John Duthie and PokerStars Part Ways
On Sunday, news broke in the TwoPlusTwo forums that John Duthie, the man largely credited with creating the European Poker Tour, was no longer part of Team PokerStars Pro. Duthie confirmed that he did not sign a new contract after the last one expired on Dec. 31, 2011.
Duthie's departure comes a few months after JP Kelly parted ways with Team PokerStars Pro. Both Duthie and Kelly represented Team UK & Ireland, leaving just Liv Boeree, Jude Ainsworth, and Victoria Coren representing the team.
Some people in the thread speculated that Duthie’s exit was a form of protest over PokerStars’ new VIP program, but Duthie quickly debunked the rumor by posting the following in TwoPlusTwo:
"Hey guys....I'm afraid this decision had nothing to do with the VPP situation or the 'Sit-Out'; it was quite simply that I didn't want to renew my contract which expired 31st December. There was also no Tweet to this effect. All very self-centered to be honest. Love the idea of being 'Tribune of the people' but sadly this is not the case."
A representative at PokerStars confirmed the news to PokerNews early Tuesday morning.
Duthie, 53, has amassed $2,774,963 in career tournament earnings dating back to 1999. His most notable cashes include a win at the 2000 £6,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em Poker Million 2000 for a smooth £1,000,000; second in the £5,000 European Heads-Up Championship at the 2003 Euro Finals of Poker for £35,000; second in the 2009 World Series of Poker $10,000 World Championship Heads-Up event for $386,636; a 12th-place finish in the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure for $130,000; and 18th in this year's WSOP-Europe Main Event for £37,000.
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