The Frenchman Kalidou Sow today became a member of Team PokerStars, extending his poker journey from becoming back-to-back Main Event champion at EPT Prague and PokerStars Festival London, to brand ambassador for the world’s largest poker company.
“I am living the dream!” said Sow. “My competitiveness has always pushed me to look for opportunities. 2018 was a great year and I am looking forward to what 2019 brings wearing the PokerStars patch.”
Sow will represent Pokerstars on PokerStars.fr and at live poker events, including a future series of new PokerStars-sponsored live events throughout France where he will sit down at the table alongside fans and players.
The PokerStars Festival London event awarded Sow a coveted Platinum Pass which gave him free entry into the $25,000 PokerStars Players No Limit Hold’em Championship (PSPC) and all-expense paid trip to the tournament at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas in January 2019. Sow’s journey to the PSPC was captured in a short video biography.
The sudden success brought a growing community of followers. His fans learned about Sow’s resilience, ambition and entrepreneurial spirit. As a boy, his first love was basketball but his dream of becoming a professional athlete was cut short after a car accident left him with lifelong injuries.
Undeterred, Sow built a VIP car rental business before moving into the renewable energy sphere. It was during this time Sow found his second hobby, which he has successfully turned into a career and made a name for himself in the poker world in France and beyond.
With many achievements in a small timeframe, the next step in the poker journey for the Parisian native will be representing PokerStars alongside legendary players such as Daniel Negreanu and fellow Platinum Pass winner, and PSPC Champion, Ramon Colillas, who turned his free entry into the PSPC into $5.1 million.
“I absolutely love the addition of Kalidou Sow to the team! His backstory captivated me when he won his Platinum Pass after winning back to back events,” said Daniel Negreanu. “His life story is very inspiring and he is easy to root for. I’m a fan!”
Eric Hollreiser, PokerStars Director of Poker Marketing, said: “Kalidou embodies what the game is all about with his friendly, approachable demeanour, his thoughtful interaction with his opponents at the poker table, and a level of cool you don’t see every day. The buzz around him continued long after his initial Platinum Pass win and we’re excited to see where his journey will take him as we welcome him as an ambassador for PokerStars.”
As the dream continues for Sow, he will represent his nation as the French face of PokerStars at upcoming live events including EPT Monte Carlo and EPT Barcelona .There will also be plenty of opportunity to catch Sow playing on the online felt under KalidouSow on PokerStars.uk and Kalsow1 on PokerStars.fr as he takes part in upcoming online series.
