PokerStars is set to announce that Irish poker professional David Lappin has been chosen as its newest ambassador, following his success in the PokerStars Live League competition. The reveal took place during the EPT Paris livestream, marking the start of the latest chapter in PokerStars’ renewed focus on community-driven ambassadors.

For those who’ve followed Lappin’s career, the move feels both logical and well-deserved. A long-time advocate for fairness and player representation, he has earned respect as one of the most outspoken and principled voices in poker. His reputation for integrity was underscored when he and Chip Race co-host Dara O’Kearney resigned from their roles with WPT Global, citing concerns about game integrity.

When pokerfuse spoke with Lappin ahead of the official announcement, he recalled how the opportunity unfolded. “A few weeks ago, I got a call from the team at Stars,” he said. “They told me they’d conducted their process for the Live League leaderboard. I’d finished tenth—just scraped onto it, really—and I’d put in an application with a short video. They must have liked it.” He smiled, adding, “If you’d told me six weeks ago that I’d be sitting here in a brasserie in Paris talking about joining PokerStars, I’d have said that was hard to imagine.”

A Player’s Ambassador

For Lappin, the ambassadorship isn’t a new identity—it’s a reaffirmation of what’s guided him for more than a decade. “Hand on heart, I think and hope this will be similar to my time at Unibet,” he said. “I’ve always seen myself as an ambassador for the players first. You serve the company best by caring about the players first—that’s fundamental.”

He admitted that after a turbulent few months, his standards for any new deal were clear. “It was so important that if I took another deal of this nature, it would be with a company I could trust completely when it came to game integrity and player security. That was non-negotiable,” he said. “I couldn’t have found a better home in that regard.”

Listening to Players

The Maltese pro says he’s eager to bring energy and empathy to live stops. “I hope to be a friendly, gregarious presence at the tables, someone who teases out what brought players here in the first place,” he explained. “I want to hear what excites them—whether it’s the satellites or the venues—and feed that back to the team.”

He name-checked Live Operations head Willie Elliott as “brilliant at understanding liquidity and the landscape,” adding, “I hope to assist him this year. The PokerStars live team—Toby Stone, Nick O’Hara, all of them—are the best in the business. But there are always small ways to look after players better, and I want to be a force for good in that respect.”

Excited for the New Season

Discussing the upcoming Live League season, Lappin’s enthusiasm was palpable. “The schedule looks great,” he said. “It’s amazing to be back in Paris, and I actually think this stop could become the biggest EPT in a couple of years. The venue can go even bigger.”

He praised the long-standing success of Barcelona and Prague while looking forward to experiencing Monaco for the first time. “I love that the Opens keep the same price point but raise the EPT Open buy-in—it makes a lot of sense,” he added. “As this league grows, I hope they rotate venues—let players see new cities and keep the circuit fresh.”

All in on PokerStars

As for his schedule, Lappin plans to make nearly every stop. “My hope is to miss nothing—or maybe one stop at most,” he said. “For the last few years, Stars’ events have already been about two-thirds of my live volume anyway. Ambassador or not, you’d have found me at most of these stops.”

When asked how the new role might affect his life, he smiled. “I don’t think I’d ever choose another brand’s event over a Stars one. Maybe I’ll travel more now—say yes to Monte Carlo instead of staying home for a Malta stop—but that’s a price I’m happy to pay.”

Integrity and Authenticity

The appointment comes months after Lappin and Dara O’Kearney, co-hosts of The Chip Race and The Lock-In, publicly stepped away from WPT Global over concerns about game integrity. The decision reinforced Lappin’s reputation for principle and transparency. “If I took another deal, it had to be with a company I could trust 100 percent,” he noted.

In addition to O’Kearney signing a new sponsorship with Flutter’s Paddy Power, Lappin’s move to PokerStars reflects a union between one of the game’s most outspoken advocates for fairness and a brand eager to have trust at the front of all its offerings.

Looking Ahead

Beyond the tables, Lappin hopes to contribute to PokerStars’ live coverage teams. “James and Joe are legends,” he said, referencing veteran commentators Hartigan and Stapleton. “Nick Walsh, Griffin Benger, Maria Ho—all brilliant. It’d be an honor to join them in the booth again.”

More than anything, his goal is clear: “Day one of an ambassadorship is day one of auditioning for a renewal,” he said. “I don’t want a one-year deal. I want to prove useful across different areas so they won’t want to let me go.”

As the Live League season takes shape and EPT Paris sets the tone for 2026, the poker world will be watching. For a figure who has long championed transparency, it’s a partnership that feels both earned and fitting—and as Lappin put it, “a chance to be useful again.”

And for the many fans who know him through The Chip Race, it will indeed be interesting to see how this new chapter affects the podcast.