Shawn McCrory

On the last hand before the most recent break, Jacques Pilon found a way to get maximum value with pocket rockets and leapfrog his way to the top of the leaderboard.

As the timer sounded to indicate the start of the break, there was a three-way, three-bet pot between brewing between Pilon, Hicham Hammoud and Danny Landry. Pilon, the first to act on the , decided to try to take it down then and there by moving all in for 68,100, more than double the pot. The overbet put Hammoud, the next to act, in a tough spot. After asking to see Landry’s stack and counting his own chips a few times, Hammoud, who had both players covered, decided to make the call. To his surprise, Landry quickly followed suit by calling off his stack, creating a three-way all in! Hands were tabled to reveal that Pilon was in the lead with his , comfortably ahead of Hammoud’s but threatened by Landry’s live draw with . The turn brought the , followed by the on the river. The aces stood and lifted Pilon to the top of the leaderboard.

The players have just returned from their second break of the day, and only 19 players remain in contention. Although Anish Sood held the chip lead for most of the last few levels, Jacques Pilon jumped to the top of the leaderboard thanks to a big, three-way pot on the last hand before the break.

With three levels of play complete in the 8-Max Re-entry, the action is heating up. The field has already drawn its first re-entry, thanks to a cooler in the second level when a flopped full house ran into quads. But the mood around the tables remains friendly and lively, as players continue to file in to the tournament hall and join the field. There is still over an hour left in the late registration and re-entry period, leaving plenty of time to get in on the action.

Here is a look at the field from the early levels:

The February Power Weekend is about to begin! This afternoon is the first of eight exciting events, the $100 + $10 8-Max Re-entry.

This tournament guarantees a prize pool of at least $5,000 and will start players with a stack of 20,000 in tournament chips. Expect a fast start to this one because this event permits unlimited re-entries until the beginning of the seventh level of play at 2:15pm.

This tournament will play 8-handed, providing the perfect balance between a full ring and a short-handed format so players can open their ranges, if they want, or wait patiently for the right spot, all while enjoying the spacious seating at the table.

The cards are now in the air. Good luck to all!