When they started their heads-up match, Cédric Meyer had a 3 to 1 lead over Keith Laflam, and was leaning over him. It seemed like it was just a matter of time before he actually took this thing down. But then Laflam pulled the ole river-check-in-the-dark-raise on him, which pretty much put them on an equal footing.

Then Meyer suffered the beat that cost him the trophy. He min-raised Laflam from the button to 240K. Laflam went all-in, and Meyer snap-called and confidently opened . Laflam tabled , and at that point the result was out of their hands. The board hurt Meyer right away: .

He was left with only a few tokens, which were lost the next hand when Laflam hit a straight and sealed it.

Tough beat for Meyer, but he cashes $4,225 for his effort, while Laflam takes the Champion’s Trophy, along with $5,510 for the win.

Great job and Congratulations to both of you!

Event 16 Champion: Keith Laflam – $5,510.00

Runner-up: Cédric Meyer – $4,225.00

Last hand of play:

 

Pascal tried to buy the blinds with , but Cédric Meyer defended with , knowing he was on a large range, given the size of the blinds. The board appeared: . Although Monarque took the early lead, Meyer closed him out with a flush.

Great job Pascal! You win $3,110, the third place money!

The tournament is now heads-up.

 

Pascal monarque opened to 280K on Keita’s big blind, which he was all-in on. Cédric Meyer went all-in for 750K, and Monarque called.

Ismael Keita:
Pascal Monarque:
Cédric Meyer:

The board was reveiled: . Keita first celebrated when he saw his straight, and then he noticed Meyer’s straight. Good run Ismael! $2,330 are handed to you!

James Harrington, the chip leader at the formation of the final table, just left the premises, taken out by Keith Laflam, who is now hidden behind his chips. Laflam shoved from the under-the-gun position with , and was called by Harrington from the small blind position, holding . Both were very healthy, and when the board brought no help to Harrington, Laflam took the humongous pot, and Harrington had to leave in 5th, but not without cashing $1,350, a very nice amount.

Congratulations!

John Eliakis was the first to leave this final, as his fell to Pascal Monarque’s . They were all-in pre-flop, and John was eliminated by a 2-outer when the board arrived.

Fadi Haddad went out the very next hand, when his was out kicked by . The board brought no help: .

Then it was Mathieu Bergeron’s turn to take the walk. He was taken out in a very similar fashion as Haddad. Bergeron had , and he was facing James Harrington’s . The board came .

John Eliakis: $410
Fadi Haddad: $550
Mathieu Bergeron: $740

Congratulations to all 3!

The final table formed minutes before the break, which allowed us to bring you a full seating chart, including exact stacks. James Harrington is leading the finalists, followed closely by Cédric Meyer.

Eliminations:

15th: Douglas Wilkinson
14th: Vital Cleary
13th: Kuong Chhe Kuoch
12th: Benoit Bélisle
11th: Julien Kharmouche

First Name | Prénom	Last Name | Nom	Seat | Siège	Stack | Tapis
Mathieu	Bergeron	Seat 1	170,000
Walter	Asatoorian	Seat 2	220,000
Ricky	Campanelli	Seat 3	515,000
Ismael	Keita	Seat 4	425,000
John	Eliakis	Seat 5	335,000
Fadi	Haddad	Seat 6	205,000
Pascal	Monarque	Seat 7	405,000
James	Harrington	Seat 8	830,000
Cédric	Meyer	Seat 9	690,000
Keith	Laflam	Seat 10	230,000

With 19 players left in the tournament, everybody agreed to take 20$ out of their pockets and make 2 $190 prizes for positions 18 and 19. When everybody said yes, a round of applause was heard, as the remaining of the field had just made the money.

Eliminations:

19th: Brigitte Métivier
18th: Donald Abdelhay
17th: Josef Ares
16th: Mark Elbaz

Here are some shots of the final 2 tables:

Players are currently enjoying a short break, going into 8K/16K/a2K. With 17 prizes, the next step for short stacks is surviving the short-handed play and make the last 2 tables. After that, anything’s possible. Here are our top dogs at the moment of the break:

First Name | Prénom	Last Name | Nom	Stack | Tapis
James	Harrington	515,000
Pascal	Monarque	388,000
Cedric	Meyer	369,000
Ismael	Keita	355,000

 

The field is now down to 3 tables, closing in on the money. Here are some shots taken durings levels 15-16:

Event 16 attracted 161 players, all of which were seated despite the advertised 60 + alternates. At Playground Poker Club, we always find a way. This number created a pool that awards $5,510 to the winner, and allows for 17 players to get paid tonight. Here are the detailed payouts:

Pos	Prize | Bourse
1st	$5,510.00
2nd	$4,225.00
3rd	$3,110.00
4th	$2,330.00
5th	$1,750.00
6th	$1,310.00
7th	$980.00
8th	740.00
9th	$550.00
10th-11th	$410.00
12th-13th	$380.00
14th-15th	$350.00
16th-17th	$320.00