There were 161 entries in today’s Day 1b of the Main Event in the PokerStars Canada Cup. The action started at 11am and the field played through 10 hour-long levels. 62 of those players have qualified for Day 2 on Sunday.

Players who did not manage to qualify for Day 2 today may re-enter the tournament in Day 1c tomorrow (Saturday).

Day 1b is winding down as players take their last break of the day. During the break we surveyed the Tournament Hall to find the current chip leaders.

1. Dean Murphy – 146K
2. Sylvain Siebert – 144K
3. Yann Dion – 129K
4. Thiago Nishijima – 127K
5. Ankush Mandavia – 118K
6. Louis Boutin – 117K
7. Charles Alexandre Sylvestre – 113K

Play will continue through another two levels today and then the remaining players will count and bag their chips to return on Day 2, Sunday. Anyone who fails to qualify today (or even those who qualify with a small stack) are welcome to re-enter the tournament on Saturday in Day 1c.

Here are a few photos from level 8:

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Today’s Day 1c of the Main Event of the PokerStars Canada Cup attracted a total of 161 players once late registration had closed at the end of the dinner break, and added to yesterday’s total of 129 for Day 1a, the event has had 290 total entries so far.

Day 1c should be quite a bit larger than either Day 1a or 1b. As we’ve seen in the past, a large proportion of satellite winners prefer to play on the final day in a multi-flight tournament, and for many recreational players, a Saturday start is much more convenient than a weekday start.

That being said, there’s still a chance there might be an overlay by the time the dust settles tomorrow, which means added value for everyone in the field. We’ve heard through the grapevine that there are some serious players living in Ottawa, Quebec City, and Toronto who are thinking about taking a drive tonight…

Day 1b of the PokerStars Canada Cup is now on dinner break. Here are the current chip leaders of this flight, along with their estimated stacks:

1. Rayan Chamas – 159K
2. Stephane Racine – 112K
3. Ankush Mandavia – 110K
4. Ami Alibay – 108K
5. Sylvain Siebert – 102K
6. Etienne Leduc – 96K

Notable players:

• Antonio Esfandiari – 67K
• Jonathan Duhamel – 71K
• Sol Bergren – 24K
• T.J. Ulmer – 57K
• Carla Sabini – 74K
• Antoine Berube – 28K
• Kevin Macphee – 29K
• Patrick Braga – 9K
• Ronnie Bardah – 42K
• Philippe D Auteuil – 79K
• Michael Watson – 26K
• Henri Balcazar – 28K
• George Caragiorgas – 19K
• Mike Leah – 13K
• David Barter – 43K
• David Yan – 48K
• Jason Duval – 41K
• Yann Dion – 74K
• Jeff Cote – 54K

Level 6 is a few minutes away from completion, after which the players will have a 45-minute dinner break before coming back for 4 more levels. Late registration will remain open until the end of this dinner break, so there is still almost an hour left for anyone who wants to jump into Day 1b.

Below is a gallery of photos taken in the last few levels:

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Level 5 will begin after the current break, and 3 players have reached the 100K mark after 4 hours of play in this Main Event of the PokerStars Canada Cup. They hold a solid lead over the field, as the next biggest stacks all fall below the 80K chip mark.

1. Rayan Chamas – 106K
2. Benoit Forcier – 105K
3. Stephane Racine – 104K

Rayan Chamas

Stephane Racine

Benoit Forcier

Twitter is widely used amongst poker players as it a great way to keep your rail informed of how you are doing in tournaments. We’ve been seeing a lot of Tweets show up on our Playground page from players that are either on their way here, sitting at the tables, or were recently eliminated. Here are a few we’ve come across early in this second flight to the PokerStars Canada Cup Main Event:

Playing the main event of Canada Cup @PlaygroundPoker ! Great event!!!

— Jason Duval (@bebe_chien) May 23, 2014

Ruff start here In Montreal.22k from 30 going to 75-150 with ante

— Ronnie Bardah (@RonnieBardah) May 23, 2014

Absolutely brutal day!! After jumping to 45k, I then lost with KK KK QQ QQ 99…a flush…and a straight flush draw. #PokerStarsCanadaCup

— Josh Kimmel (@Josh_Kimmel) May 23, 2014

Out AQ < AK again. Flop A 2 9. Turn Q, I get it in. River K #ontothenextone

— Steven Kerr (@SkinnySteve) May 23, 2014

Can confirm that @PlaygroundPoker is run extremely well and is the best poker room in Canada.

— Timothy Adams (@Tim0theeAdams) May 23, 2014

Grinding the pokerstars Canada cup at the best run poker room that I’ve ever played in @PlaygroundPoker #Montreal

— sol bergren (@sollucas) May 23, 2014

Day 1b of the Main Event of the PokerStars Canada Cup is now on break after 2 levels, and the following 5 players are currently leading the tournament:

1. Rayan Chamas – 83K
2. Sean Ruane – 79K
3. Jonathan Duhamel – 70K
4. Sylvain Siebert – 67K
5. Johnathan Morales – 66K

Here are a few more photos taken prior to the break:

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Day 1b of the PokerStars Canada Cup Main Event has entered level 2, and 123 players have taken their seats so far today. If we do some math, we could see that there is looking to be some overlay in this $2 million guaranteed event, which is always good for the players! We have  combined total of 252 total entries so far, with still a few hours left to register today, and tomorrow will be the third and final flight for this Main Event.

Here are a few photographs from the early stage of Day 1b:

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