The heads-up match started to Piquette’s advantage, as he had taken a few of the deep runners out. He was playing 3.8M, while François had about 1.4M. With the blinds at only 20K/40K, it would be possible to hope for a nice, long, grueling match, but the cards that were dealt and the way they were played decided otherwise.
A very short while after the money and trophy were brought to the table, they went at each other’s throats. Piquette min-raised from the button, and Lemyre-Charest 3bet to 200K. Piquette decided to set the tone and went all-in. Although he did not want his opponent to think that he could get away with 3bets, he was holding the very potent 
, so he was probably hoping that François put him on exactly that line of thinking, allowing for a wide calling range. And he did. He called off his then 1.3M stack with 
, and Piquette found himself a big favourite for the win.
The dealer slowly unveiled the board: 
.
Jean-Philippe Piquette, a professional player from the eastern parts of Montreal, who has been playing at Playground Poker Club since its opening, was crowned Champion of the $500 + $50 Freeze, and took down the cool sum of $28,420.00, adding to an already impressive career.
François Lemyre-Charest is also a well-known player here at Playground Poker Club, and we can imagine that his $20,045.00 winnings will have him surfing clouds for a while. He can be proud of himself, only having been bested by none other than Jean-Philippe Piquette, who had his picture on one of the room’s walls for a number of years.
Congratulations to both!
Event 7 Champion: Jean-Philippe Piquette – $28,420.00 and the Champion’s Trophy
Runner-up: François Lemyre-Charest – $20,045.00
Last hand of play:
