LIVE EVENTS

The Playground 200 was the marquee event of the February Power Weekend, featuring a $100,000 guaranteed prize pool. Players were allowed unlimited re-entries during the first six levels of each of the five Day 1 starting flights, and in the end, the event attracted a total of 697 entries, allowing the prize pool to grow to $132,218. The top 88 finishers were in the money, with a min-cash in 88th paying out $350, and the top prize paying $24,500 plus the coveted Power Weekend Champion’s ring! Day 2 saw 152 players return to play through ten 40-minute levels and when the day came to an end, Jean-Pascal Gauthier lead 23 qualifiers into Day 3. Each player had now secured a $940 payday although all eyes were on the top prize. On Day 3 the short stacks made moves from the first very hand of play …

Not long after the ICM deal was agreed upon, Adam Strulovitch was the first to go, leaving in third place and collecting $14,064 for his deep run.

The three remaining players have decided to do an ICM chop as follows: In addition to the above ICM payouts, the three players will play down to a winner for an additional $3,000 as well as the Champion ring.  

Fourth Place: Eric Ranger, $8,230 Fifth Place: Steve Pouliot, $6,280  

Event #5 was the last day tournament in the February Power Weekend. The prize pool guarantee was $5,000, but the 109 entries that took place allowed to double that figure, to everyone’s delight – especially the deep runners! The 6-Max format, as it does by nature, pushed the action hard on the way to the final table. The pace slowed down a bit at the bubble, which took about 12 hands to burst, but picked up the speed as soon as the money was reached. Kiril Gelev conjured up a storm as soon as the 7-handed final table was put together. He started it healthy and orchestrated the first few eliminations, but Paul Manoian came back from just over 300K to rival with Gelev’s 7-digit stack and even secure a slightly superior deal at the ICM chop. The two players went about exchanging blinds for …

Paul Manoian did a good job in busting the last few players and was able to start the heads-up match with Kiril Gelev on a leveled playing field as a result. Both players agreed to look at the ICM numbers and both agreed to the figures presented by the tournament staff. Manoian – $2,155 Gelev – $2,073 The winner will add $225 to their secured payout, on top of the February Power Weekend ring. Let the heads-up match begin!

When Kiril Gelev folded his button, Surette looked down on an ace. Being third in chips, the ace was good enough to roll the dice with, even without help from the second card. Manoian called. Surette: Manoian: Board: Surette takes 3rd, good for $1,450. Congratulations!

In a hand that we missed, Audrey Verlomme was taken out in 5th place. A few orbits later, Paul Manoian went all-in and found a call from Joshua Caballero-Kowarsk. Paul: Joshua: Board: Paul is now a clear second in Kiril Gelev’s land. 5th: Audrey Verlomme – $840 4th: Joshua Caballero-Kowarsk – $1,100 Congratulations on a nice payday!

Kiril Gelev is having a ball on this final table. He has about as much as his 4 opponents combined! Here are the full counts at the break:

The $100 + $20 +100 6-Max 50/50 Bounty tournament wrapped up the February Power Weekend in an exciting fashion. The event guaranteed a $20,000 prize pool but the 156 entries were able to up the total to $30,264 ($14,664 for the traditional prize pool and $15,600 for the bounty prize pool) to land the top 20 players in the money.  The chip leaders varied throughout the night but Hicham Hammoud found himself in the leaderboard on more than one occasion. Hicham just missed the final table to go home with $600. After the ICM deal was made, play moved quickly as the final four battled it out for the additional $500. Former chip leader Blair Miller was eliminated in fourth place for $2,379 and Ysrael-Masliah Moryoussef finished third for $1,900. This left Jordan Rochon and John A. to go head to head for the championship …

Young Min Kim was the first player to go at the final table, he finished 6th for $800. The final five paused play midway through level 22 and agreed to an ICM deal that awards the winner with an additional $500. The ICM payouts are as followed: Blair Miller – $2,379 Ysrael-Masliah Moryoussef – $1,900 Giovanni Petrella – $1,800 Jordan Rochon – $1,765 John A. – $1,620 Giovanni Petrella was eliminated shortly after the deal was made to finish in fifth for $1,800. Play continues…

Tommy Pinet and Hicham Hammoud were simultaneously eliminated in eighth and seventh place, making way for the top six to make up the final table. Penet finished eighth for $450 and Hammoud in seventh for $600. All remaining players are guaranteed at least $800 but no doubt they’d like to make it to the final five where the payout ladders up to $1,060. Here is the final seating draw:  

The field has reached the money! The players decided to make a bubble deal that reduces the top three payouts by $40 to award the 21st finisher with $120. Now just 15 players continue to compete for the $3,224 grand prize and as many bounties as they can collect. All remaining competitors are guaranteed to go home with at least $220. The new chip leader Blair Miller has more than doubled the current chip average with a stack of 520,000, good for 86 big blinds. Hicham Hammoud moves to second place with an impressive 433,000 and Giovanni Petrella rounds out the top three with 420,000.

The field is shrinking and the stacks are growing. Just 28 players remain in level 15 and things are really heating up. The small stacks are definitely feeling the pressure from the increasing blinds and the aggressive style of play from the chip leaders. Competitors are eight spots from the money and going home with at least $170 plus whatever bounty chips they have collected. Here’s a look at some the remaining players: