On the eve of Canada's most important national holiday it's only fitting the first Canadian bracelet of the 2016 World Series of Poker has now been won.
it wasn't an established Canadian poker star like Daniel Negreanu or Mike Leah to pull it off, however.
Instead it was 29-year-old student/poker player Kristen Bicknell, who claimed the always tough $1,500 Bounty event in impressive fashion.
Not only did Bicknell claim the $290,768 top prize and bragging nights for her nation, she also became the first female player to claim a gold bracelet this year.
The bracelet is Bicknell's second WSOP bracelet in her career as she also won the 2013 Ladies Championship.
“It all feels so surreal," Bicknell said following her win. "But it almost doesn’t feel true. It’s the dream you always had.
"When you bust from a tournament, you feel so bad. But when you win it’s such a weird feeling.”
Two Bracelet Winners and a Thrill
Besides the 2,157 other players Bicknell had to outlast to claim the title Bicknell had a tough final-table to contend with with two former bracelet winners and a WPT stalwart in the mix.
The Thrill
Hungarian Norbert Szecsi and former November Niner Steve Gee were also in the final nine, as was well known East Coast grinder Will "The Thrill" Failla, but none of them could overcome Bicknell.
“The timing was really good for the cards that I got and I ran really well,” Bicknell said.
“When they had good hands, I had better hands and when I bluffed, I guess they didn’t have very good hands and folded.”
As it was a bounty tournament Bicknell also picked up her fair of bonus chips over the four-day tournament. The 17 knockouts she scored added an extra $9,000 to her winning total.
Added to her $173,922 win in the 2013 Ladies Championship and another small cash this year, Bicknell's career WSOP earnings now sit just under half a million dollars.
Final-table results and payouts for Event #46, $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Bounty:
- 1. Kristen Bicknell (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) -- $290,768
- 2. Norbert Szecsi (Budapest, Hungary) -- $179,625
- 3. John Myung (Vienna, VA) -- $130,588
- 4. Ryan Leng (Henderson, NV) -- $95,857
- 5. Will Failla (Smithtown, NY) -- $71,049
- 6. Sebastien Comel (St. Pierre Du Mont, France) -- $53,181
- 7. Steve Gee (Sacramento, CA) -- $40,203
- 8. Fadi Hamad (Danvers, IL) -- $30,697
- 9. Jason Singleton (San Diego, CA) -- $23,678
For a full rundown of the event check the WSOP live updates.
