888Poker Gets Some Girl Power

May 8th, 2014 | by Brian Corlisse

888Poker has signed two new pros, Xuan Liu and Sofia Lovgren, ahead of the 2014 WSOP.

888Poker’s continued to capitalize on its recent success with the signing of two new pro team members: Xuan Liu and Sofia Lovgren. Having lost one of its standout representatives, 2011 WSOP final tableist Sam Holden, at the start of April, the online poker site has moved quickly to replace him with two of the game’s rising female stars.

Beauty and Brains

Both Liu and Lovgren have already earned a reputation as femme fatales in the poker world over the last few years and the two will now be looking to solidify their reputations with a strong run at the 2014 WSOP. Indeed, with the likes of Vicky Coren and Vanessa Selbst already making a splash on the live tournament scene this year, Liu and Lovgren will be hoping their new sponsorship deal with 888Poker will bring them some run good at the felt.

888Poker announced the signing of Liu and Lovgren in mid-April, just a couple of weeks after the latter parted ways with 3D poker site, PKR. Lovgren, who hails from Sweden, was part of Team PKR for three years and during that time she became one of the site’s most active members, regularly posting updates and blogs on her Facebook and Twitter pages. Naturally the Swede announced her new deal via Twitter, writing: “Some guessed it would be PokerStars but I have invested far too much in blue nail polish to go there!”

As well as her social presence, Lovgren as earned a fearsome reputation in PKR’s mid and high stakes games. While her roots will always lie in the cash game world, Lovgren has branched out in the last 12 months, and is now looking to grab a major title under the 888Poker banner. Indeed, to date, Lovgren has banked $130,000 in live earnings, and with a full schedule of WSOP tournaments planned, she’ll be hoping to increase that total this summer.

Liu Raking It In

While Lovgren sharpened her skills as an online cash grinder, Canadian pro Liu has always been an MTT player. Thanks to close bonds with some of poker’s top tournament pros, Liu has worked hard on her game over the last few years, and that’s resulted in a cash haul worth $1.4 million. Last year, Liu managed to cash in four WSOP events with a 44th place finish in the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. tournament being her best result. On top of this, Liu is the first female to make the final table of the PCA and has also enjoyed success on the Europe tournament circuit.

Commenting on her new sponsorship deal, Liu wrote on Twitter: “Delighted to be a new @888poker ambassador. A great company with unlimited potential that has always kept poker fun.”

Both Lovgren and Liu will join 888Poker’s existing team of pros, including George St. Pierre, Jackie Glazier and Jessica Dawley, and this summer they will all compete at the 2014 WSOP with the aim of adding to the site’s previous success stories in Las Vegas. Tune in next month to see how they do.