Event #1 of the July Power Weekend, the $80 + $10 Mix Max Re-entry, brought out a field of 75 runners. The strong turnout built a prize pool that far exceeded today’s $4,000 guarantee. Today’s event put the players through their paces as they transitioned through several different formats, from 10-handed play at the start of the day through 8-, 6- and finally 4-handed play.
Francois Meloche jumped out of the gate to start the day, building a huge chip lead before the first break. Meloche maintained his momentum after the late registration period ended and the tables began transitioning through the various formats. Benoit Larochelle Legrand shot up the leaderboard shortly before the second break of the day and managed to build a stack to rival Meloche’s not long after the players returned. After building up his stack, Larochelle kept his composure all the way to the final table.
The five finalists agreed to a chop of the remaining prize pool. Claude Amar collected $645 for his fifth place finish, and Francois Meloche took home $835 for finishing fourth.
When three players remained, the terms of the five-way deal were re-negotiated. The $500 that had been kept aside for the winner was further divided between the three finalists, leaving $110 for the winner. Andre Dries was the next player eliminated, taking home $975 in process.
In the end, it came down Benoit Larochelle and Steve Allard. When the heads-up battle started, Larochelle had a significant chip lead, but Allard battled back.
Both players showed their determination. Each hand was hard fought, and each decision was carefully considered. Allard evened the stacks after roughly 20 hands of heads-up play. From there, the two players played small pots and traded a narrow chip lead back and forth. Eventually, with the stacks still close to even, they found found a flop that enticed them both to move all in. Allard flopped a straight, faded Larochelle’s draw to the nuts and took down the final hand of the day, as well as the champion’s crown. Congratulations!
Event #1 Champion: Steve Allard, $1,120
Last hand of play:
