The new year has arrived, and poker is already booming around the world, including in Western Canada, where the Deerfoot Inn and Casino is hosting its first WSOP Circuit of the year from January 8-20 with 17 gold rings on tap.
The opening day was full of action, with players enthusiastically battling for one of the first WSOP Circuit gold rings awarded in 2025.
Antoine Saddleback and Praba Siva both earned early rings on the opening day on Thursday to put them in an early tie for the most rings won in 2025, with just a handful of WSOP ring events held outside of Canada to start the year.
Read on to learn more about the opening day, and also head to our dedicated PokerPro live reporting blog hosted by PokerPro’s Lyle Bateman to catch up on all the details as the day transpired and to read about the rest of the festival’s action in real-time.
Antoine Saddleback Wins Event #1: C$400 Big 30 Stack NLH
The opening event proved to be popular, with 455 entries getting into the mix to create a C$150,150 prize pool in the 2025 WSOP Circuit Calgary Event #1: C$400 Big 30 Stack NLH.
The final table was an all-Canadian affair before Antoine Saddleback defeated Jacob Parent to win the festival’s first coveted WSOP Circuit gold ring. The duo agreed to a heads-up deal before the battle raged on, with the official payouts showing Saddleback earning $28,680 and Parent collecting C$19,120 for his efforts.
While Saddleback isn’t a household name worldwide, with just a hair over $13,000 in cashes, according to The Hendon Mob, heading into the festival, he is becoming a local name. Saddleback will begin to take notice of those who closely follow the WSOP Circuit, as he has now won rings in back-to-back years. His last recorded cash was winning his first WSOP gold ring in August 2024 after Saddleback shipped the WSOP Circuit Calgary Event #8: $500 Progressive Bounty for C$7,386 plus bounties.
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2025 WSOP Circuit Calgary Event #1: C$400 Big 30 Stack NLH Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize (Canadian Dollars) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Antoine Saddleback | $28,680 |
| 2 | Jacob Parent | $19,120 |
| 3 | Ian Tang | $13,423 |
| 4 | Brendan Wolovick | $9,592 |
| 5 | Christopher Fabris | $6,978 |
| 6 | Clayton Littke | $5,170 |
| 7 | Maher Al Mouselly | $3,903 |
| 8 | Jason Fennell | $3,002 |
| 9 | Matt Hall | $2,355 |
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Praba Siva Wins Event #2: C$600 NLH/PLO
While PokerPro’s Lyle Bateman was busy covering the first event, he kept his eyes on the second ring event of the day Event #2: C$600 NLH/PLO with the coverage kicking in after the Saddleback earned the first ring of the festival.
The field attracted 178 entries for a $91,670 prize pool, and players were kept on their toes throughout the event, with the games rotating between no-limit hold ’em and pot-limit Omaha. The top 27 players went home with at least a C$1,240 payout.
The reporting kicked in with a more intense focus, with seven players remaining. Praba Siva, also known as “Mamba,” held a substantial chip lead and took it the rest of the way, defeating Youssef Hmama heads-up to win the C$21,980 top prize and his first taste at WSOP gold.
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2025 WSOP Circuit Calgary Event #2: C$600 NLH/PLO Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize (Canadian Dollars) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Praba Siva | $21,980 |
| 2 | Youssef Hmama | $14,395 |
| 3 | Michael Khan | $9,715 |
| 4 | Yu Liu | $6,763 |
| 5 | Colten Yamagishi | $4,861 |
| 6 | Craig Caldwell | $3,611 |
| 7 | Stephen O’Bertos | $2,776 |
| 8 | Michael Baldwin | $2,210 |
| 9 | Michael Wo | $1,826 |
2025 WSOP Circuit Calgary Schedule (Thursday, January 9)
Two more ring events kick off on the second day of the 2025 WSOP Circuit Calgary at Deerfoot Inn and Casino on Thursday, January 9.
One player will win a ring in the one-day Event #3: C$400 Black Chip Bounty at 11 a.m., while the first of four opening flights of Event #4: C$400 4Flight NLH at 4 p.m.
Lyle Bateman will be back on the floor covering both events, with his main focus on the C$400 Black Chip Bounty. Head to the dedicated live blog of the 2025 WSOP Circuit Calgary at PokerPro.
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