David Lappin and Dara O’Kearney Found a New Home

Why Lappin and O’Kearney Dropped WPT Global Sponsorship

Both David and Dara joined WPT Global as ambassadors back in June 2025, with their partnership also including a sponsorship for their award-winning poker podcast The Chip Race. Both players were overjoyed to join the brand that promised such grand plans for the Irish poker scene.

For the most part, everything was fine between them until January 2026, when WPT Global recruited Ren “Tony” Lin as an ambassador. It’s safe to say the duo was shocked by this decision mostly because of Lin’s recent cheating controversy on GGPoker, where he was caught breaking the rules while simultaneously serving as an ambassador for the brand.

Following his hiring, Lappin and O’Kearney decided to terminate their relationship with WPT Global and issued the statement on X (Twitter) on January 13th, 2026:

The future for both them and their podcast was uncertain until February 24th, 2026 when the duo shared exciting news about their new partnerships.

Dara O’Kearney Becomes a Paddy Power Poker Ambassador

Dara was first to break news. On February 24th, 2026 he posted an announcement about joining q major Irish poker brands Paddy Power Poker Poker as its newest ambassador:

Paddy Power publicly welcomed O’Kearney as their newest team member, clarifying the new role of “true pro, respected voice in the game, and Irish Poker Legend”: Poker Brand Ambassador.

David Lappin Becomes a PokerStars Team Pro

Lappin’s announcement on February 25th, 2026 attracted a little more attention because of the way Lappin landed his new partnership with PokerStars.

Lappin literally won his patch and contract by participating in the 2025 PokerStars Live League, a year-long contest where the top 10 finishers from three leaderboards had an opportunity to send “a substantial interview-style application, alongside a video component, detailing their appropriateness for the role, and what they could bring to the PokerStars brand”.

Lappin finished in 10th place on the Low leaderboard and was apparently impressive enough at the audition that he ended up getting a €100,000 year ambassadorship. The poker pro starts his new chapter excited to see what he can do right for the poker community, especially in Ireland:

The PokerStars team is excited as well, seeing David as a respected voice in the poker community. As Cédric Billot, Associate Director of Live Events Operations at PokerStars, says:

“David has been a constant presence on the live circuit for many years. He understands what makes PokerStars events special because he has experienced them first-hand across multiple stops, and he brings a perspective that truly reflects the player community.

He combines deep roots in the live poker scene with a respected voice that players listen to and that balance of experience, authenticity, and his alignment with our values makes him a natural fit for representing PokerStars. We’re delighted to welcome him to the team.”

But What About The Chip Race Podcast

On February 24th, 2026m Lappin and O’Kearney informed the poker community about Lappin’s departure from the podcast after 11 years of co-hosting.

The news made waves, especially when Dara O’Kearney ran a poll, asking players who should replace David Lappin on The Chip Race — and Matt Berkey won by a small margin against Pokerbunny.

Other players rushed to offer their talents as co-hosts shortly after, including 888poker ambassador Aaron Barone, who cited having a similar fashion sense to Dara’s as a valid reason for getting the gig. In the end the duo confessed that this separation was just a joke but didn’t clarify any plans for the future of the podcast.

So, for now, we’re just looking forward to see what they’ll cook up for us.