Betfair Poker Signs on Tabatabai

May 28 - Twenty three year old John Tabatabai of the United Kingdom can add another feather to his professional poker cap, after it was announced that Betfair Poker will be sponsoring him from now on.

Tabatabai, who hails from London but is originally from Cardiff, will join other bright and talented young poker players, including Sorrel Mizzi and Annette Obrestad and become a member of the prestigious Team Betfair.

The poker world first sat up and took notice of John Tabatabai when he almost defeated the Swedish wunderkind Obrestad at the World Series of Poker Europe in 2007.

Since then, Tabatabai has been going from strength to strength and he proved his true worth when he won the All Africa Poker Tournament that took place in South Africa.

Speaking about the new deal to bring Tabatabai onboard to Team Betfair, the Director of Poker for the company, John Stubbs said: "John is a very aggressive poker strategist who also is an absolute class act at the table, which is very refreshing to see. Although he came just short in the 2007 WSOPE, he managed to win in South Africa to prove he has what it takes. Like our other young guns, John is making things happen right now and we expect big things from him."

Tabatabai, along with the rest of Team Betfair Poker, will represent the site at the upcoming World Series of Poker event in Las Vegas in the summer.

Tabatabai came to join the poker world through a totally unconventional way. His original love was chess and he competed in European and world chess championships while he was growing up. It was only when he reached university age that he discovered that his chess skills could also be applied to poker... and the rest is history!