The official final table in the partypoker Million North America is set to begin momentarily, and before things get started we compiled a few notes on the remaining 8 players in the field. One of these 8 players will collect $1,000,000 today – maybe these notes will provide some insight into who that might be!
Ari Engel, 252,500,000, Seat 1
Ari is one of the most well-travelled pros in poker today and boasts published results going back to 2007 on 5 continents, putting him 15th on the Canadian All Time Money List with $4,617,000 in Live earnings. His recent form is pretty great as well – he currently occupies 11th on the Global Poker Index. Ari arrives at the final table as the chip leader in the tournament.
Jonathan Bussieres, 108,700,000, Seat 2
Jonathan is a Quebec-based player who is frequently seen making deep runs in events at Playground and elsewhere in the region. Jonathan has an event win at Playground Poker Club on his resume, but with a minimum of $60,000 coming his way today, this will be by far his largest live tournament score.
Rayan Chamas, 168,400,000, Seat 3
Rayan is another Montreal-based player with a solid mix of online and live results over the years. Known for using a variant of “zebest” on various online sites, Rayan also had a significant final table appearance in the $3.3K Canada Cup held at Playground Poker Club in 2014, in which he eventually finished 5th for $91K. Rayan is known at the tables for his distinctive neon orange sunglasses.
Philippe D’Auteuil, 142,500,000, Seat 4
Philippe – known universally as “takechip” – is quite simply one of Quebec’s online poker legends. Predominantly a high-stakes cash player, players worldwide know and fear Philippe when he arrives at an online table. His Live results are pretty impressive as well, including a 5th place finish in the EPT London Main Event in 2008.
Louis Boutin, 43,900,000, Seat 5
Louis is another young Montreal-area player who has had some impressive results in the past here at Playground Poker Club. Any outcome today will be his largest live tournament cash by a wide margin, but people who have played him caution that he is not to be under-estimated.
Niall Farrell, 69,200,000, Seat 6
Niall joins us from the UK where he is known for both live and online poker exploits. Known as “Firaldo” on the virtual felts, he boasts impressive live results including WPT and EPT victories. He has $3,358,272 in lifetime live tournament earnings.
Matthew Waxman, 115,300,000, Seat 7
Matt is among the most experienced players left in the field with over $3.4M in lifetime live tournament earnings and boasting a WSOP bracelet, a WSOP-C ring, and a WPT win on his impressive resume. He has largely flown under the radar in this event, but it would be a big mistake to under-estimate his experience and talent.
Jean-Pascal Savard, 243,100,000, Seat 8
Jean-Pascal begins the day 2nd in chips and is one of several Quebec-based pros on the final table. With an established resume as one of the most feared online MTT players in the world, Jean-Pascal made a breakthrough in Live MTTs this past February in the WPT Playground, in which he placed 6th for his biggest live score to date. A trainer at the prestigious Run It Once training site, Jean-Pascal looks to be ready to make an indelible mark on the Live poker world.
