If you follow Rafael Nadal on Twitter, you might have seen a bit of back and forth between the tennis legend and his buddy Joan Suasi. It seems both decided to compete in this weekend's PokerStars Sunday Storm, a tournament with more than 43,000 entries. Nadal and Suasi were less concerned with that number and more with which of the two would last the longest.
The idea was this: for the past several weeks, the friends have been working to improve their tournament game. Today was the big test.
While it might have all been in good fun, these men are competitors and aren't above some friendly ribbing.
Here's how the smack talk kicked off.
I'mm ready @joansuasito go deeper than you on Sunday's poker tournament. These days I have practiced a lot @el_rage . I will beat you!
-- Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) February 21, 2013
@rafaelnadal @el_rage Stick to playing tennis Rafa which youdo very well... There is no chance you beat me on Sunday !!
-- Joan Suasi (@JoanSuasi) February 21, 2013
After that, their poker mentor tried to step in.
Please @rafaelnadal @joansuasi, stop fighting like babies lol. You need to be very focused on the strategy, and please don't bluff ;)..!!!
-- Alfonso Cardalda (@el_rage) February 21, 2013
By Sunday, both men were egaged in verbal warfare on Twitter, sharing hands on the Boom replayer, and trying to work their way through the field.
Rafa started off well and worked his stack up to a impressive level in the first few hours. But, his stack gradually started to deteriorate. Finally, he got his remaining chips in a bit ahead, but his hand didn't hold.
While Rafa finished in the top half of the field, it was the less famous of the pair who went the deepest.
Congrats to Suasi on a great performance and his finish in the money. Good luck to both of you in your continued poker education.
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Brad Willis is the PokerStars Head of Blogging
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