CPT Spring Showdown Concludes, Dan Idema Wins High Roller
The Canadian Poker Tour (CPT) Spring Showdown at Grey Eagle Casino in Calgary, Alberta has concluded after a stellar week of poker. CPT has set the bar high for other events to follow with players praising the series, the added value of guarantees and a Player of the Series race, and the structures of the tournaments.
The $3,300 High Roller resumed play yesterday afternoon with registration still open for several levels. There were 26 entries in total by the time the window of opportunity was closed, and the prize pool sat at $74,100. Play continued until late in the night — or early into Tuesday morning — with two Vancouver stars Dan Idema and Jason Mann battling it out heads-up.
It ended when Mann and Idema got it in preflop with Mann the favourite holding 
to chip-leading Idema's 
. The board ran out 
and Idema was made the champion with trip Kings. Idema can add $35,000 and the High Roller trophy to his $1.7 million in lifetime earnings and his two WSOP bracelets.
High Roller Payouts
| Finish | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dan Idema | $35,000 |
| 2 | Jason Mann | $21,000 |
| 3 | Bo Fric | $12,000 |
| 4 | Dave Howat | $6,100 |
Gillian Epp and Kelly Kellner sat down for one last time to close out the great series.
We announced before the Main Event had even finished that Sean Giesbrecht had locked up the CPT Player of the Series. He didn't stay to play the High Roller, and didn't need to in order to earn the VIP Suite at Aria Resort in Las Vegas, cash for travel expenses, and a buy-in for an upcoming tournament. He was a long way ahead with a massive 353.13 points after final-tabling three of the events, one of which was a 2nd-place finish in the Main Event.
Giesbrecht's results at CPT Spring Showdown catapult him into 3rd in the CPT Player of the Year leaderboard, just under fellow Vancouverite and fellow triple-final-tablist Todd Fletcher (Fletcher did it a week earlier at Hard Rock Casino Vancouver Poker Championships and won the Main Event) and knocking Mike Leah down a spot.
This is how the top 10 currently looks:
| Position | Player | CPT POY Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew Lapossie | 387.74 |
| 2 | Todd Fletcher | 385.66 |
| 3 | Sean Giesbrecht | 353.13 |
| 4 | Mike Leah | 337.56 |
| 5 | Kyle Chang | 316.18 |
| 6 | Sylvain Siebert | 286.56 |
| 7 | Thi Hoa Nguyen | 286.18 |
| 8 | Danny Freitas | 276.14 |
| 9 | Xiaohu Chen | 273.75 |
| 10 | Pratyush Buddiga | 268.30 |
If you missed any of the action in the Main Event and High Roller, PokerNews Canada was on site reporting the events live, and you can catch up on how it all happened by visiting our live-update blog.
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