Top 10 Canadian Female Poker Players
Canada has produced some of the strongest female poker players in the world. From winning WSOP bracelets to making history at major tournaments, these women have left a real mark on professional poker. They’ve challenged old stereotypes and raised the level of the game. Read on to learn more about the top Canadian female poker players and the names shaping the game today.
Famous Canadian Female Poker Players
Well-known Canadian female poker players have gained global recognition through major tournament wins and deep runs in some of the toughest events in the game. Their impact goes beyond prize money, as they’ve raised the standard of competitive poker while reflecting shifting gambling demographics in Canada.
Each player found her way into the game differently; some were hooked after an early win, others discovered poker through industry roles like poker room management. Yet others sharpened their skills to support a life of travel. Below are the standout names whose success has helped place Canada at the forefront of women’s poker.
1. Kristen Foxen (née Bicknell): Record-Setting Career
Kristen Foxen, originally from St. Catharines, Ontario, got into poker as a college freshman and developed her edge through online play before becoming a fixture in major live events.
Her résumé includes five WSOP bracelets – two won live (2013, 2016) and three won online (2020, 2023, 2024). In 2025, she reached No. 1 on the women’s all-time live tournament earnings list, passing Vanessa Selbst after a 3rd-place finish for $1,104,000 in a $125K NLH event at Triton Jeju.
2. Xuan Liu: The First Woman to Win a Triton Title
Xuan Liu’s poker story began during her time at the University of Waterloo, where she started studying the game seriously and built her foundation with disciplined learning and experience at the tables.
In May 2025, she made history by becoming the first woman ever to win a Triton Poker title, taking down the $25,000 WPT Global Slam at Triton Montenegro for $860,000, a landmark moment in high-stakes tournament poker.
3. Ema Zajmović: The Trailblazing WPT Open-Event Champion
Ema Zajmović began playing poker at a young age with a heavy focus on cash games before her breakthrough on the tournament stage.
That signature moment came on February 15, 2017, when she won WPT Playground at Playground Poker Club in Kahnawake, Quebec, and became the first woman to win an open-buy-in WPT Main Tour event. She topped a 380-player field and earned $261,000, along with a seat in the WPT Tournament of Champions.
4. Lina Niu: Inaugural WPT Ladies Championship Winner
Lina Niu wasn’t a long-time tournament regular before her breakout. She was better known for playing cash games, and her live tournament record was small compared to the pros she faced.
In December 2022, the Edmonton-based entrepreneur won the inaugural WPT Ladies Championship at the Wynn Las Vegas, outlasting a 578-entry field to win $105,136, along with a Rockstar cruise room package. She closed it out at a final table that included established names like Kathy Liebert and Jamie Kerstetter.
5. Kara Scott: Poker Broadcaster with Major Tournament Results
The Alberta-based Kara Scott built her name in TV and poker media by being in the game’s spotlight early. She became a familiar face on poker broadcasts in the early 2000s, including Sky Poker and coverage tied to major tours.
Her biggest breakthrough result at the table came in 2009, when she finished as a runner-up in the $3,500 Irish Open Main Event and earned $312,600. She also achieved what was considered nearly impossible at the time by cashing the Main Event in consecutive years, 2008 and 2009.
6. Vanessa Kade: Sunday Million Anniversary Champion
Vanessa Kade from Kelowna, British Columbia, is another one of Canada’s most prominent poker personalities. Her career-defining moment came in March 2021 when she won the PokerStars Sunday Million 15th Anniversary Event. She defeated a field of 69,876 entries to claim $1,514,920, and this was her largest career score.
Kade previously worked as a video game producer for major studios, like Disney, LucasArts, and BioWare. Her foray into poker started in her early twenties. She started with live cash games and quickly moved into live and online tournaments.
7. Isabelle Mercier: WPT Ladies’ Night Winner
Isabelle Mercier from Victoriaville helped pave the way for female poker players in the early 2000s. In 2004, she won the World Poker Tour Ladies’ Night tournament for $25,000, earning the nickname “No Mercy” from Mike Sexton for her aggressive playing style. Her career earnings exceed $800,000, and she has competed at the highest levels of the European Poker Tour and World Series of Poker.
Mercier’s journey into poker wasn’t strictly defined from the beginning. She graduated with a law degree and moved to France for further education. It was when she became a poker room manager at the Aviation Club de France that her legendary career started taking shape.
8. Evelyn Ng: WPT Ladies’ Night Breakout Star & WSOP Main Event Casher
Evelyn Ng from Toronto, Ontario, gained prominence in 2003 when she placed second in the WPT Ladies’ Night I tournament, finishing ahead of established stars such as Annie Duke and Jennifer Harman. In 2006, she cashed in $73,230 at the $25,000 + 500 WPT Championship at the No-Limit Hold’em event in Las Vegas in 2006.
Ng started her poker career under the mentorship of fellow Canadian poker legend Daniel Negreanu. Over time, she developed an aggressive playing style and innovative chip tricks. Her live tournament earnings exceeded $375,000, and she became a respected figure in the poker community.
9. Louise Francoeur: Montreal-Born Grinder with Deep WSOP and WPT Results
Francoeur, born in Montreal, is best known for consistency and longevity in competitive poker. While she has no WSOP bracelets so far, she has $1,169,820 in recorded live earnings with 362 cashes in Hendon Mob’s database.
Louise Francoeur’s best-known results come from deep runs in some of poker’s biggest series. In the 2016 WSOP Main Event, she finished 142nd for $49,108, which stands as her largest single recorded cash. She followed that with another strong showing on the WSOP Circuit (Rio, Las Vegas) in 2019–2020, placing 6th in a $1,700 No-Limit Hold’em event for $41,375. She also reached the final table at the 2022 WSOP, taking 8th place in the $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super Turbo Bounty for $21,733.
10. Thi Hoa Nguyen
Canadian tournament regular Thi Hoa Nguyen has built a strong résumé through several major tournament results. Her career began in early 2014 in Canada, with two cashes at the Fallsview Poker Classic (Niagara Falls), including an 8th-place finish for $32,496.
From there, she quickly posted results across major Canadian stops that same year, a win in the CPT Ladies National Championship in Calgary, a 5th-place High Roller finish in Calgary, and a 3rd-place Main Event run at the Playground Poker Montreal Festival (Kahnawake). Later in 2014, she broke through in the US by winning the Deepstack Extravaganza in Las Vegas for $120,561, which remains her biggest recorded score.
Besides competing, Nguyen is a strong advocate for female representation in poker and regularly encourages more women to participate in this game.
Canada | A Hotbed of Female Poker Pros
Canadian female poker players have carved out an extraordinary legacy in professional poker. They built elite skills that translated into major wins in a game where strategy and quick decisions matter. What unites these remarkable players is their determination to excel in a historically male-dominated field and consistency in generating massive tournament cashes. In turn, this has inspired many women and paved the way for the next generation of female poker players.
As the Canadian iGaming market continues to grow, these trailblazers serve as powerful examples that poker skill transcends gender, and Canada’s contribution to female poker excellence continues to inspire players worldwide. For anyone interested in playing poker live or in online casinos in Canada, their success shows just how deep the talent pool in this country is.
