The players just returned from their first break of the evening and with 68 players still in contention out of a total of 83 entries (including 11 re-entries), the average chip stack is now 122,000 (61 big blinds), and Ali Sabrah has jumped way out in front putting together a stack of 449,500 chips, good for 225 big blinds.
Here are the current leaders:
| First Name | Last Name | Stack | # of Big Blinds: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ali | Sabrah | 449,500 | 225 |
| Shaan | Siddiqui | 329,500 | 165 |
| Han Xing | Chen | 259,000 | 130 |
| Tim | Singer | 250,000 | 125 |
Play has just resumed in level xx, and Day 1G is just two eliminations away from the end of the flight. Just 20 players remain in contention, and they are led by two players, Eric Bastien and Robert Turcotte, who are neck-and-neck for the lead. Less than one big blinds separates the two players, who are in great position with stacks in the neighbourhood of 58 big blinds.
| First Name | Last Name | Stack |
|---|---|---|
| Eric | Bastien | 1,175,000 |
| Robert | Turcotte | 1,158,000 |
| Roberto | Buonocore | 1,040,000 |
| Jason | Mandanici-Turcot | 1,010,000 |
| Tanvir | Ahmed | 940,000 |
| Pavel | Covaliov | 765,000 |
With the blinds at 700/1,400, Chuck Levros limped in under the gun followed by a limp by Patrice Ravary. It was then raised to 4,700 by Tim Singer seated on Ravary’s immediate left. When it was Charli Azoulay’s turn to act, without hesitation he bumped it up to 9,000. The blinds folded and both Levros and Ravary made the call. Singer had all of the players covered and without hesitation he moved all in. Azoulay went deep into the tank and as much as he really seemed to want to make the call, he finally decided to let go of his hand. Levros looked down at his hand and seconds later he announced “call”. Ravary got out of the way and the hands were tabled:
Singer: 
Levros: 
Levros was in deep trouble and needed some serious assistance The flop came 
and Singer was still way out in front. On the 
turn, Levros now picked up both a flush draw and a gutshot straight draw. The river was magical for Levros as the dealer peeled the 
, giving him a flush and putting him back up over 150,000. Luckily for Singer, he had a good start to the tournament so he still is sitting on about 170,000.
Only 28 players remain on Day 1G, bringing the field just 10 eliminations away from the money and advancing to Day 2.
The blinds are slowing creeping up on the remaining players and are beginning to force the action, especially for the smaller stacks in the field. The current chip average provides slightly more than 36 big blinds, which is far more shallow that at any point today but still more than enough for most players to work with.
Here is a look at the action from level 14:
The room is filling up nicely as there are already a total of 60 entries (including 4 re-entries) and players still have until the start of level seven at 10:50pm to jump in to the action with a full 100,000 starting stack (the blinds will be 2,000/5,000 in level seven).
Here are a few of the players seated on the tables in Day 1H:
Welcome to Day 1H of the $200 + $20 Grand Prix Canada, the marquee event of the Playground 9-Year Anniversary Series. This event offers incredible value with it’s $500,000 guaranteed prize pool. There have been 1,217 entries to date with still another seven starting flights to go between both the live and online Day 1s.
Players start the Grand Prix Canada with 100,000 chips. As tonight’s Day 1H is a turbo flight, the blind levels are 20 minutes long. The play is 10-handed on Day 1. Day 2 starts 9-handed and moves to 8-handed as soon as possible.
This is a re-entry event with unlimited re-entries permitted until the end of the late registration period on each Day 1, which is at the start of level 11 at 10:50pm. Re-entry is permitted for any player that loses all their chips or chooses to forfeit their stack (online flights do not offer the forfeit option). A player may play additional Day 1s even if they have survived a previous Day 1 with chips. Players who qualify for Day 2 more than once will resume play on Day 2 with their largest qualifying stack; all other qualifying stacks will be forfeited. Players would, however, retain the associated cash prize for every forfeited stack. This allows for a great opportunity to see if you can qualify with a larger Day 2 stack by firing more tan one bullet.
The starting flights will play down to when one in seven players remain, at which point the players will be in the money and bag their chips for Day 2.
To see the combined Day 1 results, click here. (NB: today’s results will be added to the list late in the morning on Thursday).
Good luck to all competitors!
Play has just resumed in level 13, and Day 1G has a new chip leader.
Pascal Vaillancourt has went on a heater prior to the last break, accumulating a flight-leading stack of 93 big blinds. In the process, Vaillancourt surpassed former chip leader Eric Bastien. But Bastien is hot on his heels with the second largest stack in play.
The end of the flight is now on the horizon, as the top 18 of the 39 remaining players will advance to Day 2. So far, 157 players have advanced to Day 2, and the overall chip leader has over 3 million in chips. To see the combined Day 1 results, click here.
| First Name | Last Name | Stack |
|---|---|---|
| Pascal | Vaillancourt | 745,000 |
| Eric | Bastien | 715,000 |
| Wayel | O | 632,000 |
| Tanvir | Ahmed | 627,000 |
| Victor | Goncalves-Morgado | 560,000 |
The late registration and re-entry period has just ended on Day 1G. There are now 47 players left in contention. The top 18 will reach the money and advance to Day 2.
The blinds are slowly catching up to the field but play is still quite deep at this stage, as an average stack gives players nearly 50 big blinds.
For anyone who fell short in this flight or would like to try to run up a bigger stack for Day 2, the next starting flight, Day 1H Turbo, is just around the corner. Also, the final online flight, Online Day 1E, runs tonight on partypoker. Both start at 7:00pm.
Between Friday and Saturday, there will be six more starting flights for the Grand Prix Canada. Check out the full schedule here.
The timer has just sounded to indicate the start of level 10, meaning that players have only 30 minutes left to (re-)enter this flight.
The field has been reduced to roughly half of the total entries, leaving 59 players to compete for the 12 million in chips in play. An average stack provides players about 50 big blinds, allowing most players to enjoy significant depth of play at this stage.
Here is a look at the action from level 9:
Play is set to resume in level 9, with only 66 players left in contention. The beginning of level 9 means that there is now only one hour left to (re-)enter this flight.
The chip leader at the last break, Eric Bastien, has maintained the pole position and put more distance between himself and the peloton. Bastien’s stack gives him slightly more than 130 big blinds, well more than double the current chip average.
| First Name | Last Name | Stack |
|---|---|---|
| Eric | Bastien | 464,000 |
| Wayel | O | 409,500 |
| Habib | Rachidi Alaoui | 387,000 |
| Roger | Thibault | 348,000 |
Day 1G has just entered the seventh level of play, and there are 76 players left in contention.
Although relatively few new players have joined the fray since the first break, the re-entries keep rolling in. There have been 20 re-entries so far, which has helped bring the total number of chips in play just shy of 11 million. An average stack gives players roughly 56 big blinds to work with at this stage, enough to allow players to take almost any line they please. Late registration and unlimited re-entries will be available until 5:30pm.
Here is a look at the action from level 6:
Play has just resumed in level 5, following the first break of the afternoon on Day 1G.
New players and re-entries have been steadily adding to the field since the start of play, bringing the total number of entries to 96 with roughly three hours to go in the late registration and re-entry period. This flight has collected a dozen re-entries so far, which has helped inflate the number of chips in play for the 78 remaining players.
The current chip leader, Eric Bastien, more than tripled his starting stack by the first break and now has just shy of 200 big blinds at his disposal.
| First Name | Last Name | Stack |
|---|---|---|
| Eric | Bastien | 319,500 |
| Patrick | Boisvert | 285,000 |
| Pierre Olivier | Guay | 251,000 |
| Alexandre | Henry | 246,000 |
