Gaëlle Baumann Departs Team Winamax After 13 Iconic Years
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After over a dozen years as one of the most recognizable faces of Team Winamax has announced her departure. Gaëlle Baumann joined the roster five months before the 2012 WSOP, famous for her narrowly missing out on the November Nine, and departs almost 13 years later on good terms with "only good memories".
"I am very happy to have lived this whole adventure," she told Winamax. "I only have good memories of all these years. I was 26 when I joined the Team. So much has happened!"
Winamax Pro Team Manager Stéphane Matheu thanked Baumann for her work as an Ambassador, and said that everyone will remember her 2012 WSOP performance.
"She's an emblematic figure of the Team [...] and has left a very big mark on the pro circuit and for Winamax," said Matheu. "Everyone remembers 2012. This immediately established her as one of the most important and most publicized members of the team."
Deep WSOP Main Event Run
Baumann's rise began in July 2012, when she came heartbreakingly close to becoming the first woman to reach the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event. Finishing tenth from a field of 6,598, she narrowly missed the iconic November Nine but earned global recognition and a $600,000 payday.
"I didn't understand what was happening to me," she told Winamax. "It was all the more complicated because, coming from cash games, I wasn't used to playing and dealing with pressure for so long."
She told PokerNews earlier this year that it left indelible moments in her memory as part of her poker career.
"[The WSOP Main Event] is the biggest tournament on the planet and the one that crowns the World Champion of poker," she said. "It has more visibility than all other tournaments, so I feel that the last woman standing can inspire a lot of women to step into the game and show that they can compete at the highest levels."
The following year, Baumann admits, was "completely crazy" with the usually reserved and shy player confronted with poker fans recognizing her everywhere — in taxis, supermarkets and even in train stations.
"As soon as I arrived in Vegas, my taxi driver glanced in his rearview mirror and said something like 'I recognize you... Oh yes, you play poker!'. It still happens from time to time, which freaks out my friends who aren't into poker at all. That's when you realize how many people are playing."
The 2012 performance cemented her as a household name, garnering attention from fans and media alike. Cameras followed her every move at future Main Events, where she repeated the feat of Last Woman Standing in 2016, finishing in 102nd place for $49,108.
Part of Team Winamax
After learning to play poker in Australia in the mid 2000's, Baumann was a founding member of Team Winamax and regularly competed on some of the biggest stages poker has to offer. From the Winamax Poker Open and SISMIX to the bright lights of the European Poker Tour and, of course, the World Series of Poker.
However, Baumann told Winamax that she gradually lost the enjoyment of poker.
"It’s my decision, and everything ends on good terms"
"Being part of a team like Team Winamax means a lot of obligations. I’m completely OK with that, any job comes with its share of constraints, but it really ended up weighing on my motivation," she explained. "I’m relieved to leave, because it’s not what I liked doing anymore. But I’m lucky to have chosen my departure: it’s my decision, and everything ends on good terms."
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During her long career as part of Team Winamax, she was joined by the likes of Gus Hansen, Adrian Mateos, Davidi Kitai, Mustapha Kanit, Leo Margets and Joao Vieira, as Winamax sought to create one of the most talented rosters of poker talent of any site.
"Today, the Team is at the top," says Baumann. "But at one time, we were clowns — everyone did whatever they wanted! We were partying in the club the day before an EPT Day 2, that kind of stuff. Now, you don't see that at all."
While she leaves the Team at the top, Baumann is looking to the future and embarking on a journey focusing on family, new ventures and rediscovering the joy of poker on her own terms. As a mother, she balanced poker and personal life, but now she looks forward to pursuing projects in real estate and exploring trading.
While she leaves the professional circuit, Baumann hasn’t ruled out making occasional appearances.
"I’ll probably play the Winamax Poker Tour finale or enjoy a tournament or two at SISMIX. I’m not nostalgic because I don’t feel like I’m fully leaving."
Reaction
Team Manager Matheu was effusive with his praise for the long-standing member of the Winamax stable, saying Baumann will leave a mark not only in the team but in Winamax itself.
"She's an emblematic figure of the Team," he said. "After Davidi [Kitai], she was the second oldest. Obviously, it feels like a page is turning."
"I have a lot of good memories with Gaelle; the adventures when we were young and carefree, then the stage when we both became parents. She's calmed down a bit with age, but she's always kept her little touch of madness and this need for fun in her life! Always up for philosophical discussions accompanied by a little drink, then a second, until nightfall if necessary.
"I'm going to miss all that, but I'm sure we'll see each other again very soon!
Meanwhile fellow Winamax Team Pro member Pierre Calamusa said he will miss Baumann being his teammate.
"It's a legend of the game who is leaving. When I think of her, my head is full of memories. It is with great sadness that we see her go. I also lose a friend, she was probably the person I was closest to in the Team. I will miss her."
