João Nunes

João Nunes

João Nunes is a former professional basketball player from Portugal. He had a successful 14-year career on the court that included representing his homeland in both the senior and under-21 national sides. He learned poker from the players he’d often meet from North America, and has now made it his full time passion since retiring from sport.

João is known for being one of the biggest supporters of the domestic Portuguese poker scene and has played a vital role in its popularity. First he set up a website and online community in 2004, which has since gone on to be one of the country’s most popular sites. His status then grew even bigger when he began commentating on TV broadcasts of the European Poker Tour (EPT) on Eurosport and other networks. Next he helped to develop the local live scene by being part of the team that introduced players to the PokerStars Solverde Poker tournaments. These have fast grown into hugely successful events, and since then the EPT has added a stop in Portugal to its annual schedule of big money events. João has even acted as Tournament Director for many major tournaments, confirming his position as one of the most important men on the national scene. With the groundwork done, he’s now turned his attention to playing full time himself, and already has a string of decent results in events around the world. The highlight so far came with a cash at the 2009 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA), where João outlasted most of the huge 1,347-player field to post a top 125 finish for a cash of $15,000.

Already a legend on the local Portuguese circuit, João is now poised to make his mark in Europe and beyond with a big tournament win that can’t be too far away. He is a member of Team PokerStars Pro and plays online using the screen name ‘jomane’.

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