LIVE EVENTS

Steve Taylor made a remarkable come back to reach the final table.

Several hours ago, he was reduced to only four chips, worth little more than two big blinds at the time. He moved all in with his short stack and managed to take down the multi-way pot that ensued. Taylor gained momentum from there and kept his run going to the final table. Unfortunately, he ran out of steam at the final table and was eliminated in fourth place, but he will take home $740 for his deep run.

Jeffery Cassidy followed shortly after Taylor, exiting the tournament in third place, good enough for a payout ticket worth $970.

After six hours of play, the 8-Max Re-entry has reached the final table. From a total of 66 entries, only nine remained – but not for long! After a flurry of action, five players were quickly eliminated, with only four left at the table vying for first place.  Congratulations to each of the five players that finished in the money, listed below. Well done!

9th place: Alexandre Joly ($190)

8th place: Andrew D’Amato ($250)

7th place: Murielle Viau ($330)

6th place: Gaetan Perrault ($430)

5th place: Ken Ransom ($560)

The players are set to return from their third break of the afternoon, and we have a new chip leader.

Gaetan Perrault, a Playground regular who is no stranger to deep tournament runs, has taken a healthy lead over the field. He is sitting comfortably with a stack of more than double the current chip average, which puts him far ahead of his nearest rival.

There are only ten players remaining, and the top nine players will cash this event, so the tension is mounting during hand-for-hand play.

The 8-Max Re-entry is now down to the final three tables, with 20 players left.

The chip leader at the last break, Charles-Eric Benoit, hit a rough patch shortly after play resumed and has lost the chip lead. Two players at his table, Ken Ransom and Gaetan Perreault, benefited from Benoit’s struggles, as they now control some of the larger stacks in play. But everyone appears to be trailing Glen Duncan, who has only seen his stack increase throughout the afternoon.

As the timer winds down on the second break of the day, only 24 players remain in contention. There was a spike in the action shortly before the break that sent a number of players to the rail in quick succession. A handful of players were able to capitalize on the bustouts and accumulate some chips, but none more than our new chip leader, Charles-Eric Benoit, who controls a stack of more than triple the current chip average.

The timer is winding down on the ninth level of play in the 8-Max Re-entry, as a mood of quiet determination has set in across the five remaining tables.

The blinds are beginning to creep up on the shorter stacks now that the chip average provides roughly 30 big blinds. The field is now down to 35 players; although the big stacks in the field are keeping their heads comfortably above water, they are outnumbered by those who are beginning to feel the pressure of the blinds.

Here’s an updated look at the remaining players.

Now that the late registration period has ended, the prize pool has been finalized. The healthy turnout allowed the 8-Max Re-entry to surpass its prize pool guarantee. The top nine players will reach the money this afternoon, but there is a lot of poker to be played before then.

Here is the full list of payouts.

The players have just returned to their seats following the first break of the day and the end of the late registration and re-entry period. The action picked up significantly as the timer ticked down on the sixth level of play, which helped bring the number of re-entries up to 12 on the day.

Although re-entries are no longer available, expect the action to keep up a high pace throughout the afternoon, as the eight-handed format leaves little room to hide and will force players to open up their ranges in order to stay ahead of the blinds.

The players are slowly but surely joining the field in the 8-Max Re-entry. The ice has just been broken on the re-entries, pushing the number of total entries to 46. Although many players took a cautious approach out of the gate, the action will be picking up as the gap between the big and small stacks widens and the re-entry period winds down.

The late registration and re-entry period will remain open until 2:15pm, so you still have time to make your way to Playground and get in on the action.

Here’s a look at the field from the early levels:

The July Power Weekend gets underway this afternoon with Event #1, the $100 + $10 8-Max Re-entry. Starting at noon, the 8-Max Re-entry will start players with 20,000 in chips to play through as many 20-minute levels as needed to determine a winner. Providing the perfect balance between full ring and short-handed formats, this event provides a a $5,000 prize pool guarantee so expect a large crowd this afternoon.

This event permits unlimited re-entries until the end of the late registration period at the beginning of the seventh level of play at 2:15pm. The early levels are sure to see lots of chips change hands and generate many re-entries in the process so head down to Playground to get in on the action.

The dealers are ready and waiting as the players are making their way to their seats. The cards will be in the air soon. Good luck to all!

Event #1: $100 + $10 8-Max Re-entry

$5,000 Guaranteed