Gaming giant PokerGO has officially stated Thursday that it has suspended two of its high rollers after cheating charges were leveled against them. Jake Schindler and Ali Imsirovic cheating accusations got them banned from appearing in any of the remaining events slated for the 2022 season.
Details of Ali Imsirovic Cheating Ban
PokerGo’s public statement reads thus: [blockquote author=”” link=”” target=”_blank”]”The PokerGO Tour (PGT) today announced the immediate and indefinite bans from tour competition of Ali Imsirovic and Jake Schindler. The bans will last at least until the 2022 PGT season, after which a review will be conducted.” According to the statement: “To safeguard the safety and security of its players and events, the PGT is committed to preserving the highest standards of honesty and promotes responsible behavior.“[/blockquote]
Both players have been under tight scrutiny by some top pros who have called them out for conspiring in many of the tours games. Some allegations piled against them for collusion and RTA (real-time assistance for online casino games) software use. Although not proven yet, PokerGO suspended Schindler and Imsirovic from competing for the rest of the season.
32-year-old Schindler is one of PokerGO’s most revered players, with over $35 million in winnings to his name. Schindler clinched a $50k win to secure his first Poker bracelet World Series on the No-limit Hold-em High Roller event. Imsirovic, on the other hand, is the current PokerGO Tour Player of the Year. The 27-year-old, who holds this title after winning in a 14 high-roller event last year, has earned a total of $18 million in overall winnings throughout his career.
Following the suspension, neither player would be able to play in PokerGo’s high-roller series.
Juha Pasanen, Head of Game Integrity on Entain, has given his opinion on allegations of chip dumping. In a well-documented blog post, Pasanen detailed his thoughts about poker blacklisting.
[blockquote author=”” link=”” target=”_blank”]Here’s an excerpt: “Recently, the idea of creating a global blacklist of poker cheats has been floated. The concept is sound, and we should strive to create a future in which cheaters are barred from not just the online poker site they committed their fraud on but also from all others. I think live poker should be included in the prohibition. Although the concept is sound on paper, several real-world obstacles must be overcome before it becomes a reality. Let me discuss a couple of them”[/blockquote]
He concluded the blog post by saying:
[blockquote author=”” link=”” target=”_blank”]”At the moment, your accounts across all Entain brands are closed if you are banned for cheating using the partypoker network Additionally, partypoker LIVE does not let you attend any of its live events. When it comes to establishing the suggested procedure with other operators on a global ban, we may take additional action and be more aggressive. In a recent blog article, I mentioned the topic and suggested that all live and online poker companies work together on it. At least for myself, I’m prepared to support the effort.“[/blockquote]
While the Poker Masters Event is well in play, the absence of both players has indeed been felt at major tournaments like the European Poker Tour and the recently-concluded Triton Poker Series held in Cyprus. All these came even before their bans were announced.
Reactions to the Ban
Since PokerGO made the ban public, the poker community has been thrown into a frenzy, with mixed reactions trailing the news from players and enthusiasts alike. On one side of the argument are players who feel the ban was well-served and should serve as a deterrent to cheaters in poker communities worldwide.
Nonetheless, many numbers of players and pundits have claimed that the ban was uncalled for and brought to question its legality. Some argue that they were no proof or clear metrics showing Ali Imsirovic cheating. Their bans, in essence, were based merely on allegations rather than conviction which they regarded as unfair judgment to the players. Many are also hoping this ban won’t get to the poker game comics. And if it gets there, the title might be “liars poker game.”
Interestingly, neither Schindler nor Imsirovic have come out publicly to confirm or debunk the cheating claim.
With both players out of the picture, the current leader in the 2022 PokerGO Tour standings is Stephen Chidwick. Sitting at 2,975 points, he is seconded by Phil Ivey, with only a point less at 2,974.
Get the latest casino news: join our exclusive community on Vegas Aces Casino’s social media, and tag someone who needs to see this!
