Full Tilt announced today that it has named Marc “PlayinWitDreams” Kennedy its first Player Ambassador. It appears that in this role, Kennedy will essentially be a liaison between the players and the poker room, making sure the players’ voices are heard when decisions about changes to the poker room are being made.
Kennedy has been one of the most prolific cash game players on the post-Black Friday incarnation of Full Tilt. During the second half of 2013, Full Tilt launched a Black Card sponsorship program, giving players the chance to compete for one of a dozen spots as sponsored pros of Full Tilt. For the final six months of 2013, players could earn leader board points for their real money poker play; there were twelve leader boards, representing different types of games and stakes. The highest points earner at the end of the year on each leader board won a Black Card sponsorship, which gave them “red pro” status, 100 percent rakeback (which can be extremely lucrative for players that grind heavily), and $20,000 worth of FTOPS or Mini-FTOPS buy-ins or a clearable $20,000 bonus.
Marc Kennedy won the “Rush Ring Games High” (above $0.50/$1) leader board and thus was awarded a sponsorship. He has since bested the competition on the leaderboard four more times, proving that if he is not the best Rush Poker ring game player on Full Tilt, he is certainly the most dedicated.
When asked by PokerNews earlier this year if he considered himself the best in the world in his chosen game, he was very modest:
When this competition started I was very likely one of the best Rush players, but I think it would be pretty arrogant to try and still claim that now. I’ve had so little time to improve due to the volume I’ve been playing, so for me to say I’m still the best would be a kick in the face for my opponents who have been studying day in, day out during the time. To be honest, though, I think it’s a pointless question and one I only think about when someone asks me. How do you even define “best” anyway? I just try to be the best I can be – whatever that may be.
As he approached his first Black Card sponsorship, he told the Full Tilt blog that he was trying not to get his hopes up, but he was very excited about the possibility of a sponsorship. “For me, it was a dream I thought would most likely go unfilled,” he said. “As a professional online cash game player it is hard to get noticed as your opportunity for TV time is close to zero. This competition offered a chance for cash game players to get their name out there and that was exciting for me, the extra money is obviously a big motivation as well and definitely makes the long hours seem worth it.”
After the news of his new role was announced today, Kennedy tweeted, “I want to say a massive thank-you to the poker community who have shown me so much respect and support over the last couple of years. If it wasn’t for that this deal with @FullTiltPoker would never have happened. I owe you guys a lot and hope I can do this role justice.”
Kennedy has a burgeoning Twitch live stream page at http://www.twitch.tv/MarcKennedy. It has not had much traffic to this point, as we can tell, but Full Tilt is now starting to promote his channel, so his follower numbers should grow quickly.