PokerStars Offers Sponsorship Deal For Indian And Japanese Players
January 8, 2015 2:42 pmHighlighting its changing priorities, PokerStars has just announced it has added two young and talented players from India and Japan to its team of sponsored pros as it seeks to make further inroads into two countries with poker industries still in their early stages of development. Consequently, Aditya Agarwal and Kosei Ichinose have become PokerStars’ first members of Team Pro India and Team Pro Japan, respectively, and commenting on the latest signings, Kristy Thompson, Head of Pro and Celebrity Marketing, said:
“The signing of these Team Pros from India and Japan is an important step in helping promote the game in countries where poker is only just coming to the fore. Both players are highly respected within the poker sphere, and their success and passion for the game will no doubt spread throughout their local and national communities.”
Indian’s Aditya Agarwal became a poker pro after learning the game whilst attending a University in the United States, and today he has won $394,509 from live tournament, in addition to a further $4,204,024 playing online. A whopping $2,515,772 of that total was earned at PokerStars, and commenting on his new sponsorship deal, Agarwal said:
“I’ve been playing at PokerStars since 2004, so this is a dream come true for me. As a poker ambassador I want to help promote the game in India, and inspire more players to play and enjoy the sport.”
Similarly, Japan’s Kosei Ichinose picked up the game as a student in Canada nine years ago, and now boasts $305,677 in winnings from live tournaments, and a further $2,297,411 online. Ichinose will also be a more familiar name to many of PokerStars’ online regulars, having achieved Supernova Elite status in the past. Agarwal and Ichinose will now be tasked with helping spread the game to these two largely underdeveloped poker markets with a combined population of 1.38 billion people, and are expected to make their debuts at this month’s Aussie Millions at the Crown Casino, in Melbourne.
“I’m proud to be associated with PokerStars as I have achieved so much in the game by playing on the site,” said Ichinose. “I now look forward to helping spread the popularity of poker in Asia and representing the brand at major international tournaments like the upcoming Aussie Millions later this month.”