Konnikova becomes new PokerStars Ambassador

(PRESS RELEASE) -- Bestselling author Maria Konnikova has signed as an official PokerStars Ambassador following her meteoric rise from rookie to poker pro in just 14 months. The 34-year-old, who has produced two New York Times bestsellers, started playing poker from scratch in January 2017 as part of her latest writing project, The Biggest Bluff, which documents her experience of a year on the live pro poker circuit.

“I’m incredibly excited to be joining the PokerStars team,” said Konnikova. “It’s been wonderful to be an unofficial ambassador with PokerStars for this past year, and I feel it’s a tremendous honor to be joining the team officially now. I never could have imagined poker becoming as big a part of my life as it has, and joining PokerStars offers me an incredible opportunity to take my game to the next level and to represent a brand that I’ve come to admire greatly. It certainly doesn’t hurt that the people I have the pleasure of working with at PokerStars are some of the nicest, smartest and most fun I know. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to share my passion for poker with the world and, hopefully, bring many new players into the game.”

Konnikova, who was trained by all-time poker great Erik Seidel, completed her journey from student to master after she took down her first major tournament at this year’s PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA). She beat a field of 290 players in the $1,650 buy-in PCA National Championship, scooping $84,600 for first place as well as a coveted Platinum Pass worth $30,000 to the PokerStars Players No Limit Hold’em Championship in the Bahamas next year, becoming the first woman to win one. Later in the year, Konnikova took second place in the HK $20,000 No Limit Hold’em APPT Macau event for $57,519.