If you’ve been on Poker Twitter over the past 24 hours, you might be asking yourself, 'What is going on with the World Poker Tour (WPT)?'
The drama started when WPT Global posted about signing a new ambassador – Tony ‘Ren’ Lin – on Sunday evening.
Ren Lin was previously a GGPoker ambassador but was removed after he admitted his part in a ghosting scandal on the site. He was “indefinitely suspended from GGPoker, WSOP, and all partner platforms” in October.
Just seven weeks later, Lin was spotted playing at the recent WSOP Paradise series. David Lappin, an ambassador for WPT Global, wrote an article critiquing GGPoker and the WSOP for allowing him back after just seven weeks.
Lappin wrote, “Beyond the brazen hypocrisy, which is in itself difficult to swallow, it’s hard not to read between the lines here and think that this is the WSOP deploying a two-tiered system – one for highrollers and one for the rest of us.”
Lin’s WSOP appearance was also discussed on X, with others criticizing his swift return and Matt Berkey siding with Lin, saying, “They (GGPoker) took back all the money, and he's still banned online. That seems quite appropriate esp given past precedent for similar cases.”
Lin was not wearing any GGPoker patches at WSOP Paradise. And when he’s next seen at a live event, he’ll be wearing the colors of a competitor.
WPT: We do not officially endorse this…
Shortly after WPT Global’s announcement, the main World Poker Tour account quote-tweeted to distance itself from the decision to appoint him, writing, “WPT Global is a licensee of the World Poker Tour. We do not officially endorse any of their ambassadors.”
That's now been deleted.
Subsequently, WPT Global deleted its post announcing Lin's signing.
Are you still with us? Because we’re only just getting started.
ClubWPT Gold then got in on the act – with an image of Ren Lin and the word ‘BANNED’ on it.
That's also been deleted.
Then, ClubWPT Gold’s Creative Director, Thomas Keeling, posted an image of Mike Postle – another player known for a (much bigger) cheating scandal – with the caption: “What the f**k are you guys doing over there @wpt_global?”
Meanwhile, Lappin began posting as well – after removing WPT Global from his social media profiles. His first read, “Any fool can turn a blind eye, but who knows what the ostrich sees in the sand?”
His second was a Godfather meme, since pinned, that reads, “You broke my heart.”
The drama didn’t stop there.
On Monday morning, WPT Global replied to ClubWPT Gold’s post, writing the following:
“Can’t have a winning ambassador in 2026? 🫣 We’re thorough when reviewing every ambassador we work with, including Tony Lin, and we have full confidence in his integrity and standards. We select ambassadors based on proven performance and results, not follower counts. Others may prioritize ‘influence.’ We stand apart. We’ll be working with Tony to share more of his side of the story soon.”
That post has since been deleted.
WPT Global then announced Lin as an ambassador all over again.
Which led to Lappin posting another meme – this time of Malcolm Tucker from the brilliant UK political sitcom The Thick of It – with a single word: “Omnishambles.”
A short while ago, WPT Global posted a longer statement about its decision to sign Lin.
It wrote, “We are honored to welcome Tony Lin as our newest brand ambassador. Tony has openly addressed past controversies, taken full responsibility for his actions, and accepted the consequences with humility… Our decision to collaborate with Tony is rooted in our belief in second chances and our focus on the future.”
As of 11.30am ET, that post hasn't been deleted.
But the decision to hire him hasn't gone down well with everyone.
So what or who are all the WPTs?
It might be entertaining on the surface, but there are real questions behind the omnishambles. Not least... Who are the different WPTs, and why are they singing from a different hymn sheet?
It’s a valid question that’s been asked a lot in the last 12 hours.
ClubWPT Gold is the sweepstakes arm of the WPT. WPT Global is a real-money online site that is a ‘licensee’ of the WPT.
But players don’t care. For your regular player, they’re all WPT – all of them represent the WPT brand in the wider world.
WPT Global has other ambassadors, like Phil Ivey, who appears in marketing across WPT Global, ClubWPT Gold, and the main WPT brand.
When the WPT tweeted, “We do not officially endorse any of their ambassadors,” they perhaps should have added, “...except for Phil Ivey.”
Irrespective, Lin will be wearing a WPT (Global) patch with the WPT logo on it from now on.
And that’s without getting into the decision to hire a player who’s admitted ghosting and was banned from a competitor’s site just a few months ago.
As is often the case, Barry Carter captured the mood best with his recent post. We'll give him the 'final word.'
