ShareDaniel Negreanu clearly knew something was coming when he hinted that alleged poker cheats Ali Imsirovic and Jake Schindler wouldn’t be playing the Poker Masters series. That reason became clear today when PokerGO released a statement announcing the indefinite suspension of both pros...
"The PokerGO Tour (PGT) today announced the indefinite suspensions of Ali Imsirovic and Jake Schindler from tour play, effective immediately. The suspensions will extend through at least the 2022 PGT season, upon which time a review will take place."
As we reported, Daniel Negreanu clearly had a heads-up on the bombshell about to hit, DNegs tweeting that he didn’t expect to face either player at the Aria-hosted Poker Masters...
Imsirovic and Schindler have been at the centre of a massive cheating scandal that rocked the highstakes poker world earlier this year.
Both were banned by GGPoker for Real-Time Assistance (RTA) use, with Alex Foxen outing Imsirovic, claiming he was also cheating live by rubbernecking.
Now, PokerNews included an allegation that the dastardly duo were also guilty of live collusion, although that has yet to be confirmed or refuted.
The PokerGO ban is the first official announcement of action being taken against specific cheats, although it has been rumoured that the pair are persona non grata at a number of events.
Both players left the PokerStars EPT Monte Carlo after just one event and have been missing from the Triton Poker Madrid and Cyprus stops this year.
Although they played the World Series of Poker this summer, Schindler even bagging a bracelet, a new Poker Integrity Council (PIC) created by GGPoker could see them banned from the WSOP and a slew of other major events in the future.
GGPoker stated: “Cheaters that are Industry Blacklisted by the PIC, will be barred from participating in any tournaments and events under the following brands...”
What follows is a resume of the biggest events and tours in the world, headed by the WSOP, WPT, and Triton Poker.
The PokerGO brand is also on board, with confirmed cheats facing a ban from the PokerGO Tour, the Super High Roller Bowl (SHRB), and the Poker Masters.
Neither player has commented on the furore over their alleged cheating, with their silence being taken as an admission of guilt and today’s announcement appears to have been welcomed, Matt Berkey tweeting:
The PokerGO ban also sees Imsirovic and Schindler struck from the leaderboard race, today’s announcement stating: “Both players have been ruled ineligible for the season-ending PGT [PokerGO Tour] Championship and have been removed from the 2022 PGT leaderboard.”
Schindler won the PokerGO Tour Player of the Year title last year and has won $1,145,500 at previous Poker Masters series, while Imsirovic currently sits in 2nd-place in the Poker Masters all-time moneywinners list with $1,890,700.
Neither player has yet commented on the official PokerGO Tour ban.
