William Reynolds Fades Conduct Controversy On Ultimate Poker
Sponsored pro issues apology for internet dustup.
Ultimate Poker's Team U sponsored pro William Reynolds has never been one to shy away from controversy. From mixing it up with Dan Bilzerian on Twitter to calling out Loni Harwood for account sharing on Full Tilt Poker, Reynolds pretty much says whatever he wants.
After taking a bit of a beating in a heads up match on his home online site of Ultimate Poker, Reynolds let loose a little too much with another player, and when it went public last week on Two Plus Two, he was forced to try and make it right.
Reynolds provides the full explanation of the minor incident in his post on the forums. Essentially, after losing $2k to a heads-up opponent a UP reg that goes by the screen name Money Beets, sat down at the table just as “ReynoldsXO” sat out. Reynolds then, in chat, said “dont lose ur money to money beets“and split.
Money Beets followed William to another table where the pair engaged in a heads up “sit-in/sit-out” tussle, in which Reynolds would play when he got the button and sit out when he wouldn’t. The entire time Reynolds, was chatting and from the looks of it, needling Money Beets in a way that suggests the two were familiar with each other, but not friendly. The result of which was Money Beets, feeling like all his action with the 3rd party was killed and that Reynolds was abusing the technology to only play the button.
After Money Beets brought this to the attention of Ultimate Poker by posting online and sending them a video. Reynolds, who never denied a thing, and in fact, posted the entirety of the scenario as he saw it including a transcript of the chat that took place, issued an apology:
As a sponsored pro I should be held to a high standard of conduct and ethics. It’s my duty to make sure fair and responsible game play takes place on Ultimate Poker. Although it was not my intent to gain an unfair advantage over my opponent, I understand how my conduct was detrimental to the game. This was unacceptable behavior. I apologize for wasting your time Money Beets. I realize you just want to play poker with out any unnecessary side distractions. It is my job to promote action in a positive playing environment. I failed you on December 18th. I’m sorry for causing you any grief.
Reynolds also pointed out that while he was messing around for the most part, the net result of the button issue was a $2 exchange. That said, he issued his apology and quickly got a vote of confidence from the staff of Ultimate Poker as UP representative Terrence Chan put a button on the situation:
Our position on the matter is as it has always been – abuse of the button draw is not tolerated on the site.
William continues to be a part of TEAMU, and we continue to be happy to have him. We do believe that his actions with respect to both the button issue and the chat issue are not acceptable as a representative and ambassador of the site. The management team at Ultimate Gaming took this matter very seriously. This is why we asked William to issue an apology here, which he quickly agreed to (there was some delay as he was back home celebrating the holidays).
That being said, I do not think at this time it is appropriate to comment on any disciplinary action, and any such action taken will remain an internal matter between Ultimate Gaming and William.
By no means is this the first or last time that a sponsored pro walked the line between brand ambassador and being just one of the guys. How far, if at all, do you think Reynolds crossed the line?
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