Event 8 – TonyBet Winter Festival Main Event ($1,000 + $100 NL Hold’em) – Page 4

Marco Caza out 20th

Level: 23

Small Blind: 10K

Big Blind: 20K

Ante: 3K

Chip Average: 821.1K

Remaining: 19

Entries: 520

2016/02/09 - 13:13 by

Most of the eliminations so far in Day 3 of the Main Event have been players who started with relatively short stacks – but now one of the day’s leaders has been eliminated, which signals a definite change in the dynamic of the tournament as 2-table play approaches.

Marco started with over 1M in chips, but in the first level of the action he lost a huge pot to Daniel Charette. Marco’s not a player known to nurture and re-grow a small stack and so was out relatively soon thereafter.

20th place: Marco Caza, $4,500.00

Marco Caza

Three more down

Level: 23

Small Blind: 10K

Big Blind: 20K

Ante: 3K

Chip Average: 780K

Remaining: 20

Entries: 520

2016/02/09 - 13:07 by

Action in the Main Event has moved rapidly as another 3 players have been eliminated. Marc Saddik, Jeremy Dufour, and David Ormsby have all been sent to the tournament desk to receive their payout tickets in the past while.

Marc Saddik with his payout ticket

Vandaalen first one down

Level: 22

Small Blind: 8K

Big Blind: 16K

Ante: 2K

Chip Average: 678.3K

Remaining: 23

Entries: 520

2016/02/09 - 12:18 by

Troy Vandaalen was among the smaller stacks to start the day and he was the first player to be eliminated in today’s Day 3 action.

The hand began with a raise from Troy and a re-raise from Ryan McGarry on the button, who was one of the big stacks to start the day. Action came back to Troy who re-raised all-in and found a call from Ryan.

Troy:
Ryan:

Troy was well ahead, but this was short-lived as the flop was dealt: which vaulted Ryan into the lead. The turn and river did nothing to change the results and Troy hit the rail in 25th ($3,500.00).

Since this hand occurred, Charle-Alexandre Bergeron has also been eliminated, leaving 23 players at the tables. There will be a redraw with 18 players remaining.

Next up: Day 3 of the Main Event

2016/02/09 - 11:56 by

Main2-2771

There are just 25 players remaining in the TonyBet Winter Festival Main Event and their Day 3 restart is set to go in just 10 minutes.

The top 4 players still in the event all have over a million chips in play. Two of the top 4 are well known here at Playground Poker Club – both Benoit Jean and Marco Caza have achieved some success here, and each has achieved a lot of success elsewhere – both are touring poker veterans.

However it’s not only the top of the leaderboard that should be of concern to the remaining players. Also found in the field are experienced players like Will Molson, Jiachen Gong, and David Ormsby who all have very rich poker CVs, not to mention players like Ron Farber and Dean Murphy, both of whom have more than enough experience in high stakes poker to be threats to anyone’s tournament success.

Cards are in the air in just minutes – good luck to all 25 players returning today.

Main Event Day 3 – Seating Draw (with counts)

2016/02/08 - 21:48 by

Day 2 of the TonyBet Winter Festival Main Event started today at 12pm with 149 player still in the action, and by the end of the day there were just 25 players remaining. Action resumes tomorrow (February 9th) at 12pm and will continue on Day 3 through 7 levels or until 6 players remain.

[Click or tap on a column header to re-sort this table or search for your name using the box provided]

First Name \| Prénom	Last Name \| Nom	Seat \| Siège	Stack \| Tapis
Charles-Etienne	Gagnon	Table 65 - Seat 1	398,000
Michael	Korovine	Table 65 - Seat 2	323,000
Troy	Vandaalen	Table 65 - Seat 3	256,000
Grant	Pazarka	Table 65 - Seat 4	982,000
Marco	Sousa	Table 65 - Seat 5	950,000
Benoit	Jean	Table 65 - Seat 6	1,732,000
Ryan	McGarry	Table 65 - Seat 7	1,667,000
Danny	Kalpakis	Table 65 - Seat 8	380,000
Philipp	Daze	Table 65 - Seat 9	275,000
Jiachen	Gong	Table 66 - Seat 1	416,000
Christopher	Hudson	Table 66 - Seat 2	409,000
Marco	Caza	Table 66 - Seat 3	1,033,000
Ron	Farber	Table 66 - Seat 4	458,000
Mathieu	Gagniere	Table 66 - Seat 5	400,000
Daniel	Charette	Table 66 - Seat 6	497,000
Eric	Borduas	Table 66 - Seat 7	1,301,000
William	Molson	Table 66 - Seat 8	488,000
Charle-Alexandre	Bergeron	Table 70 - Seat 1	371,000
Jeremy	Dufour	Table 70 - Seat 2	342,000
Marc	Saddik	Table 70 - Seat 3	186,000
David	Ormsby	Table 70 - Seat 4	250,000
Jessie	Wheatley	Table 70 - Seat 5	587,000
Alexandre	Lavigne	Table 70 - Seat 6	460,000
Dean	Murphy	Table 70 - Seat 7	753,000
Maxime	Lejeune Hebert	Table 70 - Seat 8	532,000

Benoit Jean leads final 26; Onto Day 3

Level: 22

Small Blind: 8K

Big Blind: 16K

Ante: 2K

Chip Average: 624K

Remaining: 26

Entries: 520

2016/02/08 - 21:04 by Playground Poker

After an eventful Day 2 of the TonyBet Winter Festival Main Event, 26 players have managed to bag chips for Day 3 after 21 levels of play over 2 days of poker.

Chip leader at the start of the day Rabah Belal Ahin El-Nasseri was not amongst the remaining players, although he did manage to collect a min-cash, while local pros Yann Dion and Isabelle Mercier failed on their mission to bring home the bacon. Jonathan Roy looked as if he was going to end Day 2 with some chips, but got knocked out on the penultimate hand of the night.

Poker notables Will Molson (488,000) and Marco Caza (1,033,000) managed to stay alive so far in this Main Event, and will be back tomorrow to continue their progress towards the elusive final table. Alexandre Lavigne (410,000) also bagged some chips, and he is on the hunt for his 4th final table in a Main Event here at Playground Poker Club. Local heroes Michael Korovine (323,000) and Jiachen Gong (416,000) are also still in the running, all eyeing the sweet $100,000 first prize.

Day 3 will begin at 12pm tomorrow, February 9th, and will play down until the official final table of 6 is reached. Leading the way is Benoit Jean (1,730,000), who took the chip lead on the last hand of the night as he eliminated Michael Johnston. Inches behind is Ryan McGarry (1,667,000), who has maintained a spot amongst the leaders throughout most of the day.

In a few moments we will publish the full list of player-reported chip counts, as well as the new seating assignments for Day 3 and the payouts thus far in this Main Event of the tonyBet Winter Festival.

See you tomorrow!

: Benoit Jean

: Ryan McGarry

Down to 4 tables; Last level of play

Level: 21

Small Blind: 6K

Big Blind: 12K

Ante: 2K

Chip Average: 433K

Remaining: 36

Entries: 520

2016/02/08 - 19:49 by Playground Poker

The field in the Main Event of the TonyBet Winter Festival has been reduced to just four 9-handed tables, as play enters the last level of Day 2. Those still holding chips once the clock runs out will bag them and tag them for tomorrow’s Day 3, where we will play down until our official final table of 6 players is set. The conclusion of the event will take place on Wednesday at noon, where the final 6 will face-off until only 1 remains – our tournament champion.

Shortly after the players bag their chips, we will release the full list of player-reported chip counts, as well as the new seating assignments for Day 3.

Here are the final 4 tables:

First Name \| Prénom	Last Name \| Nom	Seat \| Siège
Ivan Fazal	Karim	Table 60 - Seat 1
Jeremy	Dufour	Table 60 - Seat 2
Danny	Kalpakis	Table 60 - Seat 3
Benoit	Jean	Table 60 - Seat 4
Maxime	Lejeune Hebert	Table 60 - Seat 5
Michael	Johnston	Table 60 - Seat 6
Alexandre	Lavigne	Table 60 - Seat 7
Christopher	Hudson	Table 60 - Seat 8
Charles-Etienne	Gagnon	Table 60 - Seat 9
Charle-Alexandre	Bergeron	Table 62 - Seat 1
Christina	Knot	Table 62 - Seat 2
Marco	Sousa	Table 62 - Seat 3
Marco	Caza	Table 62 - Seat 4
Dean	Murphy	Table 62 - Seat 5
Eric	Place	Table 62 - Seat 6
Bill	Kontaratos	Table 62 - Seat 7
Jonathan	Roy	Table 62 - Seat 8
Troy	Vandaalen	Table 62 - Seat 9
Mark	Saddik	Table 64 - Seat 1
Ron	Farber	Table 64 - Seat 2
Eric	Borduas	Table 64 - Seat 3
Ryan	McGarry	Table 64 - Seat 4
Grant	Pazarka	Table 64 - Seat 5
Philipp	Daze	Table 64 - Seat 6
David	Ormsby	Table 64 - Seat 7
Brent F	Mccue	Table 64 - Seat 8
William	Molson	Table 64 - Seat 9
Jiachen	Gong	Table 66 - Seat 1
Sean	Windover	Table 66 - Seat 2
Kevin	MacDonald	Table 66 - Seat 3
Michael	Korovine	Table 66 - Seat 4
Rodney	Lawrence	Table 66 - Seat 5
Mathieu	Gagniere	Table 66 - Seat 6
Daniel	Charette	Table 66 - Seat 7
Nicholas	King-Edwards	Table 66 - Seat 8
Jessie	Wheatley	Table 66 - Seat 9

TonyBet Winter Festival Main Event – results & payouts

2016/02/08 - 19:22 by

Event 8 of the TonyBet Winter Festival was the Main Event, a $1,000 + $100 NL Hold’em tournament. The tournament had a prize pool guarantee of $500,000. With 520 entries in the three day 1s, the actual prize pool surpassed this guarantee, reaching $504,400.00. This prize pool was distributed according to the following table.

Rank \| Pos	First Name \| Prénom	Last Name \| Nom	Prize \| Bourse
1	Jiachen	Gong	$100,000.00
2	William	Molson	$70,000.00
3	Grant	Pazarka	$44,000.00
4	Maxime	Lejeune Hebert	$32,000.00
5	Jessie	Wheatley	$24,500.00
6	Danny	Kalpakis	$19,600.00
7	Christopher	Hudson	$16,400.00
8	Charles-Etienne	Gagnon	$13,020.00
9	Eric	Borduas	$9,800.00
10	Daniel	Charette	$7,200.00
11	Mathieu	Gagniere	$7,200.00
12	Benoit	Jean	$7,200.00
13	Michael	Korovine	$5,850.00
14	Dean	Murphy	$5,850.00
15	Philipp	Daze	$5,850.00
16	Alexandre	Lavigne	$5,050.00
17	Ryan	McGarry	$5,050.00
18	Marco	Sousa	$5,050.00
19	Ron	Farber	$4,500.00
20	Marco	Caza	$4,500.00
21	David	Ormsby	$4,500.00
22	Jeremy	Dufour	$4,000.00
23	Marc	Saddik	$4,000.00
24	Charle-Alexandre	Bergeron	$4,000.00
25	Troy	Vandaalen	$3,500.00
26	Michael	Johnston	$3,500.00
27	Jonathan	Roy	$3,500.00
28	Rodney	Lawrence	$3,020.00
29	Bill	Kontaratos	$3,020.00
30	Ivan	Fazal Karim	$3,020.00
31	Nicholas	King-Edwards	$3,020.00
32	Sean	Windover	$3,020.00
33	Brent F	Mccue	$3,020.00
34	Kevin	MacDonald	$3,020.00
35	Eric	Place	$3,020.00
36	Christina	Knot	$3,020.00
37	Louis	Arpin	$2,550.00
38	Walt	Asatoorian	$2,550.00
39	Seth	Manning	$2,550.00
40	Alexandre	Nadeau-Levesque	$2,550.00
41	Maxime	Blanchard	$2,550.00
42	Shane	Brotherwood	$2,550.00
43	Alexandre	Pruneau	$2,550.00
44	Nazareth	Maghakian	$2,550.00
45	Eric J C	Ylagan	$2,550.00
46	Noeung	Troeung	$2,100.00
47	Joseph	Abou Khalil	$2,100.00
48	Tony	Laughing	$2,100.00
49	Alexander	Matveev	$2,100.00
50	Rodney	Hollett	$2,100.00
51	Kevin	Dawe	$2,100.00
52	Scott	Shelvock	$2,100.00
53	Matthew	Wilkins	$2,100.00
54	Mathyeu	Provost	$2,100.00
55	Rabah Belal Ahin	Al-Nasseri	$1,750.00
56	Rodney	Ramalho	$1,750.00
57	Jean-Francois	Simard	$1,750.00
58	Maximilian	Droege	$1,750.00
59	Alexandre	Fortin	$1,750.00
60	Mathieu	Leclerc	$1,750.00
61	Rayan	Chamas	$1,750.00
62	Vahid	Hoseyni	$1,750.00
63	Ivan	Marcelino De Sousa	$1,750.00

New leaderboard; 7-figures breached

Level: 20

Small Blind: 5K

Big Blind: 10K

Ante: 1K

Chip Average: 318K

Remaining: 49

Entries: 520

2016/02/08 - 18:48 by Playground Poker

It has only been around 30 minutes that the money bubble has burst, yet we have already lost 14 players since it’s occurrence. Hand-for-hand lasted for over a full level, and left many players very short stacked in the process. Once the money pressure was lifted, chips were being thrown into the middle with much more ease, leading to this slew of eliminations.

One player who has consistently maintained a spot amongst the chip leaders is Eric Borduas, who is the first player to breach the 7-figure mark so far in this Main Event of the TonyBet Winter Festival. He tops the remaining 49 players with a stack of 1,064,000, although a few players are managing to keep up with his pace.

Here is a look at the leaderboard as play enters level 20:

First Name \| Prénom	Last Name \| Nom	Stack \| Tapis
Eric	Borduas	1,064,000
Ryan	McGarry	921,000
Benoit	Jean	827,000
William	Molson	588,000
Maxime	Lejeune Hebert	567,000
Danny	Kalpakis	501,000
Alexandre	Lavigne	491,000
Charle-Alexandre	Bergeron	474,000
Marco	Caza	472,000
Dean	Murphy	465,000
Marco	Sousa	445,000
Jiachen	Gong	443,000

In the money!

Level: 29

Small Blind: 4K

Big Blind: 8K

Ante: 1K

Chip Average: 248K

Remaining: 63

Entries: 520

2016/02/08 - 18:08 by Playground Poker

A sigh of relief has just swept the tournament hall at Playground Poker Club, as a fairly long hand-for-hand just came to an end with the elimination of Sebastien Lapierre in 64th place.

Sebastien was down to just 35,000 when he moved all-in with , and it was all but over for him when his opponent, who made the call with , flopped a set on the board. The 63 other players in the field applauded themselves, as they locked in a minimum cash-out of $1,750, and can now place their focus on more important matters, such as making it through Day 2 and closer to the elusive final table.

Vahid Hoseyni was amongst the most relieved of the players left in the field, as he squeezed his way into the money with only 5,000 left to his name, with the big blind just around the corner.

Congratulations to all the players who have made the money in this Main Event of the TonyBet Winter Festival!

Photographs taken just before the bubble burst: