Ever since Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth left Team UB in the final days of 2010, the online poker world has been abuzz with rumors of who Team UB will sign next to fill in the gaps. Joe Sebok promised a “doozy,” and that’s exactly what UB has received. Prahlad Friedman is officially the newest addition to the Team UB roster. Friedman was heavily rumored to be joining, and the announcement comes as no surprise to the forum junkies who have been speculating about the signing.
Those more familiar with Friedman’s history, especially how his history relates to UB, are somewhat more surprised by the announcement. Friedman was previously uninterested in a professional sponsorship, and he was one of the many cash game players victimized by the UB cheating scandal that allowed super users to view the hole cards of their opponents.
Now it seems that Friedman has gotten over his sponsorship hesitations and fully made amends with UB. He’s very excited about the site’s new direction, and described the current Team UB pro roster as “young, hip [and] cool.” Friedman went on to say that he specifically enjoys the fact that all of the UB players have interests outside of professional poker, and that he respects their skill.
Friedman is widely known by the names Mahatma and Spirit Rock in online poker circles, and his live tournament history is quite illustrious as well. Friedman has earned over $2.3 million through live poker tournaments thus far, in addition to a WPT title and a WSOP bracelet.
Representatives from UB are just as excited as Friedman, and stated that this signing reflects their new aim to develop a younger, louder and more vital team roster. Friedman, who made a humorous rap spoof video for ESPN in 2006, fits the bill perfectly.
Joe Sebok, a veteran of Team UB, expressed his excitement over Friedman’s new signing and described it as “epic.” He views Friedman as one of the best cash game players in the world, and said that the signing will be representative of UB’s strength in 2010.
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