Winning a Platinum Pass is Easy with Twitch and PokerStars
Last week, PokerNews told you all about how linking your PokerStars and Twitch accounts could net two lucky poker streamers a Platinum Pass to the PokerStars Players Championship in Barcelona next year.
All players have to do is link their Twitch and PokerStars accounts, before watching at least 24 hours of coverage on the PokerStars Twitch channel while also streaming at least 10 hours of their own play on their person-linked Twitch channel.
PokerStars Twitch Ambassadors Mason “PyeFace” Pye and Georgina “GJReggie” James are tasked with giving out a Platinum Pass each to streamers who impress based on the quality of the content and production, innovation, and entertainment value.
We caught up with James to talk about poker streaming on Twitch and this exciting new opportunity, and she says that the new link between Twitch and PokerStars is a “great new feature.”
"There really is nothing like railing someone’s deep run, and watching them win big."
“I think it's also going to allow us to better understand how much of an impact Twitch has by really looking at the number of people that both watch and play.
“Poker streaming isn't like streaming any other game. There really is nothing like railing someone’s deep run, and watching them win big, be it another streamer or stream friend.”
James says that the challenge might usher in a whole new generation of poker streamer on Twitch.
“The more Poker streamers the better!” said James. “This challenge is really close to our hearts as it’s how me and [Mason “Pyeface”] Pye started out.
“We would love to see a bunch of new streamers carve their own paths and make a name for themselves out there. If we can do it, we know others can too.
An avid poker viewer since 2016, James first started streaming in 2018 and was eventually approached by PokerStars to become part of their official Twitch stream team.
“PokerStars just dropped me a message and said ‘Hey, you fancy being a part of the team?' And I tried to sound really nonchalant saying, 'Yeah sure, sounds like fun, no big deal, cool, yeah sounds good!'
“I gave them my details, PokerStars got in touch, we chatted and I accepted the offer to work with them and be part of the PokerStars Stream Team.”
A little over a year since James tried to win a Platinum Pass over her own, she said that it was “pretty surreal” that she now had the power to award a Platinum Pass.
"We’re the giving people the chance to win some completely life-changing money, and that’s absolutely crazy to me!"
“Somehow now I get to be the one who makes someone’s dream and give them the opportunity of a lifetime! It’s a lot of pressure because we’re the giving people the chance to win some completely life-changing money, and that’s absolutely crazy to me.”
The decision to award the Platinum Pass will be based on "entertainment value, quality of production and innovation" but what else, if anything, does James think should streamers focus on?
“We will be focusing a lot on those criteria but we are also looking at someone who is going to actively get involved in the community as a whole.
“The poker streaming community is pretty tight-knit; some of my closest friends now are fellow streamers on Twitch and I really love the Twitch Poker Community, it's absolutely the best thing about streaming.
“We want them to work on building a community of their own and aim to be a great ambassador for twitch poker as a whole. Make yourself stand out from the crowd and put out the best content you can.
James says that she’s already had over 80 people reach out to let them know that they’re taking on this streaming challenge.
“We've got our work cut out for us for sure!”
Both “GJReggie” and “Pyeface” are are the new regular hosts of the Dual Streams on PokerStars. They stream on the PokerStarsTwitch Channel three times a week, Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Based in the United Kingdom, Will started working for PokerNews as a freelance live reporter in 2015 and joined the full-time staff in 2019. He graduated from the University of Kent in 2017 with a B.A. in German. He also holds an NCTJ Diploma in Sports Journalism.
