuary has proven to be a memorable one as far as high-profile pros parting ways with PokerStars is concerned, with Felipe Mojave Ramos completing a brace of ambassador to see their tenure with the site come to an end. While the Brazilian initially hinted at the development in December, he recently confirmed the news via his twitter account, stating:
“As I have announced in December my departure, now it is official and I am no longer with PokerStars. I could not have reached more success in and off the tables as a PokerStars Team Pro in these 2,5 years we’ve been partners. And I am very thankful.”
Jason Mercier and Vanessa Selbst also ended their long-term relationship with PokerStars this month, with Mercier citing wanting to spend more time with his wife and new-born child for his reason for leaving, and Selbst in order to work for the world’s biggest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates.
In 2017, however, Jason Mercier recorded his third lowest year to date and lowest year since 2012 with $1,144,367 in winnings, while Vanessa Selbst experienced her worst ever having cashed on just two occasions for $8,231.
By contrast, 2017 proved to be Felipe Ramos’ most successful year, having won $762,265 to boost his career earnings to $2,081,992. This includes booking his biggest score to date in November after finishing the partypoker Caribbean Poker Party $5,300 Main Event in 5th place for $220,000.
This what makes Ramos’s departure from PokerStars all the more baffling considering he appears to be at the top of his game, and in 2017 was recognised by The Global Poker Index (GPI) as the best player in Latin America. Furthermore, Brazil is one of the most promising poker markets in the world, but as Ramos explains in his tweet:
“We did not reach an agreement, and it is time to move on. The company’s priorities have changed. I am a poker ambassador. I build player bases, I inspire people to play poker and help them to start and keep going. That will always be my number one priority.”
Felipe Ramos originally signed with PokerStars back in July of 2015, and throughout his career has earned $701,286 playing online using the screen name ‘Mojave14’, of which $538,457 has been won on PokerStars alone.