The Playground 500 was the marquee event of the 7th anniversary week-end. It featured a $250,000 guarantee, which was easily surpassed by the 562 entries that took part in the tournament.
The online Day 1 had already sent 7 players to the qualifiers list when the live portion of the event started on Friday with Day 1A. Day 1B and 1C unfolded on Saturday, and 149 players returned on Sunday for Day 2, where the money was to be reached. 71 players got paid, 12 of whom returned tonight for Day 3 and the completion of the event.
The 12-player field was led by Sean Edelenbos, but he was the second to go, 1 position shy of the final table. Thomas Lefort, arguably the most experienced tournament player on the final table, got the boot after losing 2 premium hands in one orbit.
When 3-handed play was reached, players discussed a deal, but could not agree on the terms, and play resumed without any change in the payouts. Spencer Jean-Baptiste was then eliminated by Eric Benhamron, which led to fresh chip chop calculations. Eric’s 15M stack was worth $42,670, while Jason Morin’s 13M stack represented $41,060. Another $5,000 was on the line for the eventual winner.
The hand that crippled Eric was a true dagger. Eric’s 
lost to Jason’s 
. The flop came 
, and saw some heavy action. When the 
came on the turn, Eric was raised all-in from 2.2M to 10.5M. He felt something strange, but could not bring himself to fold top 2 pairs. He took about a minute to call and after a blank river, was left with just a few chips, which were doubled only once. You can see him react to Jason’s hand below.
Jason Morin, from the Québec City area, was less experienced, but played fiercely, and made his way to – and through – the heads-up match with style. Congratulations!
Champion of the Playground 500: Jason Morin – $46,060
Runner-up: Eric Benhamron – $42,670
Last hand of play:
made a wheel on the turn. He managed to check-raise the river to 2.5M and get paid.
