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There are several big online poker tournaments that players seek to win each week. PokerStars has several of them, including the Sunday Million and the Sunday Warm-Up, and the most skilled players will attest that they are tough events to win. But Team PokerStars Pro Liv Boeree did it on Sunday, February 6, by grabbing the Warm-Up title and $147,780.96.

Boeree bested a field of 4,710 players, including a final table that boasted of fell Team PokerStars Pro Marcin Horecki and newly-minted Hero Poker pro James “mig.com” Mackey. The heads-up battle with Mackey lasted more than an hour until she finally defeated him with pocket sevens over A-6.

Boeree’s win should be no surprise, as she has more than proven herself as a skilled poker pro. Her victory at the European Poker Tour San Remo stop in April of 2010 garnered much attention, not only as the third woman to win an EPT title, which was worth €1,250,000, but as a player who worked hard to improve her game and proved her abilities in a tough event. Several months later, she was signed to PokerStars on the team roster.

Her latest victory, in a well-respected online poker tournament, is another testament to her skills. So why is she still referred to in demeaning terms by some poker writers? One blog post referred to her as “pokerhottie” and described her as “Heavy Metal loving poker babe,” while another website used “poker babe” in the article title. Most reporting has been respectful, but it’s unclear how many titles Boeree has to win before poker on the whole will look past her cleavage.

Question of the Day: Men, would it be demeaning to be referenced as boys by female writers?

Photo Courtesy of Neil Stoddart on the PokerStars Blog