Jason Somerville Thanks PokerStars, Starts ‘New Chapter’ In 2020

Jason Somerville will no longer be wearing the red spade logo. The Run It Up founder recently announced his departure from PokerStars on Twitter, signalling the start of a “new chapter” in his professional poker career in 2020.

In his tweet, the poker pro expressed his gratitude to PokerStars for having him on board and opening up opportunities for him and his own poker channel, Run It Up.

a new year, a new chapter… pic.twitter.com/rj5Jn70XTq

— jcarver (@JasonSomerville) 2 January 2020

Somerville is widely known for building a huge following and community through the video streaming platform Twitch. He was among the Twitch poker streaming pioneers, and influenced a lot of poker players and enthusiasts to establish their own channels. His significant contributions to modern poker caught the attention of the world’s largest online poker site, leading to a sponsorship deal.

Credited as the “Godfather of Twitch Poker“, Somerville has continuously come out with top-notch, innovative poker content, helping beginners and pros alike to reach their full potential. While Run It Up was initially established as an online community, it eventually penetrated the live poker scene.

The Run It Up poker series has been hugely successful and is returning for a 10th edition in April this year. The series also awarded a Platinum Pass for the PokerStars Players No-Limit Hold’em Championship in 2020.

Exclusivity Issues Spark End of Sponsorship

While Somerville acknowledged the many advantages of being a PokerStars-sponsored pro, the New York native admitted the sponsorship cost him his freedom in content creation. Being tied with the brand meant Somerville needed to adhere to exclusivity rules, putting some sort of restrictions to his capabilities and talent.

This is the main reason why he decided to leave PokerStars, especially now that he is looking at also releasing some exciting new content for sports betting, alongside other gambling categories, and not just poker. Somerville is the latest player to leave PokerStars’ roster of ambassadors, as the site continues to introduce changes to its platform and marketing strategy.

The biggest shock came in May of last year, when long-time PokerStars ambassador Daniel Negreanu also announced on his Twitter account that he had parted ways with the brand after more than a decade. Popular poker pros and personalities, including Liv Boeree, Isaac Haxton, Bertrand Grospellier, Jamie Staples and Jeff Gross also left the brand for good.

Somerville has yet to disclose the complete details of his departure, though he is expected to shed some light and share future plans during the Run It Up series which will run on April 3-13, 2020 at the Peppermill Reno.