The New Lex Veldhuis: A 2026 Streamer Comeback

Lex is Back Playing Poker but Not Just on Twitch

Lex used to stream poker exclusively on Twitch, but like many of his colleagues, he branched out to Kick and YouTube, meaning he’s now live on three platforms now. As you’d expect, this increased his viewership since he was simultaneously live on all three platforms and allowed him to take advantage of the pros of all three platforms:

• Twitch is still the most viewed platform for poker with numerous streams ongoing at any time, and has the highest average viewership compared to the others, along with the issues some streamers have had with YouTube strikes recently
• YouTube is the best platform when it comes to playback and generating income on viewers watching the stream after it’s over
• Kick provides the most profit to the streamer up front and is generating significant interest among the gambling community specifically (Kick is owned by Stake.com) but poker is beginning to increase its foothold on the platform

To stream on all three requires immense computing power, so Lex beefed up his content studio, creating the ideal environment for him to continue dominating the virtual felt and reach even more viewers by triple-streaming his poker sessions.

Lex Veldhuis is a Free Agent Now

You may have noticed in the above screenshot that Lex wasn’t playing on PokerStars, and that is because the new year brought a new chapter for his poker career. He left PokerStars after 17 years.

While neither side has publicly commented as to the reason for the split, there are several factors that could have led to them parting ways:

• Golden Handcuffs: Lex had previously commented about being bound by golden handcuffs, and had expressed interest in gaining more creative control, a clue that could have been buried in his contract with PokerStars limiting his ability for creative control in his content
• A Year Away from Poker: His streams began shifting away from poker and more to other games such as chess and League of Legends, suggesting a change was already transpiring in the background from his typical poker grind. He only made two live appearances, Lex Live in Bratislava, Slovakia, and another appearance on The Big Game in Las Vegas in November
• PokerStars and The Netherlands: 2025 brought licensing changes in The Netherlands that led PokerStars to limit operation, including depositing limits, and player affordability checks which made the operator pull out of The Netherlands. This left Lex with no way to stream poker for the brand he represented from his home, despite other operators adhering to the rules
• Triple-Streaming: Lex had indicated his wish to stream on Twitch and YouTube at the same time, a restriction that appeared to frustrate the Dutch pro, and while never confirmed, could have been a stipulation in his contract with PokerStars.

We will probably never know why Lex exactly left PokerStars, but there is enough circumstantial evidence to suggest this split was a long time coming.

Lex: A Poker Ambassador in 2026?

Lex has stated that he has no desire to align with another poker room as their ambassador anytime soon. For right now, his wish is to be independent and have complete creative control over his streaming and social media content. Given his 17 year relationship with PokerStars, it would take a heck of an offer to get him to commit to a new poker room.

While it would be in any online poker room’s interest to have a player like Lex in their corner, you have to consider how many poker rooms could sign Lex as a member of their team pro:

• GGPoker: This is the logical choice given that they still operate in The Netherlands, and they have been quite active in expanding their team. Last year saw them sign 2025 WSOP Main Event Champion Michael Mizrachi, former PokerStars pro Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, and Rodrigo Marques.
• America’s Cardroom: ACR has not been shy about going into Europe to sign talent. Chris Moorman (UK), Ana Marquez (Spain), Monika Hrabec (Poland) are proud members of their Team Pro, and while Lex has never publicly played on ACR before, the poker world wouldn’t be all that surprised if Phil Nagy tried try to land the prized free agent and further bolster their line-up of poker pros.
• WPT Global: The newest kid on the block has quickly pulled together a substantial team of poker pros that we covered recently, and created controversy with the signing of Tony “Ren” Lin, who got himself banned from GGPoker and the WSOP after his actions in the 2025 series relating to an assistance-related rule breach.

While Lex says he’s not interested in joining a team, money talks and if the right contract came along, Lex sign on the dotted line.

2026 Lex, Same Old Lex

When Lex started streaming again in 2026, some wondered if he had lost his edge and hyper-aggressive style, and with a new site and new set-up that took time to get to used to, Lex quickly found his groove:

If anyone was thinking, or hoping, that Lex lost his step, 2026 must have disappointed them. Lex won one of his first tournaments of the year and has just gotten better from there.

The online poker streaming community has shrunk since its peak during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it took a substantial hit in 2024 with Lex’s absence from streaming. But now that he’s back on a regular schedule, on multiple platforms, and back to winning high roller tournaments, the streaming world is set for a rebound in 2026.

The question now is: Will he align with a poker room? Only time will tell.