The History of the Playground Poker Classic

2014 Playground Poker Spring Classic

The spring of 2014 brought the 4th Spring Classic to Playground Poker Club. The marquee event was the $1,000 + $100 WPT Canadian Spring Championship, which attracted 1,079 total entries over its three starting flights. At the end of the event Jason Comtois was left with all of the chips and won over $178K for his efforts over the 4-day tournament. Yet again this event saw a deep run by now-legend Sylvain Siebert, who went out in 8th place.

Jason Comtois, the winner of the 2014 WPT Canadian Spring Championship (with friends).

Jason Comtois, the winner of the 2014 WPT Canadian Spring Championship (with friends).

2013 Playground Poker Fall Classic

A portrait of the final table of the 2013 WPT Montreal.

A portrait of the final table of the 2013 WPT Montreal.


The 2013 Fall Classic featured 13 events including the 2013 WPT Montreal, the first ever fully-televised WPT event held in Canada, plus a $10,000 + $400 High Roller event that attracted 56 runners. The champion of the High Roller event was Dutch player Govert Metaal, who edged out Swede Martin Jacobson heads-up. In the WPT Montreal Main Event, US Air Force pilot Derrick Rosenbarger beat poker pro Mukul Pahuja to take the win and the Champion’s belt. The final three tables of the 2013 WPT Montreal was a star-studded affair, with pros like Ludovic Lacay, Yann Dion, Griffin Benger, and Jonathan Little joined by such Playground legends as Sylvain Siebert, Amir Babakhani, and emerging young player Alexandre Lavigne in the late-event action.

2013 Playground Poker Spring Classic

Amir Babakhani, Champion of the 2013 WPT Canadian Spring Championship

Amir Babakhani, Champion of the 2013 WPT Canadian Spring Championship


The third Playground Poker Spring Classic featured 11 events including the WPT Canadian Spring Championship and again attracted players from around the world who came to participate in the events. The WPT Main Event was won by Amir Babakhani, who beat out a field of 735 players for the win.


2012 Playground Poker Fall Classic

WPT Montreal 2012 Champion Jonathan Roy

WPT Montreal 2012 Champion Jonathan Roy


The fall of 2012 marked the inauguration of a new festival, the Playground Poker Fall Classic, which was capped off by the first ever WPT Montreal. The PPFC 2012 was an unparalleled success with players coming from all over North America and the world to join the action. At the end of the event, the big winner was Jonathan Roy who won the WPT Montreal, beating his friend and former Playground Classic champion Pascal Lefrançois heads-up.

2012 Playground Poker Classic

The 2012 edition of the Classic also featured 15 bracelet events though in a slightly different configuration. This time the Main Event was a $2K buy-in – and there was also a $10K High Roller event on the schedule.

JP Piquette, Champion of the 2012 Playground Poker Classic High Roller event.

JP Piquette, Champion of the 2012 Playground Poker Classic High Roller event.


The 2012 event also marked the beginning of a Playground Poker tradition – instead of bracelets, the champions of the biggest event or events in a series win boxing-style championship belts! Amazingly, in 2012 the same player won both belts that were up for grabs – Jean-Philippe Piquette. Along with the belts came a total of $100K in prize money for just those two events!

2011 Playground Poker Classic

The first Playground Poker Classic, held in the spring of 2011, featured 15 bracelet events including the Main Event, a $3000 tourney that attracted 75 players. That first Main Event was won by Pascal Lefrançois for $72,000, who just months before had made a deep run in the WSOP Main Event.