Duthie Quits PokerStars

Amid much speculation John Duthie, founder of the European Poker Tour (EPT), has confirmed that he is quitting as a PokerStars Pro.

It was in the Two Plus Two poker forums on Sunday afternoon that word of the split came to light and everyone wanting to know why Duthie was no longer with the largest online poker room. There were plenty of comments and speculation regarding the reasons for Duthie leaving, with one of the major questions being “Is this because he is unhappy with the new way Stars is now distributing its VPPS?”

Duthie Confirms Decision to Not Renew His Contract

Duthie came forward on Monday, confirming that he was, in fact, leaving PokerStars and quelling all the rumours of an acrimonious split. He confirmed that his decision to leave had nothing to do with the VPP situation and that the reason was he simply did not want to renew his contract that expired on the 31^st December. Duthie said that he loved “the idea of being ‘Tribune of the people’ but sadly this is not the case.”

A Successful Career 

John Duthie is very popular within UK poker and has been for a very long time. In 2000 he also became known to a much wider audience when he won the televised Poker Million tournament. Duthie has an amazing 13 World Series of Poker cashes, a runner-up finish and two final tables.

It was in 2004 that Duthie made a huge mark on the poker world by founding the EPT. This tournament is now in its eighth year and has grown to such an extent that it is now one of the most popular live tournaments around. This wonderful tournament takes in ten countries and many thought that it would not be able to compete with the WPT and is now respected as one of the major poker tournaments. The EPT continues to work with PokerStars to promote the game and with Duthie still serving as CEO of the tour things can only get better.

John - hailing from Watford, UK John became hooked on the game of poker ever since his uncle taught him the rules of 7-card stud during a home game at the young age of 15. He caught the online bug three short years later after turning 18 and began regularly playing Texas Hold'em SNGs.