/ Matthew Pitt / 01 June 2011 / Leave a Comment 
Sticking up for the little man. Phil Ivey has withdrawn from all WSOP events in protest at the way Full Tilt have gone about their business in recent weeks
"My name and reputation have been dragged through the mud, through the inactivity and indecision of others and on behalf of all poker players I refuse to remain silent any longer."
The world's top player, Phil Ivey, has released a statement that has shocked the Poker community and added a further twist to the events of "Black Friday". But what did it read and why did he do it?
Ever since April 15, which will forever be known to the online poker community as "Black Friday," there have been discussions about whether or not any of the Team Full Tilt players would make an appearance at the 42nd Annual World Series of Poker that kicked off yesterday afternoon.
With Full Tilt Poker yet to process any withdrawals from their now-banned American customers, many players argued the 14-strong group should not participate in any of the WSOP events as it would be akin to rubbing salt into the wounds of those customers who still have inaccessible funds tied up on the site.
Some of the players, Erik Seidel in particular, mentioned via Twitter that he planned to play in less events than usual at this WSOP but the majority of Team Full Tilt, and the marketing arm of Full Tilt Poker, Tiltware, have been unusually quiet about the recent developments in the United States of America. That is, until now.
One of the original members of Full Tilt Poker and the biggest name linked to the company, Phil Ivey, issued a statement on his Facebook page just as the 2011 World Series of Poker was in its opening stages, informing his legions of fans that he is boycotting this year's WSOP and is suing those behind Full Tilt Poker. Initially it was believed Ivey's Facebook page had either been hacked or did not belong to Ivey but the excellent Wicked Chops Poker confirmed, via Ivey's manager, that this particular Facebook page was indeed legitimate.
Although it was not needed, further weight was given to the statement when it appeared on Ivey's recently launched website. The statement, in full, reads:
For many years, I have been proud to call myself a poker player. This great sport has taken me to places I only imagined going and I have been blessed with much success. It is therefore with deep regret that I believe I am compelled to release the following statement.
I am deeply disappointed and embarrassed that Full Tilt players have not been paid money they are owed. I am equally embarrassed that as a result many players cannot compete in tournaments and have suffered economic harm. I am not playing in the World Series of Poker as I do not believe it is fair that I compete when others cannot. I am doing everything I can to seek a solution to the problem as quickly as possible.
My name and reputation have been dragged through the mud, through the inactivity and indecision of others and on behalf of all poker players I refuse to remain silent any longer. I have electronically filed a lawsuit against Tiltware related to the unsettled player accounts. As I am sure the public can imagine, this was not an easy decision for me.
I whole heartedly refuse to accept non-action as to repayment of players funds and I am angered that people who have supported me throughout my career have been treated so poorly.
I sincerely hope this statement will ignite those capable of resolving the problems into immediate action and would like to clarify that until a solution is reached that cements the security of all players, both US and International, I will, as I have for the last six weeks, dedicate the entirety of my time and efforts to finding a solution for those who have been wronged by the painfully slow process of repayment.
To say this has come as a surprise is an understatement and the damage this could potentially do to the already damaged image of Full Tilt Poker is immense. Ivey is regarded as the best poker player in the world and I would argue that a rather large percentage of the company's customers, not only the American-based players, would have signed up and deposited funds just because he endorsed and played on the site.
At first glance it appears that none of Ivey's peers knew about his intentions to take such drastic action. Indeed the superb Betfair Poker columnist Martin "Short Stacked Shamus" Harris wrote on his personal blog that Barry Greenstein had used up the bulk of his points allowance to "purchase" Ivey in the $25,000 buy-in Fantasy Draft that a number of the top pros are taking part in (Harris covered that here), indicating at least he was in the dark about Ivey and his impeding lawsuit.
The rest of Ivey's Team Full Tilt team-mates, or former team-mates as the case may be, have maintained their silence on the matter but Tom "durrrr" Dwan, a relatively recent addition to the official team, wrote on his Twitter feed, "Yo @philivey, poker isn't a sport... Rest of your statement is awesome though"
This latest development is a major blow to Full Tilt Poker and could make competing in the WSOP a daunting task for the rest of Team Full Tilt. Already John Juanda has been involved in an altercation with reigning WSOPE Main Event champion, James Bord with a number of insults and threats been made that resulted in Juanda being escorted out of the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino by security. The initial altercation was reported here by the PokerNews live reporting team.
At the moments there are still many questions that need answering and as soon as they come to light we will reveal them on these every pages. We will strive to bring you any updates we receive and information that we discover. Until then grab yourself some popcorn and enjoy the fireworks!
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