PokerStars has signed with its Team Pro young Italian player Massimiliano ‘Max’ Martinez. We came across his name the first time in 2011 when he won the IPT Pro League in May, reached four ITM finishes in the WSOP and finished 12th in August in the EPT Barcelona main event. The real breakthrough was, however, the PokerStars Big Game show.
Massimiliano Martinez with Phil Hellmuth on the PokerStars Big Game
You might recall that on the high stakes show, one amateur player would have a seat with the pros, called the Loose Cannon, who qualified through online tournaments for the $100,000 buy-in paid for him by the room. Whatever they win is theirs to keep but if they lose it all, it was on the house. Martinez was Loose Cannon on the Season 2 Week 4 episode of the Big Game and showed off a spectacular play. He faced Phil Hellmuth, Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier, Phil Laak and Dario Minieri, among others, and made a profit of $163,200, which made him the most successful Loose Cannon of the Season.
“I won Season Two of the Big Game last year in Las Vegas, and now I have a contract with PokerStars,” Marinez said. “They tried to catch me and I accepted. If PokerStars calls, you have to answer, obviously."
He also added that the contract is not likely to bring about major changes in his life, as he has been playing poker for a living since the Big Game (he was the student of a medical university in Rome at the time). The most important change will be that he will play a lot more live events.
The Italian pro joined Team members like Daniel Negreanu, Eugene Katchalov, Viktor ‘Isildur1’ Blom, ‘ElkY’ and Richard Toth.
Massimiliano Martinez with Phil Hellmuth on the PokerStars Big Game
You might recall that on the high stakes show, one amateur player would have a seat with the pros, called the Loose Cannon, who qualified through online tournaments for the $100,000 buy-in paid for him by the room. Whatever they win is theirs to keep but if they lose it all, it was on the house. Martinez was Loose Cannon on the Season 2 Week 4 episode of the Big Game and showed off a spectacular play. He faced Phil Hellmuth, Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier, Phil Laak and Dario Minieri, among others, and made a profit of $163,200, which made him the most successful Loose Cannon of the Season.
“I won Season Two of the Big Game last year in Las Vegas, and now I have a contract with PokerStars,” Marinez said. “They tried to catch me and I accepted. If PokerStars calls, you have to answer, obviously."
He also added that the contract is not likely to bring about major changes in his life, as he has been playing poker for a living since the Big Game (he was the student of a medical university in Rome at the time). The most important change will be that he will play a lot more live events.
The Italian pro joined Team members like Daniel Negreanu, Eugene Katchalov, Viktor ‘Isildur1’ Blom, ‘ElkY’ and Richard Toth.
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