Hey, everyone. I’m Kyle Anderson, PokerNews ambassador and Ontario resident. Here is an update on everything that’s happened in the poker world in Ontario in the last month and going into May.
Remember, ON players can legally play real money poker in Ontario, so PokerNews has come up with a list of the very best online poker sites in the Canadian province. Access real poker sites and play different games with poker players within the state.
What are the big issues and stories on everyone’s minds? Let’s get into it.
Ontario Legend Departs GGPoker
Since 2017, Canada’s Patrick “Egption” Tardif has represented GGPoker, specifically GGPoker Ontario. Well, that all came to an end on Friday, May 10 when Tardif announced on social media that he had amicably parted ways with GGPoker.
Taridf, a well-known Twitch streamer, graduated from the University of Western Ontario and relocated to South Korea to teach English as a foreign language. However, he quit his career as a teacher in 2017 and transitioned full-time to Twitch poker streamer.
Tardif has amassed nearly $500,000 in tournament earnings including a career-best $159,157 for finishing second in the 2020 World Poker Tour (WPT) Fallsview $2,500 Event. In 2023, he also made a deep run in the record-breaking WSOP Main Event placing 97th out of 10,043 players for $78,900.
ONSCOOP Big Success
The biggest online poker story in Ontario last month was the PokerStars Spring Championships of Online Poker (SCOOP). They had 18 days of events with $2.3 million guaranteed throughout the series. Both their low and medium Main Events broke the guarantees dealing out first-place prizes of $8,100 and $34,400 respectively.
PokerStars also offered a leaderboard throughout the series, and it was taken down by none other than PokerStars ambassador Arlie Shaban, who captured three ONSCOOP titles en route to topping the leaderboard and claiming a $1,000 CAD bonus.
Ontario Festival Happening Now
From May 5-June 11, GGPoker Ontario is hosting the Ontario Festival, which is their biggest series ever with $5,000,000 CAD Guaranteed – five times that of the last series – buy-ins at three distinct tiers, and a $75K CAD Leaderboard.
There will be 215 unique events (each with three buy-in levels means 645 total tournaments) with buy-ins ranging from $2.50 up to $1,500. Three events will feature a $200K GTD – $525 Mega Mystery MILLION$, $1,500 GG Ontario Championship, and $210 Ontario MILLION$ Closer. All of those offer multiple starting flights with their respective finales taking place near the end of the series.
Here’s a look at some highlights on the schedule:
Odds & Ends
BetMGM Ontario kicked off its Grand Prix KO $20K GTD Tournament back on April 28 and is slated to wrap on May 12. Multiple $55 buy-in starting flights started at the end of April, and the surviving players from each will return on May 12 to play to a winner. concluding on day two on May 12th.
In live poker news, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) concluded their circuit event in Toronto at the Great Canadian Casino. They offered eight circuit ring events and CAD$5.5 million in prize pools, with the Main Event even reaching CAD$2.8 million.
If you’re interested in playing live poker tournaments, Casino Niagara offers three daily tournaments. A CAD$175 buy-in on Mondays; a CAD$225 buy-in on Tuesdays; and a $275 buy-in on Wednesdays. All of these events start at 12:30 p.m. ET and take place each week.
XL Spring Series Returns to 888poker Ontario
888poker Ontario is putting up guaranteed prize pools worth more than $350,000 during the upcoming XL Spring Series. The 888poker Ontario XL Spring Series runs from May 12 until May 27, featuring 35 numbered events and a handful of side events, including a $50,000 guaranteed mystery bounty Main Event; there series is not to be missed.
The 888poker Ontario XL Spring Series has tournaments starting at $11, increasing to $525, and several options between these extremes. Each event carries a guarantee of at least $1,000 but as much as $50,000; the latter is reserved for the Mystery Bounty Main Event.
Day 1 flights for the $162 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed Mystery Bounty Main Event will hit the 888poker Ontario tournament lobby on May 22 and run until May 27, which is also Day 2.
Click here for more on the 888poker Ontario XL Spring Series!
Kyle Anderson often streams his successes on Global Poker, goes by the screen name “KAA17” and aims to “help grow the game of poker to be fun and inclusive for everyone.” Anderson’s favorite experience so far was running deep in an online tournament, where he turned a freeroll into a $15,488 payday.
For more on Anderson, here’s a taste of what you can expect from his stream:
Eligible iGames conducted and managed by iGO are only available to those physically present in the Province of Ontario. PokerStars Ontario operates pursuant to an agreement with iGaming Ontario.
For more information, visit the Ontario Players Homepage
