Dara O’Kearney and David Lappin have cut ties with WPT Global after the popular poker site announced the signing of Tony “Ren” Lin as a new ambassador.
WPT Global revealed the partnership yesterday and it sent quite a shockwave through the poker world. Lin is a known cheater who was caught last October ghosting player “RealOA” during the GGMillion$ final table on GGPoker, an incident he later admitted to and issued a public apology for. Both players involved in the scandal were banned by GGPoker and the WSOP, but more on that later.
At the time of the incident, Lin was also a GGPoker ambassador but was later removed from the GGTeam and GGPoker website, following the cheating scandal. However, it didn’t take long for him to find a new home.
The move from one of the leading online poker sites didn’t sit well with the poker community, including O’Kearney and Lappin, the hosts of the popular The Chip Race podcast.
In June last year, the duo announced WPT Global as their new partner, after their long-standing relationship with Unibet Poker came to an end. Now, in a move rarely seen in the poker world, they showed real backbone and immediately walked away from that partnership, hardly needing a night of sleep to decide. Rare these days, and all the props to the guys!
- Read more: The Chip Race Rebuys?
- Read more: WPT Global, the New Chip Race Sponsor
“It’s extremely disappointing for the partnership to end this way but David and I were left with no choice. Doing everything possible to create and maintain a safe online environment for recreational players is a non negotiable core value for us,” Dara O’Kearney told poker.pro.
The duo behind the beloved The Chip Race made their position public and you can read their full statement on Twitter.
On the other hand, WPT Global doubled down on the signing of Tony “Ren” Lin. After all the backlash from the poker community, the site issued a statement in support of Lin. They said “Tony has openly addressed past controversies and taken full responsibility for his actions”, adding that they “believe people can learn from their experiences and still contribute positively to the community.”
While player “RealOA” was permanently banned from GGPoker, the WSOP, and all partner platforms, Lin received what was described as an “indefinite” suspension. In reality, it lasted less than two months, as he was already back playing at WSOP Paradise in December (and without GGPoker patches), leaving a sour taste in the mouths of many.
The signing of Tony “Ren” Lin is a surprising move, but not a complete shocker. Lin still has a large following in Asia, an extremely important market for WPT Global, and that clearly played a role in why the site decided to give him a second chance.
As WPT Global put it in their own statement, their decision to work with Lin is “rooted in our belief in second chances and our focus on the future,” adding that they “stand by our platform, our players, and our ambassadors as we continue to foster a respectful and trustworthy poker environment.”
