World Tennis Number One Rafa Nadal Sets Sights on Prague Poker Tournament

ONCHAN, Isle of Man, Nov. 20, 2013 /CNW/ - ATP world number one tennis player and PokerStars ambassador Rafael Nadal will head to Prague in the Czech Republic on December 12 for one of his final challenges of 2013 - a live charity poker tournament.

To view the Multimedia News Release, please click:

http://www.multivu.com/mnr/64150-rafa-nadal-prague-poker-tournament

Rafa will play against some of the biggest names on the international professional poker circuit, along with other sporting legends, who will be announced over the coming weeks. The tournament will be part of the European Poker Tour Prague festival, which runs from December 8-18. It will be the first official live tournament that Rafa has played in since taking up the game in June 2012.

"It's no secret that I love the competition and that's what I like about poker," said Rafa Nadal. It's a game of skill that requires mental strength and the ability to out-think your opponents and in that way there are similarities to tennis. I have been playing poker online for almost 18 months and now I'm looking forward to the challenge of playing my first live tournament."

Since taking up poker, Rafa has worked hard to hone his poker skills by playing online at PokerStars and working with his poker coach Alfonso Cardalda to help improve his game. "Rafa takes learning the game of poker very seriously, and understands the importance of practice to ensure he stays at the top of his game," said Cardalda. "The Prague charity tournament is a big milestone for Rafaas a poker player and I'm hoping that his success on the tennis court this year will translate into success at the poker table in December."

See how Rafa has been getting on with his training with this behind the scenes footage of him training with Alfonso: http://psta.rs/17l4WEc

About PokerStars

PokerStars operates the world's most popular online poker sites, serving a global poker community of more than 60 million registered members. Since it launched in 2001, PokerStars has become the first choice of the world's top players, with more daily tournaments than anywhere else and with the best security online. More than 105 billion hands have been dealt on PokerStars.com, which is more than any other site.

PokerStars.com and PokerStars.eu operate globally under licenses from the Isle of Man and Malta governments, respectively. PokerStars also holds separate government licenses in Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Italy, Spain and Germany.

PokerStars is a member of The Rational Group, which operates gaming-related businesses and brands, including PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and the European Poker Tour. Rational Group entities in the UK and Isle of Man were collectively recognised as one of the UK's best workplaces when they were awarded a top 25 position by the Great Place to Work Institute in its UK's Best Workplaces - Large category in both 2012 and 2013.

SOURCE: PokerStars

Autumn Pritchard-Barrett +00 (0) 207 319 4663 - [email protected]