The world’s greatest athletes have all gathered in Paris, France for the Summer Olympics and while poker isn’t an Olympic sport – or maybe even a sport at all – WPT.com couldn’t help but take the opportunity to imagine what it just might look like if some of the world’s best poker players were representing their country in Paris.
In the true Olympic spirit, each country’s “organizing committee” was tasked with filling a five-person roster consisting a specialist in each of the following:
- No Limit Hold’em Tournament
- Pot Limit Omaha Tournament
- Mixed Game Tournament
- Heads-Up No Limit Tournament
- No Limit Hold’em Cash Game
The five players would also be accompanied by a coach from their country. Each player would compete ONLY in their respective discipline, earning not only individual glory – medals available for each event – but also team points that lead to gold, silver, and bronze medals for the top performing country.
With that in mind, we’ve put together teams from Canada, Japan, Brazil, Argentina, Great Britain, and the United States with insight from some of the top journalists in poker. Today, we present to you the 2024 Canadian Olympic Poker team, with comments from prominent Canadian poker journalist Mike Patrick.
No Limit Hold’Em Tournament
Kristen Foxen
Fresh off her 13th place finish in the 2024 World Series of Poker Main Event, Kristen Foxen is a strong choice to represent her country at the Olympics in the No Limit Hold’em Tournament discipline. She sits 13th on Canada’s all-time money list with more than $8.3 million in earnings – all but $5,400 coming in NLHE tournaments – and all 12 of her career wins, including four WSOP bracelets, are in the ‘Cadillac of Poker’.
Foxen, who started her career as an online cash game grinder, also plays the high roller events inside the PokerGO studio in Las Vegas against some off the game’s most elite competition so finding comfort underneath the spotlight of the Olympic stage are unlikely to phase her.
“Already incredibly well established, Foxen’s run in the WSOP Main Event just a few weeks ago cemented her status on the team as the No Limit Hold’em tournament representative,” said Patrick. “It’s critical to run hot at the right time in tournaments, and as well as she played and as hot as she ran, Foxen gets the nod.”
Pot Limit Omaha Tournament
Ari Engel
One of the most decorated players in WSOP Circuit history, Ari Engel might be disappointed to learn that the Pot Limit Omaha event at the Olympics is the standard four-card version and not Big O, but he’s still got the chops to go medal hunting in the Great Game. Three of Engel’s 17 WSOP Circuit rings are in Pot Limit Omaha (and another three are in Omaha variants) and he has a total 150 live cashes in Omaha tournaments, with 94 of those coming in events that at least had PLO in the mix.
“No matter the number of cards in the game, Ari Engel will crush it, so he earns his spot on the team for PLO,” said Patrick. “And if an injury were to befall Negreanu, he could be plugged right into that decathlete spot as well.”
While the other players donning the red maple leaf might have a higher profile in major events, Engel hasn’t exactly been hiding for his entire career. In 2016, he won the Aussie Millions Main Event for $1.12 million and he also has a pair of WSOP bracelets including the $10,000 Omaha 8-or-better Championship in 2021.
No Limit Hold’em Cash Game
Timothy Adams
Choosing a Canadian player to enter the Olympic cash game arena is a little bit like shooting a fish in a barrel, but Timothy Adams gets the call here. Mostly known for his tournament prowess – he is second on Canada’s all-time earnings list with $38.5 million – Adams has been known to show up in high stakes streaming cash games streets where he finds himself up against a mix of businessmen and stone cold killers.
“While Adams can also be seen frequenting many international high-stakes tournaments, be they Tritons, EPTs or otherwise, right alongside those events are some of the highest-stakes cash games in the world,” said Patrick. “You’ll find Adams right in the midst of those games, crushing his competition and adding to his bankroll for those tourneys. If cash games are the main course and tournaments are dessert, Adams is eating very well while saving enough room for those tasty after-dinner poker treats.”
No matter how high the stakes get, Adams isn’t going to find himself in an uncomfortable setting. Of the 194 career NLHE tournament cashes on his resume, 88 are in events with a buy-in of at least $25,000.
Mixed Game Tourney
Daniel Negreanu
It would be hard to imagine the Canadian Olympic Poker Team not having Daniel Negreanu on it. Arguably the biggest poker star in the world, had the team been picked prior to the 2024 World Series of Poker, there was a chance at least that he was left off the roster. However, his win in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship, which is considered by many to be the most prestigious WSOP bracelet for professional poker players, made him an easy pick to represent his homeland in the Mixed Game Tournament format. It was his first WSOP win in nearly 11 years and his first one in Vegas in 16 years.
The 50-year-old sits atop the Canadian all-time earnings list with $53 million. He has seven WSOP bracelets, two World Poker Tour Titles and a Super High Roller Bowl title, and he’s the player least likely to be phased by any sort of anxiety over having the world watching.
“The Mixed Game selection is truly the decathlete of the team, following in the tradition of great Canadian decathletes like Damian Warner, Dave Steen, and Michael Smith,” said Patrick. “Not only did Negreanu show his No Limit Hold‘em quality this summer in everything from a 100m / $500 sprint, all the way to the 1500m / $10,000 Main Event of poker’s decathlon, but he was undeniable to the COPC for dominating the ‘field’ events, winning the $50,000 Poker Players Championship. Negreanu has topped them all throughout his career from poker’s long jump to discus throw. And that’s not even mentioning that he wrote the book on Triple Jump…er Draw.”
Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em
Mike Watson
Once again, there is a wealth of options for Canadian organizers to choose from for a category. This time, Mike Watson gets the nod for the Heads Up No Limit Hold’em spot. With more than $28 million in lifetime earnings, Watson is also coming in with a little bit of forward momentum from the WSOP having won his first bracelet this year. But that success also comes after Watson posted three seven-figure scores in Triton events, including a win in a $30,000 NLHE event in Montenegro.
“‘SirWatts’ Mike Watson is as good as it gets when it comes to an online resume for a Canadian poker player,” said Patrick. “With over $14,000,000 in online tournament winnings, you don’t get to a number like that without being able to close it out. With countless victories to his name, all of which you need to win a heads-up match to claim, Canada’s online end boss is the COPC’s selection for Heads Up No Limit.”
In his live career, Watson is 21-18 when heads-up for a live title, including a World Poker Tour title in 2008, the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in 2016, and a European Poker Tour title in 2023, along with four Triton Poker Series wins.
Coach
Mike McDonald
While Mike McDonald hasn’t been actively playing poker the last few years, it would be a mistake to not have him and his analytical genius on the team. Serving as the coach would give McDonald the opportunity to grab a clipboard and help Canada bring home as many medals as possible.
Thrust into the poker spotlight at 18 years old when he won the EPT Dortmund, McDonald has $13.4 million in lifetime earnings and has found success outside of poker, making him the perfect fit to provide guidance for each of the players on the squad.