Canada’s 9th Bracelet in WSOP 2013 Won by Daniel Idema

Last Friday, we reported the record-breaking status of Canadian poker players in this year’s 44th Annual World Series of Poker. A barrage of bracelet wins made Canada the top bracelet earning country in any single year of WSOP events with 7 gold-worthy finishes, topping the 2010 record of 6. That number has since increased to 9 bracelets, all heading north thanks to the genuine poker skills of Canada’s high-performance players.

Justin Oliver and Daniel Idema each captured a WSOP bracelet in Events #38 and #39 respectively, with the final tables ending about 6 hours apart from one another. The first seven bracelets to go to Canadian players occurred in Event #3 , $1,000 NL Holdem (Charles Sylvestre of Quebec, Canada – $491,360), Event #6, $1,500 Millionaire Maker (Benny Chen of Prince Edward Island, Canada – $1,199,104), Event #8, $2,500 8-Game Mix (Michael Malm of British Columbia, Canada – $225,104), Event #11, $2,500 NL Holdem 6-Max (Levi Barger of Ontario, Canada – $473,019), Event #16, $10,000 Heads-Up NL Holdem (Mark Radoja of Ontario, Canada – $331,190), Event #20, Omaha Hi-Low Split 8-or-Better (Calen McNeil of British Columbia, Canada – $277,274) and Event #28, $2,500 NL Holdem (Jason Duval of Quebec, Canada – $521,202).

Justin Oliver’s life-long dream of winning a WSOP bracelet came to fruition in Event #38, $2,500 NL Holden 4-Handed. Oliver outlasted a field of 566 entrants, coming down to heads-up play with Nick Schwarmann at the final table. Hailing from Toronto, Ontario, Oliver has been cashing in live poker tournaments since 2010, but this marks his very first outright victory and, of course, his first WSOP bracelet. Up until now, Oliver had only banked about $54k in tournament earnings, upped to $363,581 with the new $309,071 cash Sunday evening.

Daniel Idema, a professional poker player from Victoria, British Columbia took the ninth 2013 WSOP bracelet for Canada in the wee hours of Monday morning. Idema is no stranger to the World Series of Poker, listed as #26 amongst the top Canadian WSOP money earners of all time with a grand total of $1.8 million. The Canadian poker pro survived 557 other players in Event #39, $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low 8-or-Better, to capture his second WSOP bracelet, and another $184,590 to add to his career winnings. Idema claimed his first WSOP bracelet in the 2011 WSOP, earning $378,642 after winning the WSOP Limit Holdem Championship. He also won the British Columbia Poker Championships in 2007, and came close to another bracelet win at the 2010 WSOP, finishing in 2nd in the same WSOP Limit Holdem Championship event that won him his first gold the following year.

At present, 39 bracelets have been awarded in the 2013 World Series of Poker, and 9 of those have gone to Canadian registrants. That’s a pretty significant feat when you consider only 5% of the entire WSOP field has been natives of the nation, yet they’ve scooped 23% of the golden treasures. While the Americans still lead in bracelets wins, as always, it will be interesting to see just how many bracelets head north this year before it’s all over, and how high they can push the record.