Saw this new short documentary on Xuan Liu in Toronto and have to wonder why she's not sponsored by an online site. She's attractive, intelligent, successful at the poker, close friends with tons of big players, travels the circuit pretty much full time ... Seems like a great face for a site and a good person to attract mainstream players and women.
Just a matter of time or just no point sponsoring North American players?
Anyway, she's super cute in this video and seems like a genuine person.
She's smart, friendly, and has great results. And as others have noted, she's friends with a bunch of super good MTT regs.
TBH I'm shocked she wasnt sponsored sooner. She does state in the interview that while she would like to be one of the best in the world, the game comes somewhat naturally to her. She might prefer to make $100k/yr without many obligations outside of poker than to be saddled with the responsibility of representing a poker site. I cant speak for her, though.
I'll also add that she comes across as very genuine & humble, whether in the interview or in my super limited interaction with her. So it wouldnt surprise me if she isnt actively seeking sponsorship the way other players do. And yet those qualities would make her a big asset to a poker site.
It seems that most sites are moving away from the sponsorship model that you used to see on every site, especially FTP and its massive roster of "pros". But I think Xuan could be the premier face of a new US-facing site and provide real value to the brand.
from my personal interactions with her, she seems really nice and you get the vibe that she is a pretty great human being overall. More people like her should be sponsored to represent poker.