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PokerStars unveiled David Lappin as the newest member of Team PokerStars Pro at EPT Paris on Wednesday. The move closed out the 2025 PokerStars Live League and came with a €100,000 ambassador contract for 2026.

The Live League is a year-long contest that awards points for results across PokerStars live events. The top 10 finishers on the High, Medium and Low leaderboards entered a selection process, and a PokerStars panel picked Lappin from the final group. He finished 10th on the Low leaderboard after cashing in Campione, Manchester, Malaga, the Irish Open and EPT Malta. Lappin later told Pokerfuse that he had finished tenth and submitted a short video as part of the audition.

Lappin said the jump from competing in the league to representing PokerStars was a huge honor. He said ambassadors should represent players rather than just a brand, and that he wants to listen, answer questions and help improve live events. Cédric Billot said Lappin has deep roots in live poker and a voice players listen to, which made him a natural fit.

Earlier coverage said he and Dara O’Kearney left after objecting to WPT Global’s decision to sign Ren Lin as an ambassador, with the split tied to concerns about game integrity. PokerNews also noted that Lappin said PokerStars had accounted for around half of his live events in recent years.

PokerNews reported in January that PokerStars brought the Live League back for 2026 as a standalone season-long race across European live events, including EPT festivals, PokerStars Opens and the Irish Open. The new edition offers more than €250,000 in prizes, and the rules were tweaked to put more weight on final-table appearances and tournament wins than in 2025. Buy-in bands were also adjusted so €1,000 to €1,200 events count toward both the Low and Medium leaderboards, while €4,900 to €5,500 events count for both Medium and High.