Daniel Negreanu In Poker Spat

Tuesday August 13,2013 :  NEGREANU AND PANTLING IN POKER SPAT
 
Matchbox chief exec unimpressed with outspoken poker pro
 
Matchbox.com chief executive Andrew Pantling's major Euro 800,000 victory at last spring's European Poker Tour grand final main event was reportedly a little soured by disparaging comments allegedly made by high profile poker pro Daniel Negreanu after the tourney, according to an interview with Pantling carried by the iGaming.org site this week.
 
Was it a case of sour grapes? Negreanu only managed a fifth placing but nevertheless felt qualified to voice a public and rather negative opinion on Pantling's game, triggering a wider conversation on various poker message boards and websites.
 
Pantling says the comment and subsequent discussion annoyed him
 
“The reason is, I played with Daniel for a few days even before the final table, and I really beat him up with some big bluffs," Pantling claims in the interview.
 
"I felt, he was quite frustrated and irritated by this so after he was eliminated, he went on the live stream and vented by disrespecting my poker game.
 
"Since then, I had a chance to look at the final table footage and I didn’t think it was a big deal, I just kind of laughed and wished I had the opportunity to play against Daniel more often," Pantling said….but then followed it with his own zinger:
 
“That being said, as a brand ambassador for PokerStars, I think he represented himself and the company quite poorly.
 
“If I was a true amateur, I wouldn’t be overly keen to play poker on TV if I felt that a well-known PokerStars ‘pro’ was going to publicly criticize my abilities in front of my friends and family, who were watching and know very little about poker. I know I wouldn’t want my brand, Matchbook, represented like that."