one PokerStars Live Event Down: Many, many more to come in 2023 PokerStars Players NL Hold’em Championship i PokerStars Caribbean Adventure are in the books, with attention now turning to EPT Paris and beyond.
The year looks set to be an action-packed year, not only for the players and poker fans, but also for the diverse team working behind the scenes to ensure the events are enjoyable for all.
A team that includes commentators like Ambassador Nick Walsh who says he’s very excited about PokerStars’ live plans for the future.
The PokerStars Ambassador is the face of the PokerStars Twitch channel and has recently teamed up with commentary veterans. James Hartigan i Joe Stapleton. Whether in or out of the commentary booth, Walsh predicts a very good year live.
Looking forward to Paris
“Particularly with Paris and Cyprus,” he told PokerNews. “The fact that there seems to be such an appetite for live poker, coming out of an extended time where we didn’t really have any live poker, is so exciting.
“I’m not the only person saying this! I’ve seen a lot of people in the industry, who I’m very close to, saying the same thing. It looks like things are going in a good direction and it looks like Live Poker isn’t dead and here to stay!”
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“But the French, they love poker. I’m still waiting for a very, very big event”
The year started with the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure and the PokerStars Players NL Hold’em Championship – two massive events that Walsh was a part of.
“They were absolutely huge! I hope this continues [for the rest of the year]. And now it’s time for Paris after a couple of weeks. But the French love poker. I’m still waiting for a really, really big event.
Head to the EPT Paris Live Reporting Hub
“Not only because of where live poker is right now, but I know that it’s been a while since we’ve had a stop close enough for the French to attend that wasn’t Monte Carlo. It’s a much more affordable destination, compared to Monaco. at least!
“The events in the Bahamas really set the right tone for 2023, and going into Paris I hope it continues like that. I think we’re going to have a really good year.”
Learning from the best
Last year, Walsh went from being just a streamer to joining the PokerStars Live commentary team, alongside veteran commentators James Hartigan and Joe Stapleton. Walsh says that’s where most of his focus will be for the coming year.
“Last year there was the evolution, so this year the focus is to crush [the live events] out of the park”
“With my new contract, I stopped being purely a streamer and started taking on a more official role as a commentator and actually being an official team member with James and Joe.
“Last year there was the evolution, so this year the focus is to crush [the live events] get out of the park, bring energy every time and find my confidence a little too.
“Learning from James and Joe has been such an honor. I really consider those guys my mentors because they both have a certain style and a certain knack for feedback that I’m slowly picking up, while trying to find my own voice at the same time.”
The team behind the current
Away from the commentators, Walsh says there’s a huge team working to make the production the best it can be, whether it’s camera operators, producers, bouncers or even distributors and tournament officials .
He says that regardless of the event, the entire team put in the hard work and hours to ensure productions and live events run smoothly.
“When we have big events like the PSPC, in particular, we have the staff to do things that we don’t do at other smaller events. But in all honesty, none of our events are small! They all take a lot of effort.
“But having this extra feature table at the PSPC just meant twice the action for our viewers! Plus we had the outside table action staff, the editing staff putting together highlights or handheld montages key: there’s a great team of people working together.”
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Even at smaller events, Walsh says the production quality is so good that viewers barely notice a difference.
“I am very proud of all the staff”
“Behind the scenes, we know when we’re a smaller team, but the interesting thing is that the viewer doesn’t and I think that’s a testament to how powerful the production team is. Small elements may be noticeable that are missing from the event.to the event, but an EPT Prague is a lot like an EPT Monte Carlo.
“I’m so proud of everyone on staff. They’re the production team that drives this beautiful thing that we create, and we’re the only ones who express it. I’m so grateful to work with these guys.”
Looking for creative opportunities for 2023
In addition to commentary, Walsh is looking to 2023 to get creative and perhaps create new streaming formats that aim to take the spotlight off poker and put it more on the people.
“I’ve been thinking about some kind of cash game situation,” he explained. “Where you have six cards up, six cameras, something like that. And the thing is, it’s more about asking the guests for their opinion on things, and the poker is secondary. PokerStars such a big company, sometimes people forget that there are real people who actually care about the game behind the scenes.
“A lot of the stuff I’m creating for my own brand is trying to take technical terms and ideas and really try to make them a little more accessible, I think that’s really important.”
Will Shillibier European Executive Editor
Will Shillibier is based in the UK. He began working for PokerNews as a freelance live reporter in 2015 and joined the team full-time in 2019. He graduated from the University of Kent in 2017 with a BA in German, and then studied a NCTJ Diploma in Sports Journalism at Sportsbeat at Sportsbeat. Manchester.
