Last 5 hands of the day

  • Level: 26
  • Small Blind: 20K
  • Big Blind: 50K
  • Ante: 5K
  • Chip Average: 888K
  • Remaining: 30
  • Entries: 1332


With 10 minutes left in this last level of play of Day 2, the Tournament Director has announced that only 5 hands remain until the tournament goes on break until tomorrow. Once these have been completed, the remaining players will bag and tag their chips on to Day 3, which will be the final chapter of Event 3.

We will be bringing you the final chip counts, as well as the seating arrangements for Day 3, shortly after the completion of the day.

Day 2 is winding down

  • Level: 25
  • Small Blind: 15K
  • Big Blind: 30K
  • Ante: 5K
  • Chip Average: 683.1K
  • Remaining: 39
  • Entries: 1332


Day 2 of Event 3 is nearing completion, with around a level and a half left to go before it goes on pause until Day 3. The surviving players will be back for the conclusion of the tournament tomorrow night, at 7pm. Blinds will switch to 40-minute levels, and we will play down until there is a champion.

Tomorrow is also Day 1 of Event 4 – $1,100 No limit Hold’em ‘Warm-Up’, which is scheduled for 12pm. This being the first big buy-in event of the series, we are expecting to see a few notables players begin making their appearance at this 2014 edition of the Playground Poker Fall Classic.

In addition, there is also Event 5 – $100 + $20 + $100 No Limit Hold’em ’50/50′ Bounty – which is scheduled to start at 7:30pm.

Level 24 photographs

Leaders in level 23

  • Level: 23
  • Small Blind: 10K
  • Big Blind: 20K
  • Ante: 3K
  • Chip Average: 409.8K
  • Remaining: 65
  • Entries: 1332


Play has just entered level 23 here in Day 2 of Event 3, and 3 players are holding stacks that amount to more than 1 million in chips. Here is the look at the top 5 stacks:

  1. Thomas Winterlands – 1,705,000
  2. Rick Shamshoum – 1,365,000
  3. Jean- Francois Lescadres – 1,140,000
  4. Rostand Asselin – 935,000
  5. Tyler St Clair – 830,000

Day 2 will conclude upon the completion of 4 more levels.

Some level 22 photographs

Dwyer gets runner-runnered

  • Level: 22
  • Small Blind: 8K
  • Big Blind: 16K
  • Ante: 2K
  • Chip Average: 355.2K
  • Remaining: 75
  • Entries: 1332


Vince Dwyer had his opponent Rostand Asselin right where he wanted, but ran into some unfortunate luck to get eliminated from Event 3.

Both players, who started the hand with fairly even stacks, found themselves with all their chips in the middle on a board showing Jack of Hearts 5 of Clubs 6 of Hearts. Vince and his 5 of Hearts 5 of Spades were far ahead of Rostand’s Ace of Hearts Ace of Diamonds, but the turn and river changed all that, as two hearts fell (7 of Hearts Queen of Hearts) to improve Rostand’s hand to the nut flush. Rostand collected what was the biggest pot so far in the tournament, and he now sits somewhere over the 1.4M chip mark, making him our current chip leader.

We will be back shortly with a more detailed leaderboard.

Double digits

  • Level: 21
  • Small Blind: 6K
  • Big Blind: 12K
  • Ante: 2K
  • Chip Average: 289.6K
  • Remaining: 92
  • Entries: 1332


As expected, there were a number of quick eliminations that occurred after the money bubble burst here in Event 3. The field is now below 100 players midway through level 21, and at this stage a min-cash is worth $490. Day 2 will continue through until the end of level 26, at which point the remaining players will bag and tag their chips onto Day 3. There will be a break in a little more than 30 minutes, and we will be brining you an update on the top stacks at that point.

We are in the money

  • Level: 19
  • Small Blind: 4K
  • Big Blind: 8K
  • Ante: 1K
  • Chip Average: 197.7K
  • Remaining: 135
  • Entries: 1332


With a few simultaneous eliminations, the tournament dropped from 139 players down to 135, which means that Event 3 is now in the money! We noticed a number of short stacks scattered around the room, and we can therefore expect to see a lot of all-in situations in the next few orbits.

Congratulations to those who made it in the money!

The leaders at the first break

  • Level: 19
  • Small Blind: 4K
  • Big Blind: 8K
  • Ante: 1K
  • Chip Average: 177.6K
  • Remaining: 150
  • Entries: 1332


After 4 levels of play in this Day 2 of Event 3, the players have earned themselves a 15-minute break. The field has dropped down to 150 players, which means we are but 15 eliminations away from being in the money. Here is a look at the current leaderboard, with their approximate chip counts:

  1. Joseph Abou-Khalil – 735,000
  2. Jason Mandanici-Turcot – 670,000
  3. Thomas Wintermans – 480,000
  4. Terence Lai – 425,000
  5. Charles-Eric Benoit – 420,000
  6. Rawad Haddad – 395,000
  7. J-F Lescadres – 380,000

Level 18 photographs

Some local notables

  • Level: 18
  • Small Blind: 3K
  • Big Blind: 6K
  • Ante: 1K
  • Chip Average: 148.8K
  • Remaining: 179
  • Entries: 1332


Although a lot of players have been eliminated already, there are still quite a few players in the field who have had success here at Playground in the past or are notable for other poker successes.

  • Derek Lerner – Derek is an online legend but has also enjoyed live tournament poker success for years.
  • Michael Malm – Michael has had a ton of success in events at Playground Poker including multiple final tables and an event win. He also is a past winner of a WSOP bracelet.
  • Shawn Martell – Shawn is a frequent visitor who has made several deep runs in events at Playground Poker Club including a 5th in the $135 + $15 Kickoff event in the spring of 2014.
  • Vince Dwyer – Vince Dwyer is a past event winner during last year’s Fall Classic and he won the Player of the Festival prize in that series.
  • Jessie Wheatley – Jessie came in second place in a $135 + $15 Event we hosted here at Playground in the Spring of 2014.
  • Michael Korovine – Michael is a fixture on the Playground tournament scene and also happens to have cashed in more big events than any other player in Playground Poker history.
  • Philippe Plouffe – a member of the Playground Players Club, Phil has cashes in tournaments around the world including a final table at the PCA Main Event in the Bahamas.
  • Marco Caza – Marco is a local player who had a deep run in this year’s EPT London.

Early Day 2 photos

  • Level: 17
  • Small Blind: 2.5K
  • Big Blind: 5K
  • Ante: 500
  • Chip Average: 133.9K
  • Remaining: 199
  • Entries: 1355


Day 2 of Event 3 is progressing quickly, as the field has dropped down to just under 200 players from the 285 that started the day. The money bubble is not too far away, with 135 players set to be paid, and at this stage of the tournament we can expect to see a number of players emerge from the field and grow their stacks far beyond the average. Players will be on break in roughly 45 minutes, at which point we will bring you an update on the leaderboard.

Photographs from levels 15 and 16

Players are falling

  • Level: 15
  • Small Blind: 1.5K
  • Big Blind: 3K
  • Ante: 500
  • Chip Average: 108.7K
  • Remaining: 245
  • Entries: 1332


It’s just 25 minutes into the first level to be played tonight, and already 40 players have been eliminated. Just 245 players remain, and we’re just 110 eliminations away from the bubble tonight.