Overview
- WPT Global announced Tony “Ren” Lin as an ambassador on Jan. 12, deleted and reposted the news, and issued statements expressing full confidence in him and a belief in second chances.
- The World Poker Tour’s main account publicly distanced the parent brand by noting WPT Global is a licensee and that it does not endorse WPT Global’s ambassadors, with related posts later deleted.
- ClubWPT Gold and affiliated accounts posted critical or mocking content about the signing before removing the messages, underscoring inconsistent messaging across WPT-branded channels.
- Chip Race hosts David Lappin and Dara O’Kearney ended their WPT Global partnership on Jan. 13, saying Lin’s appointment made their continued roles untenable.
- Lin was disqualified in October 2025 for providing real-time assistance in an online event, leading GGPoker to permanently ban the winning account and ‘indefinitely’ suspend Lin, who returned to live play at WSOP Paradise about seven weeks later.