Day 1c of the PokerStars Canada Cup Main Event is about to begin

Today is the last of three flights of the PokerStars Canada Cup Main Event, and it is looking to be a packed house! With still another 10 minutes to go before the traditional ‘Shuffle up and deal’ that launches the tournament, the current attendance for this Day 1c has already surpassed yesterday’s 161 entries by quite a bit! And with late registration still open for another 7 hours, we can expect that number to steadily grow throughout the day.

So far, this Main Event has seen 290 players register in the first two flights, and 109 of these have survived onto Day 2. That number covers less than half of the $2 million guarantee, which means that, depending on today’s outcome, the players might enjoy an overlay! So far, 190 players have registered for this final flight, and any number of entries below 377 today will be added to the prize pool. This could prove to be very interesting for the players!

Day 1c will play out a total of 10 levels of 1-hour before going on break until Day 2. There will be a 45-minute dinner break after level 6, at the end of which the late registration period will close. All of the surviving players will be back tomorrow, Sunday May 25th, at 11am for Day 2.

Good luck to the players participating in Day 1c!

Main Event Day 1b – final chip counts

There were 161 entries in today’s Day 1b of the Main Event in the PokerStars Canada Cup. The action started at 11am and the field played through 10 hour-long levels. 62 of those players have qualified for Day 2 on Sunday.

Players who did not manage to qualify for Day 2 today may re-enter the tournament in Day 1c tomorrow (Saturday).

Rank First Name Last Name Chip Count
1 Charles Alexandre Sylvestre 222,200
2 Sylvain Siebert 174,800
3 Francois Goulet 169,000
4 Louis Boutin 167,900
5 Antonio Esfandiari 163,400
6 Mathieu Boulanger-Vaugeois 160,000
7 Jonathan Duhamel 157,900
8 Micah Johnson 144,500
9 Kevin MacPhee 141,800
10 Yann Dion 133,500
11 Jason Comtois 126,400
12 McKenzie James Liebzeit 123,300
13 Benjamin Rolle 121,700
14 Jean Francois Bouchard 111,100
15 Justin Sienes 109,600
16 Timothy Orlando 106,200
17 Dean Murphy 102,700
18 Jeffrey Kennedy 102,000
19 Thiago Nishijima 101,100
20 Frank Katana 87,800
21 Ryan Pignatelli 86,700
22 Ankush Mandavia 83,400
23 Jonathan Richard Crute 82,900
24 Francis Beauregard 78,800
25 Alek Stasiak 74,300
26 Etienne Leduc 70,700
27 Fedor Holz 69,200
28 Stephane Racine 69,000
29 Patrick Serda 68,600
30 Joseph Kueter 66,400
31 Ratharam Sivagnanam 66,300
32 Ramzi Karam 65,600
33 Jeff Cote 65,200
34 Doris Charlebois 64,400
35 Joseph Andres 62,700
36 Bianca Perron 61,500
37 Marc Emond 58,600
38 Geoffrey Robert McNeely 56,800
39 Shane Mackinnon 56,000
40 Francois Dessureault 52,900
41 Christian Paradis 52,800
42 Jason Philpott 50,600
43 Tyler Phillips 49,400
44 Doug Hartwick 46,000
45 David Barter 45,500
46 Shayam Srinivasan 43,500
47 Michael Noor 42,400
48 Tim Ulmer 42,000
49 Jason Duval 41,800
50 Eric Place 40,600
51 Philippe D Auteuil 37,000
52 Julian Thomas 33,900
53 Rayan Chamas 32,800
54 Noy 31,800
55 Benoit Forcier 31,700
56 Phillippe Belley 30,700
57 David Assouline 27,100
58 Alexander Rath 26,400
59 Antoine Berube 19,700
60 Russell Carson 17,400
61 Ami Alibay 15,000
62 Jason James 12,000

Leaders at the final break

  • Level: 9
  • Small Blind: 400
  • Big Blind: 800
  • Ante: 100
  • Chip Average: 54.3K
  • Remaining: 89
  • Entries: 161


  • Day 1b is winding down as players take their last break of the day. During the break we surveyed the Tournament Hall to find the current chip leaders.

    1. Dean Murphy – 146K
    2. Sylvain Siebert – 144K
    3. Yann Dion – 129K
    4. Thiago Nishijima – 127K
    5. Ankush Mandavia – 118K
    6. Louis Boutin – 117K
    7. Charles Alexandre Sylvestre – 113K

    Play will continue through another two levels today and then the remaining players will count and bag their chips to return on Day 2, Sunday. Anyone who fails to qualify today (or even those who qualify with a small stack) are welcome to re-enter the tournament on Saturday in Day 1c.

    Photos from the field

  • Level: 9
  • Small Blind: 400
  • Big Blind: 800
  • Ante: 100
  • Chip Average: 54.3K
  • Remaining: 89
  • Entries: 161


  • Here are a few photos from level 8:

    Today’s number is 161

  • Level: 8
  • Small Blind: 300
  • Big Blind: 600
  • Ante: 75
  • Chip Average: 53.1K
  • Remaining: 91
  • Entries: 161


  • Today’s Day 1c of the Main Event of the PokerStars Canada Cup attracted a total of 161 players once late registration had closed at the end of the dinner break, and added to yesterday’s total of 129 for Day 1a, the event has had 290 total entries so far.

    Day 1c should be quite a bit larger than either Day 1a or 1b. As we’ve seen in the past, a large proportion of satellite winners prefer to play on the final day in a multi-flight tournament, and for many recreational players, a Saturday start is much more convenient than a weekday start.

    That being said, there’s still a chance there might be an overlay by the time the dust settles tomorrow, which means added value for everyone in the field. We’ve heard through the grapevine that there are some serious players living in Ottawa, Quebec City, and Toronto who are thinking about taking a drive tonight…

    Chip counts at dinner break

  • Level: 7
  • Small Blind: 250
  • Big Blind: 500
  • Ante: 75
  • Chip Average: 43.5K
  • Remaining: 111
  • Entries: 161


  • Day 1b of the PokerStars Canada Cup is now on dinner break. Here are the current chip leaders of this flight, along with their estimated stacks:

    1. Rayan Chamas – 159K
    2. Stephane Racine – 112K
    3. Ankush Mandavia – 110K
    4. Ami Alibay – 108K
    5. Sylvain Siebert – 102K
    6. Etienne Leduc – 96K

    Notable players:

    • Antonio Esfandiari – 67K
    • Jonathan Duhamel – 71K
    • Sol Bergren – 24K
    • T.J. Ulmer – 57K
    • Carla Sabini – 74K
    • Antoine Berube – 28K
    • Kevin Macphee – 29K
    • Patrick Braga – 9K
    • Ronnie Bardah – 42K
    • Philippe D Auteuil – 79K
    • Michael Watson – 26K
    • Henri Balcazar – 28K
    • George Caragiorgas – 19K
    • Mike Leah – 13K
    • David Barter – 43K
    • David Yan – 48K
    • Jason Duval – 41K
    • Yann Dion – 74K
    • Jeff Cote – 54K

    Dinner break approaching

  • Level: 6
  • Small Blind: 200
  • Big Blind: 400
  • Ante: 50
  • Chip Average: 43.1K
  • Remaining: 110
  • Entries: 158


  • Level 6 is a few minutes away from completion, after which the players will have a 45-minute dinner break before coming back for 4 more levels. Late registration will remain open until the end of this dinner break, so there is still almost an hour left for anyone who wants to jump into Day 1b.

    Below is a gallery of photos taken in the last few levels:

    Top 3 stacks

  • Level: 5
  • Small Blind: 150
  • Big Blind: 300
  • Ante: 50
  • Chip Average: 34.4K
  • Remaining: 135
  • Entries: 155


  • Level 5 will begin after the current break, and 3 players have reached the 100K mark after 4 hours of play in this Main Event of the PokerStars Canada Cup. They hold a solid lead over the field, as the next biggest stacks all fall below the 80K chip mark.

    1. Rayan Chamas – 106K
    2. Benoit Forcier – 105K
    3. Stephane Racine – 104K

    A few early Day 1b Tweets

  • Level: 4
  • Small Blind: 100
  • Big Blind: 200
  • Ante: 25
  • Chip Average: 33.5K
  • Remaining: 139
  • Entries: 155


  • Twitter is widely used amongst poker players as it a great way to keep your rail informed of how you are doing in tournaments. We’ve been seeing a lot of Tweets show up on our Playground page from players that are either on their way here, sitting at the tables, or were recently eliminated. Here are a few we’ve come across early in this second flight to the PokerStars Canada Cup Main Event:

    Leaders after 2 levels

  • Level: 3
  • Small Blind: 75
  • Big Blind: 150
  • Ante: 25
  • Chip Average: 31.8K
  • Remaining: 137
  • Entries: 145


  • Day 1b of the Main Event of the PokerStars Canada Cup is now on break after 2 levels, and the following 5 players are currently leading the tournament:

    1. Rayan Chamas – 83K
    2. Sean Ruane – 79K
    3. Jonathan Duhamel – 70K
    4. Sylvain Siebert – 67K
    5. Johnathan Morales – 66K

    Here are a few more photos taken prior to the break: