Who’s set to dominate the poker tables in 2025? Some of the best poker players of all time have come from Canada — including Toronto native Daniel “Kid Poker” Negreanu currently the highest-earning active poker player in the world according to WSOP rankings.
Given Canada’s strong history, we spotlight the best poker rising stars and live tournament pros making serious waves this year. Backed by recent tournaments results and expert insights, these are the poker players you’ll want to keep on your radar in 2025.
#3 Jonathan NewmanWinger
If you are a die-hard poker fan, you have probably heard of Jonathan Newman already. This former elementary school teacher burst onto the scene in 2022 by winning four titles in the Ontario Championship of Online Poker. Newman has since gone on to win $268,236 in career earnings, along with one ring and a bracelet in WSOP online tournaments. Both the ring and bracelet came at the end of 2024.
#2 Matthew Osorio
Matthew Osorio has played online poker since 2019 at relatively low levels. In truth, he still plays at lower stakes, but his game has improved significantly lately, so we think he’s definitely worth highlighting as a name to watch going forward. First, he won $26,088 for a seventh-place finish in the WSOP Bracelet Event #7 – $1,000 WSOP Ontario Main Event. The winner of that tournament was the first name mentioned in this piece, Jonathan Newman.
Osorio then won over $23,200 at a live tournament at Casino Niagara in November 2024, which was one of the biggest wins of his career so far.
#1 Bobby Winger
Newman and Osorio are players who had strong ends to 2024 that we expect to carry through into the rest of 2025. Bobby “dusty truth” Winger has already made a splash in 2025. The semi-pro player from Toronto shocked everyone by winning two titles at the Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) tournament in March and April.
Nine other players also won two titles, but Winger has shown the most growth recently. He won $86,000 at the $25,000 2024 WSOP Paradise Super Main Event in the Bahamas. He’s also recently ramped up his online presence, which shows that he’s committed to making a career out of this. Plenty of SCOOP winners have gone on to do great things in bigger tournaments. We wouldn’t be surprised if Winger ends up being one of them.
Play Online Poker in Canada
Each poker pros highlighted here got their start somewhere, right? If you want to try your luck and see if you have a future as a poker player, try out GoldSpin, Monsterwin and Billy Bets Casino. These are our top-rated online poker casinos in Canada. They all have a wide selection of live poker and solo games. Plus, our experts have thoroughly vetted them to ensure they are safe and fair.
