Spin & Go Championship Live to be ‘unforgettable experience for all’ – Seb Pico
Inside PokerStars: Seb Pico speaks about the origins of Spin & Go Championship Live and the people who made it possible
Between a flurry of emails and a flight to Malta, Seb Pico, PokerStars Associate Director KAM (Key Account Management), finally manages to sit down at his hotel on the Mediterranean island late one Tuesday evening in June.
His agenda for the rest of that week is “pretty packed”, with team meetings and face-to-face encounters among a growing to-do list – on top of the usual business of “planning improvements, reviewing performance and supporting my team”. But he wouldn’t have it any other way: “each day is completely different, and I love being able to work continuously on something new”, he says with a smile.
First order of business is the impending Spin & Go Championship Live at EPT Barcelona this August. Pico has been, according to one colleague, one of the “brilliant minds” behind it.
Origins
So, take us back to the very beginning.
“I regularly meet with some of our top Spin & Go players to discuss how things are going and get their opinions about future plans”, Pico offers by way of an explanation of his role.
“During those meetings there was a common feeling that while Spins are hugely popular online, the game lacked the visibility MTTs (Multi-Table Tournament) so during one of those meetings I just had a revelation: what if we could put together the dynamic pace, high variance and possibility of winning huge prizes in a few minutes with the incredible platform which is our EPT tour?”
Seb Pico says he knew the players’ feedback was going to be pivotal in Spin & Go Championship Live succeeding
Things quickly gathered pace, and from informally briefing the idea to several colleagues, within just three months an early format with 27 players from France, Italy and Spain, was tested at EPT Barcelona last year.
Pico takes up the story: “It was only a trial to test the format, but everyone loved it, and we knew that, once more, PokerStars was breaking ground and that this was just the first of many bigger Spin & Go Live events. A few months later we launched our first Spin & Go Live Championship in Prague, and I am really excited ahead of the next one in Barcelona in August”, Pico says, visibly proud.
Preparation for Spin & Go Championship Live 2025
No stone has been left unturned ahead of EPT Barcelona this year. Pico’s role, nay mission, is, as he puts it, to provide “our most engaged customers with the best experience in the industry.”
Adding: “The next edition (Barcelona) will be without a doubt bigger and better than the previous one and over these months of preparation my role has been overseeing the customer experience and collaboration with the experts in each organisational aspect to ensure that the event becomes an unforgettable experience for all.”
The learnings from Prague informed everything that came afterwards, he says. Pico knew the players’ feedback was going to be pivotal in Spin & Go Championship Live succeeding.
“This event was something done by players for players”, he states. “I personally spent the whole time in Prague there listening to players and watchers, gathering opinions, floating potential ideas, measuring reactions, before, during and after each day, they spoke, and I listened. Every change we made was either the result of a suggestion from our players or an idea from myself or a colleague discussed with them.”
Before PokerStars
A self-confessed history buff, and travel fanatic, Pico has a diverse background in terms of career trajectory.
“I studied Business Administration in Spain and Germany. Started working as an account manager for a software company in Spain and moved to Ireland aged 24. I worked in banking for years, travelled a lot, completed a second university degree.”
Seb Pico: ‘I have a great team around me and managing the company’s top customers is a huge responsibility but also privilege’
The travel bug eventually bit hard in 2012 though, and Pico and his girlfriend decided to take a year out to see the world; living in Italy for a few months during this time.
“When we returned to Ireland a friend of mine spoke highly about PokerStars as a workplace”, he says. “They only had openings in their customer service but everything I heard sounded great.”
Pico stops at this point to almost whisper something: back then his poker knowledge was, eh, not exactly up to scratch, he readily admits.
“(it) was limited to whatever I had learned from ‘Rounders’ and ‘Maverick’ (films)! But it immediately felt right, and I have loved my journey here.”
PokerStars: Great Company and People
And on that journey within PokerStars he has encountered fellow “brilliant minds”, he adds. Pico starts to list them off in rapid succession – trying not to forget anyone, it seems.
“I could not forget Fran Medina, May Maceiras and Scott Goodall and their contagious passion for our players”
“People are what make this company great, and I have been lucky to work with amazing people who are great professionals and excellent human beings.
“I could go on forever but if I had to highlight a few I could not forget Fran Medina, May Maceiras and Scott Goodall and their contagious passion for our players.”
He continues: “Jeff Power, my manager, who motivates and empowers those around him to be a bit better every day. Martin Stuart, who makes PokerStars the safest and most trustworthy gaming platform in the world, and my team.”
Adding: “I would not have achieved half of what I have if I didn’t have a fantastic group of people working with me, colleagues like Alessandro, Ben, Ovi or Vania to name a few who keep setting the bar higher and become roles models for everyone around.”
‘PokerStars Way’
Pico has a story he’d like to tell. It ties in with his own ethos and that of doing things the ‘PokerStars way’, as another colleague describes it.
“Two years ago, I was working during the PSPC – Bahamas is a great destination – and it was a marvellous event, but live tournaments are hard. People work very long hours for several days and one can barely rest. As I was wrapping up my day in the staff room, I saw that the only person left was one of our player liaisons, Adrian Delgado, who was busy writing messages in cards.”
He goes on: “I approached him and saw that he was writing by hand personal messages to all the players he was responsible for at the event and who had advanced into day 2. Every message was personal, these were not generic ‘well done’ and ‘good luck’ cards but heartfelt messages to friends, once done he delivered himself each card to their rooms so that they would see it after waking up the day after”.
“He was one of those players who got a personal message from Adrian”
Pico adds: “I didn’t tell him, but I decided on the spot that one day I’d have Adrian working with me and I’m lucky to have him in my team now.”
But now for the kicker.
“A few months ago, I was telling a player the story of how I met Adrian, and he (the player) told me that he was one of those players who got a personal message from Adrian and confessed to me that he has the card in a drawer in the desk he plays from and that whenever he feels down, he would take it out and read it. That’s how great the people at PokerStars are.”
Responsibility and Privilege
It’s actually a word he uses a lot in relation to working at PokerStars – ‘great’. It’s a word that he feels defines both the company and its people.
“I love what I do and when you love what you do, you don’t need any external motivation,” he says. “I have a great team around me and managing the company’s top customers is a huge responsibility but also privilege.
“It’s a great job, in a great company with a great team and great colleagues, contributing every day in making the experience for our customers better, and succeeding in this is what drives me.”
When it comes to the future, specifically his own, Pico doesn’t appear to be someone who burdens themself with unhelpful worries. He sees each new day as a chance to learn and to live to the fullest.
“I don’t know where or what I will be doing”, he admits. “But I am sure that my objective will be the same: empower and motivate those around me to give their very best in everything they do.”
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