German Poker Star Philipp Gruissem Joins partypoker

January 31st, 2018 | by Kaycee James

Partypoker has added German poker pro Philipp Gruissem to its ever-expanding team of ambassadors.

One of the top German players in the world, Philipp Gruissem, has become a partypoker ambassador. (Image: partypoker/Twitter/@TheRealPhilbort)

Just seven days after announcing a deal with high stakes star Isaac Haxton, partypoker has enlisted the services of Germany’s Gruissem. A long-time pro, Gruissem has had success both online and live, with his current tournament earnings topping the $11 million mark.

A Player With a Presence

As well as being ranked among Germany’s top ten earners, the man known online as philbort has a strong presence across the poker community. Alongside his friends and other top-tier German players such as Ole Schemion and Fedor Holz, Gruissem has become a source of inspiration for grinders in his native country.

Aside from to bringing more Germans into poker, the highly regarded pro co-founded REG-charity.com. Working alongside Igor Kurganov, Liv Boeree and Stefan Huber, Gruissem has been using his status to raise money for worthy charities around the world.

Through his philanthropic ventures and standing within the industry, partypoker’s team is hoping their new ambassador can help it reach an even larger demographic.

“Philipp is such a well-respected player both in the German and global poker community that he is a perfect fit to join the team. He also has a great character and experience and will bring something a little different to the team,” said partypoker’s Managing Director, Tom Waters.

Could Grospellier Be Set to Sign?

While the online poker site has confirmed the signing of Gruissem, there has also been speculation the Frenchman Bertrand Grospellier will also be joining. Although neither party has made an official announcement, the longstanding PokerStars pro no longer appears on the operator’s roster of representatives.

After Pokerfuse initially spotted the removal of his image, Grospellier sent out a tweet confirming that he’d parted ways with PokerStars.

“I am too young to only be sponsored. I want to bring added value and be consulted for strategic decisions as I used to be. I am now content and eager to start a new and very exciting challenge… more info soon,” Grospellier tweeted on January 27.

At this stage it’s unclear what his new challenge will be. However, with partypoker ambassadors such as Patrick Leonard taking an active role in shaping the brand’s online and offline tournaments and more, there could be an opening for Grospellier.

Indeed, if he were to join partypoker, it would be the second former PokerStars pro to join the company in a matter of weeks.