PokerStars Ambassador Mason Pye on being one of Twitch's Young Guns
Table Of Contents
In the latest in a series right here on PokerNews, we'll be profiling some of the poker world's most exciting streamers who showcase their play to the world on streaming sites such as Twitch.
Check out the previous articles here:
"Pyefacepoker" and PokerStars
Mason ''Pyefacepoker'' Pye is only 23 years old and is proud to wear the PokerStars spade on his shirt. The 'Mixed Games Movement' streamer from the United Kingdom was signed in May 2019 right after graduating from university. The Englishman started out as a fairly unknown streamer but has since then built quite the audience for himself. He doesn't just stream on his own channel but you can spot him three times a week on the PokerStars channel along with his co-host Georgina ''GJReggie'' James.
Pye started out streaming mixed games on Twitch after he saw ex-Team PokerStars Pro Jason Somerville (pictured) streaming. ''I started off with poker by watching Jason Somerville streaming on Twitch. He was one of the first. He was mostly playing no limit hold'em, but then he started playing mixed games. Everyone in chat was like ''Jason... No, no, no, no one wants to watch mixed games!'' But he was persistent and he got me into mixed games. I started playing them, I love them, I can't stop playing them, and now I stream them. He has given me the bug.''
Catching the Twitch bug
After learning how to play the games himself he decided to fire up a stream of his own on Twitch and that's when he caught the bug.
''When you have a deep run and everyone in chat is rooting for you, and then you win the last pot and the chips are scooped your way. That kind of elation that you have when you win a tournament on stream is something you can't explain to someone who hasn't streamed before.''
The young PokerStars Ambassador is part of the generation of Twitch streamers that started after watching the pioneers of the platform, just like Easterdamnz who we profiled last month.
''Easterdamnz is obviously a very good streamer and player. I love what he does. GJ has come up as well, majincast too. We all watched these streamers like Jason Somerville, Jaime Staples, Lex Veldhuis, and Fintan and Spraggy. We learned off them and you can't really explain to someone who doesn't stream what that kind of feeling it is like when you run deep and do take down a tournament. It is really something special.''
It's not all sunshine and rainbows on Twitch for the mixed game streamer, but the community is what makes it worth it for Pye.
''Streaming has its cons as well. You are going to get chat pros, that is just Twitch poker. A good example is when Fintan made Day 2 of the WCOOP 5k and he was probably the only streamer who made the second day. Croaks was gifted a ticket to the 5k and he won a sick pot with nines against queens on Fintan's stream. That moment was so sick."
The PokerStars Streaming Duo
Pye and James started combined streams on the PokerStars channel after they did commentary at Lex Live 2 in London.
''Me and GJ started streaming around the same time and we've known each other for about two years now. They were like ''We're going to put you on the PokerStars channel.'' I'm like, okay, awesome. But big shoes to fill. My first dual stream with GJ I was quite nervous but I had a lot of fun doing it. I play mixed games, she plays hold'em, but sometimes it's the other way around. I do feel like we bounce off each other very well. she puts up with me a lot. She does the carrying, let's just say, haha.''
READ MORE: How to Play Online Poker with Friends
Young Guns Going Strong
The youngest member of the PokerStars squad is very proud to have PokerStars as his sponsor.
''I'm so proud to be an ambassador of PokerStars. I was still at uni last year this time. We were not announced yet at this time. Im so proud and happy that I can represent the company. I've said it on my stream the other day. There is no other site out there that can provide the games that they offer. There is no site that provides mixed games like Pokerstars does. I'm so proud that I can represent the site and mixed games.''
You can watch Mason ''Pyefacepoker'' Pye with co-host Georgina ''GJReggie'' James on the PokerStars channel on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. You can also watch Pye on his own channel on most of the other days of the week.
Milko van Winden has been a part of the poker media corps since 2017. Starting out as [I]PokerNews[/I] contributor and live reporter, Milko is now the Digital Media Manager at [i]PokerNews[/i].
