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As we have previously reported, Humberto Brenes, one of the most well-known live players in Latin America, parted with PokerStars after his contract was not renewed. Angel Guillen has departed at the end of June, and recently Nacho Barbero was also dropped from the team. Ultimate Poker has also decided to end things with about half of their Pro Team.
According to PokerStars Latin America Regional Manager Juan Carreno, these changes have nothing to do with the fact that Amaya has taken over PokerStars, and is simply a result of changes in regional policies.
The company simply wants to save money in spots where having multiple Team Pros per country doesn't give much extra value, and PokerStars has not organized any live events in neither Argentina (Nacho Barbero's home) nor Mexico (where Angel Guillen hails from).
Carreno also said: "This is happening all over the world", but it's unknown whether he means that there are going to be further Team Pros dropped, or that the changes in regional policies happen in every country and industry, and that this is just an example of that.
Barbero tweeted the following about the split (roughly translated): "Today is a nice day in my life, and poker is no longer a priority. Thanks everyone and thank you PokerStars. It has been fun to represent."
Nacho Barbero
Meanwhile, most of "Team U", the Ultimate Poker Pro Team, has been dropped from the company as well. Neither the players dropped or the company has made an official announcement, but none of the following players can be found on the team's website any more:
William Reynolds, 2012 November Niner Jeremy Ausmus, 2011 November Niner Phil Collins, Brent Hanks and Lauren Kling.
This leaves Ultimate Poker with four Pros, namely Antonio Esfandiari, Jason Somerville, Danielle Andersen and Dan O'Brien.
