No it isn't a belated April Fool's joke, the Breaking Bad star has confirmed he will play for the LA Sunset as a Wildcard entry.

The Global Poker League kicked off with a bang last week and now the series looks set to get even bigger.

Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul, who played the iconic Jesse Pinkman in the show, has confirmed as a Wildcard pick for Maria Ho's team the LA Sunset. He is the first celebrity to be drafted to the league and it appears he will not be the last.

I've been drafted by @mariaho to play with the pros in the @GPL. #TeamLASunset #SecretWeapon #SportifyPoker April 12, 2016

Paul is known to play poker already and has previously been spotted at the World Series of Poker taking selfies with fans. The award-winning actor commented:

I love Poker as a game and mindsport so I’m excited to be part of this new eSports League. Representing the LA Sunset together with some of the best players in the world should be a blast.

"Poker, Bitch"

Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman

Team captain Maria Ho also commented on his selection:

Poker as we know it has existed for decades, but with the eSports boom the GPL is creating a new competitive format very similar to what conventional sports have done in the US. We’ve had a lot of opportunities to include celebrities that happen to also be talented players, but in my experience Aaron is one of the most committed to the sport of poker right now. He wants to learn and beat the best. He’s an amazing addition to the LA Sunset and I’m hoping he’ll end up being a pivotal part of our team being a winning hand.

No word yet on when we can expect to see Aaron appear in the series, but with 2.5 million fans on Twitter and having starred in what many people consider the greatest show in TV history, he is likely to give poker its biggest ever Twitch audience when he does play for the first time (and will no doubt make for a viral YouTube video if he screams his iconic Breaking Bad catchphrase "Bitch" during play).

The Global Poker League resumes today, Wednesday and Thursday for its second week, you can watch the Twitch stream here.

Are you excited to see Aaron Paul play poker on Twitch? How many viewers will his stream get? Share your views in the comments.

Barry Carter Barry Carter is the editor of PokerStrategy.com and the co-author of The Mental Game of Poker 1 & 2. Twitter

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