First Three WSOP Circuit Calgary Rings Awarded Ahead of Main Event

The 2026 WSOP Circuit Calgary stop has crowned its first three ring winners at Deerfoot Inn & Casino, with Martin Kaspers, Pengju Wang and Matthew Robertson collecting victories across the opening events of the festival.

Kaspers opened the series by winning the C$400 Big 30 Stack No Limit Hold'em before Wang claimed the C$600 NLH/PLO Mix. Robertson then became the third champion of the stop by taking down the C$600 Black Chip Bounty.

The Calgary series runs from September 30 through October 12 and features 18 ring events. While the opening tournaments are already producing winners, one of the biggest events on the schedule arrives on October 8 when the C$2,300 Main Event begins its first of three starting flights.

Martin Kaspers became the first winner of the October WSOP Circuit Calgary stop after topping the C$400 Big 30 Stack No-Limit Hold'em.

Event #1 attracted 344 entries and generated C$ 113,520 in prizes. Kaspers earned C$23,432 for the victory after defeating Raghav Sharma heads-up.

The second ring of the series went to Pengju Wang, who won Event #2, the C$600 NLH/PLO Mix.

The mixed-format tournament attracted 167 entries and produced a C86,005 prizepool. Wang collected C20,862 after defeating Michael Wo heads-up.

Matthew Robertson followed Kaspers and Wang by winning Event #3, the C$600 No-Limit Hold'em Black Chip Bounty.

The tournament drew 197 entries and generated a combined C$96,872, consisting of C$77,072 in the regular prize pool and C$19,800 in bounties.

The C600 entry was divided into C415 for the tournament prize pool, a C100 bounty and an C85 fee. Players began with 25,000 chips and played 25-minute levels, with registration available through the opening nine levels.

Robertson eventually reached heads-up play against Duong Bach after the one-day tournament worked its way through the 197-entry field.

The final confrontation saw Bach put his short stack at risk holding king-jack offsuit. Robertson held ace-three.

Neither player improved enough to move Bach ahead, allowing Robertson's ace-high to hold and bring the tournament to a close. The victory gave Robertson the third WSOP Circuit ring awarded during the October Calgary festival.

The tournament lasted approximately 12 hours before Robertson secured the ring. The final table also included Colten Yamagishi, Parth Patel, Patrick Griffin, Jerry Li, Jonathan Kozel, Joseph Cosco, Eyal Pevzner and Ed Sorensen.

Cosco reached his second final table in as many days after also making the final table of the opening Big 30 Stack. He finished 10th in the Black Chip Bounty for C$1,348 after previously placing eighth in Event #1.

Jonathan Kozel finished seventh for C2,433,whileJerryLitooksixthforC3,174. Parth Patel went on to finish fourth before the tournament eventually reached the Robertson-Bach heads-up battle.

Robertson's victory means three different players have claimed rings across the first three completed events of the series.

The festival continues with Event #4, the C$400 No-Limit Hold'em Mini Main Event.

The tournament features four opening flights. Day 1A began on October 1, followed by two flights on October 2 and the final starting flight on October 3. Survivors advance to Day 2 on October 4.

The Mini Main is part of a wider schedule that continues with events including the C600 Mystery Bounty, C400 Seniors tournament, C500 Progressive Knockout, C1,000 No-Limit Hold'em and C$400 Monster Stack before the Main Event begins. A total of 18 WSOP Circuit ring events are scheduled during the Calgary stop.

Attention will turn to Event #12 when the C$2,300 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event begins at Deerfoot Inn & Casino on Thursday, October 8.

The tournament has three starting flights scheduled on consecutive days. Day 1A begins at 11:00 a.m. on October 8, followed by Day 1B at 11:00 a.m. on October 9. The third and final starting flight, Day 1C, begins at 11:00 a.m. on October 10.

Players advancing from the opening flights will return for Day 2 at 12:00 p.m. on October 11. The Main Event is scheduled to continue with Day 3 from 12:00 p.m. on October 12, the final day of the WSOP Circuit Calgary festival.

The Main Event is followed on the schedule by several additional ring opportunities during the closing stages of the stop. Event #17 is the C3,500 High Roller, while the C400 Double Stack Closer is scheduled for October 12.

Martin Kaspers, Pengju Wang and Matthew Robertson are the first three confirmed champions of the October 2026 WSOP Circuit Calgary festival.

Kaspers opened the series by defeating a 344-entry field in the Big 30 Stack, Wang followed by overcoming 167 entries in the NLH/PLO Mix, and Robertson added his name to the winners list after navigating 197 entries in the Black Chip Bounty.

With the series continuing through October 12, more ring winners will be crowned before and during the C$2,300 Main Event, which gets underway with Day 1A on October 8.