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Xuan Liu is a Canadian professional poker player, born in Tianjin, China, and raised in Canada from the age of five. She came to prominence in 2011 and 2012 with a third place at the European Poker Tour San Remo Main Event and a fourth place at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, where she was the first woman to reach the final table. In May 2025 she became the first woman to win a title on the Triton Poker tour. [1][5][10]
Xuan Liu: key facts
| Full name | Xuan Liu |
|---|---|
| Country | Canada [1] |
| Born | Tianjin, China [1] |
| Hometown | Mississauga, Ontario [11] |
| Known for | First woman to win a Triton Poker title (2025); first woman at a PCA Main Event final table (2012) [5][10] |
| WSOP bracelets | None (34 WSOP cashes, 1 final table) [2] |
| Best result | 1st, 2025 Triton Montenegro $25,000 WPT Global Slam, $860,000 [10] |
| Poker Hall of Fame | Not inducted |
| Live tournament earnings | $4,347,971 as of October 27, 2026 [1] |
Early life: from Tianjin to Toronto
Liu was born in Tianjin and moved to Canada with her family when she was five. [1][3] In a 2025 podcast interview summarized by PokerNews, she traced her interest in poker to the Hong Kong film God of Gamblers, an interest that grew during her college years as the “Moneymaker Boom” took hold. [3] In a 2021 interview with Poker Power she said Mandarin is her native language, although she is more articulate in English. [15]
Beginning in poker
According to PokerNews, Liu started playing while a student at the University of Waterloo, first online on PartyPoker and then in Sit’n’Gos and small stakes Limit Hold’em at local charity casinos in Toronto. She first appeared on the live tournament circuit in 2007 and began taking it seriously in 2010, the year of her first World Series of Poker cash, 69th in the $1,000 Ladies Championship. [1] In December 2010 she won the €1,000 side event at the IPT San Remo festival. [4]
She told Poker Power that her mother gave her an ultimatum to make something of herself within a year or stop pursuing poker professionally, and that she chose tournaments partly because a breakthrough result would be more definitive and because tournaments were the route to sponsorship deals. [15]
Playing style
Almost all of Liu’s major results came in No-Limit Hold’em, although her best World Series finish came in a Seven Card Stud Hi-Low event. [1] Liu has described her main strength as observation: “I think one of my main strengths in poker is that I’m a very good observer.” [15]
Coverage of her biggest wins points to an aggressive heads-up game. In the 2025 Triton final, PokerNews reported, she turned around a 4:1 chip deficit against Daniel Dvoress partly by forcing a fold with a bet of twice the pot holding only king-high. [10] On High Stakes Poker in 2022 she bet $50,000 into a $71,000 pot on the river with ace-high, and Doyle Brunson folded two pair. [14] In 2025 she told PokerNews that she now plays mostly cash games and around 25 tournaments a year. [3][12]
Greatest achievements
EPT San Remo 2011 and the 2012 PCA
At EPT San Remo in May 2011, Liu reached the final table of a 987-player Main Event and briefly held the chip lead three-handed before finishing third for €360,000, which PokerNews called by far the biggest live cash of her career at the time. [4] PokerNews later converted the prize as $524,705. [9]
Eight months later she reached the final table of the 2012 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event, a $10,300 tournament with 1,072 players. Card Player described her as the first female player ever to make the PCA final table. She went out in fourth place for $600,000 on the first hand after the dinner break, when her ace-seven lost to Faraz Jaka’s ace-six. [5][6]
The first woman to win a Triton title
In May 2025 Liu travelled to Triton Poker Montenegro to play a single event, the $25,000 WPT Global Slam, which was also her first Triton tournament. The event drew 155 entries and a $3,875,000 prize pool. Dvoress began heads-up play with a 4:1 chip lead, but Liu took the advantage back and won the decisive all-in with pocket fives against ace-queen. She won $860,000, the largest cash of her career, and became the first woman to win a Triton title. Dvoress took $579,000, David Peters finished third and Kristen Foxen fourth. [10][11]
The two Canadians met heads-up again in September 2026 in the $30,000 No-Limit Hold’em 8-Handed event at Triton Jeju II, which had 135 entries. This time Dvoress started heads-up with 89 big blinds to Liu’s 19 and won on the first hand, his pocket threes beating her king-jack. Liu finished second for $638,000. [13][16]
Selected tournament results
| Year | Event | Result | Prize | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Triton Montenegro $25,000 WPT Global Slam (155 entries) | 1st | $860,000 | [10] |
| 2026 | Triton Jeju II $30,000 No-Limit Hold’em 8-Handed (135 entries) | 2nd | $638,000 | [13] |
| 2012 | PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $10,300 Main Event (1,072 entries) | 4th | $600,000 | [5] |
| 2011 | EPT San Remo Main Event (987 entries) | 3rd | €360,000 | [4] |
| 2017 | WPT Fallsview Poker Classic $2,500 event | 1st | $232,114 | [7] |
| 2025 | WSOP Paradise $25,000 Super Main Event | 180th | $70,000 | [1] |
| 2012 | WSOP $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low 8-or-Better | 6th | $29,985 | [1] |
| 2013 | APPT Seoul Main Event | 4th | KRW 44,600,000 | [1] |
The 2017 Fallsview win in Niagara Falls was the first major title of her career. She called the casino “essentially my home casino, where I used to play $5/$5 no limit”. [7] Card Player lists that prize as $228,042. [2]
World Series of Poker record
Liu has not won a WSOP bracelet. Card Player credits her with 34 WSOP cashes, one final table and $358,257 in WSOP earnings. [2] PokerNews calls her sixth place in the 2012 $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low event the closest she has come to a bracelet. Her Main Event cashes include 787th in 2022, 1439th in 2024 and 634th in 2026. [1]
Hall of Fame and records
Liu is not a member of the Poker Hall of Fame. Her records are firsts for women: the first female finalist in the PCA Main Event and the first woman to win a Triton title. [5][10] Card Player, which also counts real-name online results, credits her with $4,104,890 from 101 cashes and five tournament wins, including $1,222,027 from six EPT main event cashes. [2]
Ambassador roles and television
Liu joined 888poker’s Team Pro with Sweden’s Sofia Lövgren in April 2014. [8] By 2017 she was a sponsored pro for the Asia-based site Natural 8, and in May 2024 she renewed her contract as a WPT Global ambassador. [7][9] PokerNews now lists all three roles as former ones. [1]
In 2022 she appeared on High Stakes Poker in a $200/$400 No-Limit Hold’em game with Doyle Brunson and Tom Dwan. [1][14] She has also spoken at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference alongside Nate Silver, Jen Shahade and Alexandra Botez. [12]
In her own words
- “I came only to play this one event, and I told myself I was going to make it really count. Obviously, this is beyond my wildest dreams.” After the 2025 Triton win, PokerNews. [10]
- “I know I really can’t hang on a day-to-day basis, but this is what the beauty of poker is all about. Anybody can get lucky on any given day.” PokerNews, 2025. [10]
- “I have poker to thank for where I am now. My trajectory has been really unique and I feel like I’ve had to sort of forge my own path and continue to reinvent myself.” PokerNews, 2025. [12]
- “It felt really great after playing tournament poker for so many years to bring home a trophy of this size.” On the 2017 Fallsview win, PokerNews. [7]
- “In the future I definitely want to trophy-hunt and win a bracelet, but right now it’s still mostly cash games.” PokerNews, 2025. [3]
Iconic hands and moments
Ace-high bluff against Doyle Brunson on High Stakes Poker (PokerGO)
Back at Triton after the Montenegro win (Xuan Liu’s YouTube channel)
FAQ about Xuan Liu
How old is Xuan Liu?
Card Player described her as 39 years old in May 2025. An exact birth date could not be confirmed at a primary source. [11]
Where is Xuan Liu from?
She is Canadian. She was born in Tianjin, China, moved to Canada at five and is listed as being from Mississauga, Ontario. [1][11]
What is Xuan Liu’s net worth?
There is no reliable public figure for her net worth. What can be verified is her live tournament record: $4,347,971 in earnings as of October 27, 2026, according to PokerNews. Cash game and sponsorship income are not published. [1]
Has Xuan Liu won a WSOP bracelet?
No. Her best WSOP finish is sixth in the 2012 $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low 8-or-Better event, for $29,985. [1]
Who was the first woman to win a Triton Poker event?
Xuan Liu, who won the $25,000 WPT Global Slam at Triton Montenegro in May 2025 for $860,000. [10][11]
What was Xuan Liu’s result at the PCA?
She finished fourth in the 2012 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event for $600,000, the first woman to reach that final table. [5]
Has Xuan Liu played High Stakes Poker?
Yes. She appeared on the show in 2022, in a $200/$400 game that included Doyle Brunson and Tom Dwan. [1][14]
Is Xuan Liu in the Poker Hall of Fame?
No, she has not been inducted.
Related Poker Legends
Read more about other players in our Poker Legends series: Jonathan Duhamel, Liv Boeree and Maria Ho.
Sources
- PokerNews, Xuan Liu player profile (earnings data provided by The Hendon Mob), accessed October 27, 2026.
- Card Player, Xuan Liu player profile, accessed October 27, 2026.
- PokerNews, Exploring Poker, Culture, and Personal Growth: Xuan Liu on “Learn With Saya”, Will Shillibier, April 30, 2025.
- PokerNews, European Poker Tour San Remo Day 6: Rupert Elder Crowned Champion, May 3, 2011.
- Card Player, John Dibella Wins the 2012 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event, January 14, 2012.
- PokerNews, John Dibella Wins the 2012 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event, January 14, 2012.
- PokerNews, Players on the Move: The Gamer, The Cook, & The Traveler, April 21, 2017.
- PokerNews, Xuan Liu and Sofia Lövgren Join 888poker Team Pro, April 14, 2014.
- PokerNews, Patrick “Egption” Tardif Joins the Roster of WPT Global Ambassadors, May 29, 2024.
- PokerNews, Xuan Liu Makes Poker History as First Female Triton Champion, May 2025.
- Card Player, Xuan Liu Makes History As First Woman To Win A Triton Poker Title, Erik Fast, May 15, 2025.
- PokerNews, Xuan Liu on Historic Triton Victory: ‘I Felt Like I Was on Top of the World’, September 2025.
- PokerNews, Daniel Dvoress Avoids Deja Vu to Deny Triton’s First Woman Champ Second Title, Connor Richards, September 9, 2026.
- PokerNews, Krish Does Doyle Dirty in $280K Pot on High Stakes Poker Episode 6, March 29, 2022.
- Poker Power, Poker Pro Xuan Liu on the WSOP and Her Decade in the Poker Industry, October 7, 2021.
- SoMuchPoker, Daniel Dvoress Avenges Montenegro Loss to Xuan Liu, Wins 7th Triton Title, September 9, 2026.
Last verified: October 27, 2026. Figures that change over time, such as career earnings, are given with the date they were checked.
