Currently in Canada: Kevin Martin and Matt Salsberg Win Big
Keep up with all the news coming out of the Canadian poker world with this quick recap of the top headlines of the last week from PokerNews Canada.
Kevin Martin Crowned Champion of Big Brother Canada
Season 5 of Big Brother Canada just wrapped up this past week with Team PokerStars Online member Kevin Martin outlasting 15 other contestants to become the winner of Big Brother Canada Season 5 and capturing a $100,000 prize. He also won additional prizes of a $30,000 furnishing makeover from The Brick and a 2017 Toyota 86.
This was the second time that Martin entered the Big Brother household, his first being Season 3. This season, the house was made up of eight returning players, Martin being one of them, and eight new houseguests.
This time around, Martin ended up using his previous experience to his advantage and, when the final day came around, it was down to Martin and Karen Singbeil as the only remaining contestants. With nine jury members deciding who the winner would be, it was a unanimous decision with Martin collecting all nine votes to be crowned the winner of Season 5 of Big Brother Canada.
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Matt Salsberg Wins 2017 California State Poker Championship
The $1,100 Main Event at the California State Poker Championship just wrapped up with Canadian Matt Salsberg being crowned the champion after a deal with runner-up Fredrick Arni. With the win, Salsberg collected $164,870 and a $10,000 L.A. Poker Classic Main Event seat. Arni took home an even $160,000 after the deal for second-place honours. The event had 1,119 entrants across four starting flights
This marks the sixth time Slasberg has cashed for $100,000 or more in his poker career. This score also bumps him up to over $2.4 million in lifetime live cashes.
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Ari Engel Sits Atop GPI Top 10 Canadians List for 29th Week
Ari Engel Still remains in first place on the overall GPI top 10 Canadians list for the 29th-straight week. Jean-Pascal Savard ended up joining the top 10 list in tenth spot by bumping off Luc Greenwood after Savard won the biggest poker tournament in Canadian history.
Ari Engel reclaimed the lead in the 2017 GPI Canadian Player of the Year race after relinquishing the lead last week to Daniel Dvoress. Ryan Yu climbed two spots, going to fifth from seventh, and Sam Greenwood climbed to sixth on the list after finishing the previous week in ninth. Kristin Bicknell fell two spots from fifth to seventh as a result of the moves made by Yu and Greenwood. Paul Sokoloff ended up moving up a spot from the bottom spot to ninth on the list, moving Sorel Mizzi down to No. 10.
There are still two Canadians in the top 10 of the 2017 GPI Player of the Year race. Engel was the only one to move up the list as he moved up four spots from sixth to second on the rankings, one spot shy of Bryn Kenney. Engel bumped Sergio Aido, Daniel Dvoress, and Nick Petrangelo all down one spot en route to reclaiming the second-place position.
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��Korpieworm�� Becomes a SCOOP Champion by Winning Sunday Million for Over $170,000
Sunday, May 14, 2017 was a big day for online poker as 888poker was running their XL Inferno series, PokerStars was running the Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP), and partypoker was running their biggest-ever Powerfest series. With all of these high guarantee series running, there was bound to be a couple of very deep runs by Canadians. Here are some of the highlights:
The top score of the day went to ��Korpieworm�� who ended up taking down the SCOOP 31-M Sunday Million for $173,243.90. Korpieworm outlasted a field of 6,944 that easily surpassed the $1 million guarantee for the $215 investment.
In the Mini Sunday Million, the buy-in is decreased to $22 with a $175,000 guarantee. This week saw 9,423 entries to created a total prize pool worth $188,460. One Canadian made the final table; Scott ��D_DIGGLER99�� Hill ended up getting to heads-up play but would eventually fall one spot short, taking home $17,320.17 for second place.
The $215 Sunday Warmup was also a SCOOP event, being SCOOP 30-M. Usually boasting a $350,000 guarantee, the added value of it being a SCOOP event saw the guarantee increase to $500,000. A total of 3,898 players entered the event, creating a prize pool of $779,600. One Canadian made the final table. ��Takeurent$�� ended up finishing the tournament in eighth place for $8,575.60.
Over to 888poker whose XL Inferno series was in full swing. The 94th event in the series was the $120,000 Mega Deep �� the premiere Sunday tournament on 888poker. The usual $120,000 guarantee for a $215 buy-in was increased to $150,000 and, with 967 entries, saw the prize pool soar past the guarantee. Two Canadians managed to make the final table. ��Prof_Plum�� ended up finishing in eighth place for $3,868 while ��Wall2Wall3b�� ended up having a bit of a further run finishing the tournament in fifth place, to bring home $9,747.36.
Partypoker��s Powerfest series is also in full flight with many Canadians heading over to the site looking for a big score. In the $215 buy-in warm-up event, Heavyweight: The Title Fight Warm Up, there was a $100,000 guaranteed prize pool. With 852 total entries, the guarantee was easily surpassed, creating a prize pool worth $170,400. ��Tiny Hands�� was the only Canadian to make the final table and would end up bowing out in seventh place for $3,408.
The biggest event on partypoker every week is the $215 buy-in Heavyweight: The Title Fight, which boasts a $300,000 guarantee. As part of partypoker��s Powerfest, though, the guarantee got a bump up to $1 million. After having a $330,000 overlay the previous week, 4,338 entries brought the overlay down to a $130,000 added bonus for entrants playing the event. Canadian ��IGrindMakeUp�� finished the tournament in fifth place for $30,750.
Another big event at partypoker is their $530 High Roller event. Usually boasting a guarantee of $150,000, the Powerfest #157 event saw the guarantee double to $300,000. A total of 709 players took part this week to create a total prize pool worth $354,000, beating the guarantee. Three Canadians made the final table of this event with ��TorTor2012�� busting in fifth for $14,443.20. ��TIMEXCNT�� finished one spot better, finishing in fourth for $20,461.20, while ��Makemineadouble�� was the top Canadian, finishing in third place for $30,196.20.
The biggest buy-in event on partypoker is the $2,600 Super High Roller which usually offers a guarantee of $100,000. But, as part of Powerfest, the event saw the guarantee triple to $300,00. With 161 entries in the event, the guarantee was smashed by more than $100,000. Three Canadians managed to make the final table of this event. ��Power_Bottom�� was the first Canadian to hit the rail, finishing in eighth for $11,068.75. ��SignoreUkulele�� was the second Canadian to be eliminated, finishing in third place to collect $46,690. The last Canadian standing was ��JeanClaude1970��. They managed to make it to heads-up play but ultimately fall one spot short of victory, busting in second place for $63,997.50.
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