Liv Boeree, formerly an ambassador of Absolute Poker, has become a card-carrying member of Team Ultimate Bet (Team UB), officials of the Tokwiro-owned online poker rooms announced this week.
In a press release distributed by Ultimate Bet, Boeree noted that she was looking forward to joining “Celebrity Apprentice” runner-up Annie Duke and 11-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, among others, on the Team UB roster: “It’s an honor to play with the two people who helped launch my poker career. Annie and Phil are two of my favorite players, so to sit on the same team as them is a bit of a surreal experience, but one I’m definitely proud of.” While on the show “UltimatePoker.com Showdown” in 2005, Boeree received poker coaching from Duke. The same press release explains, “It was [also] on UltimatePoker.com Showdown that Liv also earned the respect of 11-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth.”
Boeree has worked for various media outlets throughout her career, including Gutshot TV, the Daily Express, and Challenge TV. Her reporting career has led her to become successful on the felts of live poker tournaments around the world. In January, she finished seventh in an AUD $1,100 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament held during the Aussie Millions for AUD $19,000. In April, she caught fire at the World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship, winning a preliminary tournament, taking third in another, and finishing 37th in the $25,000 buy-in televised Main Event for over $80,000 total. In May of 2008, Boeree won the $2,000 buy-in Ladbrokes Poker European Ladies Championship for $42,000. The event drew 52 runners and culminated with Boeree besting Lenna Martyak heads-up.
In an August 8th blog on Ultimate Bet, Boeree noted that she had just returned from Sonisphere, a music festival near London. Among those who took to the stage was the band Anthrax, which features fellow Team UB member Scott Ian. On Anthrax’s set, Boeree recalled, “These guys are as hard and heavy as ever and it was a real treat to watch them play with their old singer, John Bush.”
Besides Ian and Boeree, other members of Team UB include Adam “Roothlus” Levy, who made a deep run in last year’s WSOP Main Event, ultimately finishing 48th for $135,000. He made the final table of the WPT Festa al Lago in October of 2008, banking $266,000 in a tournament won by Team PokerStars Pro member Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier. Online, Levy has been a stud. He finished as the runner-up in an event held during the quarterly Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) in February for $387,000. One week later, he took third in the marquee PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up for another $53,000. He’s ranked 95th in the world according to PocketFives.com.
Brandon Cantu joined Team UB in June. That month, he won a $1,500 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha High-Low Split tournament for $228,000 during the 2009 WSOP, besting Lee Watkinson heads-up for his first bracelet. Nine events prior, Cantu was the runner-up to Ray Foley in a $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament, where he cashed for $403,000.
Fellow bracelet winner Matt “mattg1983” Graham also calls Team UB home. Graham won his second piece of hardware in 2009 by taking down the $10,000 buy-in World Championship of Pot Limit Omaha for a rousing $679,000. He’s defeated two of the game’s best in his bracelet wins, outlasting Vitaly Lunkin in the Pot Limit Omaha event and beating “Survivor: China” castaway and Bodog pro Jean-Robert Bellande in a $1,500 buy-in Limit Shootout last year.
Other members of Team UB include “Hollywood” Dave Stann, Michael Binger, Gary “Debo34” Debernardi, Mark “P0ker H0” Kroon, Shawn “westtexasman” Rice, and Tiffany Michelle, who will compete on the upcoming season of the CBS reality series “Amazing Race.”