Signed to PokerStars to help promote poker and the PokerStars brand in Asia, Yaxi Zhu of China and Chen-an Lin of Taiwan, are the newest “Team Pros” members. Both poker professionals in their own right, they will join the ranks of over 30 Team Pros and 20 Online Pros from around the globe.
The announcement comes hot off the heels of the Macau Poker Cup’s second week, the famous PokerStars poker tournament series in Asia which will see them both compete in PokerStars LIVE Macau—a PokerStars-branded poker room in the City of Dreams casino.
Appealing To New Audiences
Both Yaxi Zhu & Chen-an Lin are highly regarded in their local and national communities and PokerStars hopes their celebrity will help raise the profile of the game in their own regions.
The PokerStars press release talks of the “ambition to grow the game of poker by introducing new audiences to a fun and competitive game of skill and strategy.” It goes on to say how “the popularity and appeal of local professional players and celebrity enthusiasts help to inspire new audiences around the world, as they seek to learn from and then play against their poker heroes.”
PokerStars in known for spearheading the growth of online and live poker, which started in the US and then followed suit in Western Europe and most recently in Eastern Europe and Latin America.
The pair join a handful of other “Team Pros” from the region, including Bryan Huang from Singapore, Celina Lin from China, Vivian Im from South Korea, and Kosei Ichinose and Naoya Kihara, both from Japan.
This regional yet highly targeted marketing campaign shows Amaya is understanding the diversity of its audience and market. It stands out in contrast to the global SportsStars campaign (run by the same group) that is backed by sporting legends Neymar Jr. and Christiano Ronaldo.
