Apparently we have the answer to the age-old question of whether poker is a sport or not, or at least the Canadian answer to the question! 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion, and resident Canadian, Jonathan Duhamel has been nominated by Sportsnet.CA for the honor of Canadian Athlete of the Year.
Duhamel won nearly $9 million when he captured the 2010 WSOP Championship, which brings about instant world-wide celebrity.
Duhamel is one of 16 nominees that are pitted against one another in a bracket style format; the winners will be voted on by the public. Duhamel is at a severe disadvantage with his first round opponent because there are two of them! The WSOP champ is pitted against the gold medal winning pairs figure skating team of Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, who were Canada’s darlings during the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Should Duhamel get past the formidable duo he will run into even more stiff competition with Canadian Hockey star Sidney Crosby who is likely to blow-by freestyle skier Ashleigh McIvor. On the opposite side of the bracket are UFC champ George St. Pierre and two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash.
So, while Sportsnet.CA believes poker to be a sport, we shall soon see how the voting public feels about the inclusion of the World Series of Poker Champion with the country’s other top athletes.
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