LIVE EVENTS

Event #21 of the World Cup of Cards, the $100 + $10 Crazy Pineapple 8-Max Re-entry, was an action-packed and fun-filled affair. Drawing a turnout that made a total of 90 entries, this single-day event easily surpassed the prize pool guarantee of $5,000 to award $8,730 in prizes to the top 12 players.

The action got off to a fast start this afternoon and rarely showed signs of slowing down. The chips made their way around the felts quickly, especially in the early levels before the end of the late registration and re-entry period as many players took advantage of the structure to fire additional bullets. Mario Savard dominated the field through the first two breaks with a massive chip lead, but he ran out of steam and gave way to this event’s eventual champion, Sabin Levesque. Levesque maintained one of the largest stacks in play for most of the afternoon before taking the outright chip lead in Level 14.

Levesque had the largest stack when play began at the final table. But he stayed out of the fray for the most part, as other players were responsible for most eliminations. This event’s runner up, Charli Azoulay, ran hot at the final table and sent several players to the rail, eventually building a stack to rival Levesque’s. But Levesque kept his focus and determination, even after doubling up Azoulay in the early stages of heads-up play. Levesque grinded his way back to the chip lead before the blinds caught up to the two finalists and provoked a preflop all in. Levesque was ahead went the chips went in and hung on through the runout to claim victory. Congratulations!

Crazy Pineapple 8-Max Re-entry Champion: Sabin Levesque, $2,120

Second Place: Charli Azoulay, $1,620

Last Hand of Play:

Only four players remain at the final table. Although the first few orbits at the final table were uneventful, there was a flurry of action just prior to the break including eliminations on back to back hands.

Christopher Lau finished in eighth, good for a $320 payout. Shortly after, Eric Leblond hit the rail in seventh after three-bet shoving and running into the initial raiser’s . The eight-high board missed both players, and ace-high was good at showdown. Leblond will collect $420 for his final table appearance. Real Cantin and Janendra Mahendra Rajah were then eliminated one after the other at the hands of the current chip leader Charli Azoulay. Azoulay came from behind in both situations. First, by rivering a full house to beat Cantin’s turned straight and then by rivering a flush with pocket eights against Mahendra Rajah’s pocket aces following a preflop all in. Cantin and Mahendra Rajah will take home $550 and $720 respectively.

Play continues four-handed at the final table with Charli Azoulay in the driver’s seat thanks to his 645K stack. Sabin Levesque is second in chips with 565K, while Robert Gosselin is in third with 430K and Alexandre Menard rounds out the final four with 150K in chips.

It did not take very long to reduce the last dozen to the final table. After patiently waiting out the money bubble, several players jumped on the first opportunity that came their way once they secured a payout, which results in four rapid eliminations.

Dave Jeanneau-Cyr, who racked up several great results during the World Cup of Cards, hit the rail in twelfth place and earned $170. Bonnie Reid and Lee Daud Sha finished in eleventh and tenth, respectively, to each collect $190. Gregory H’s elimination in ninth place got him a $250 payout for his deep run.

Following a dramatic build up, the money bubble has burst on the Crazy Pineapple 8-Max Re-entry.

The tournament was played hand for hand for nearly the entirety of level 15. Several short stacks put their tournament lives on the line during that span and survived. The field was finally brought into the money thanks to Robert Gosselin, who took down a three-way pot against Real Cantin and Joey Bozcek. Bozcek had the shortest stack at his table and moved all in for 24K, which was called by Cantin and Gosselin, who checked down on the board. Gosselin’s was good at showdown, putting the twelve remaining players in the money.

Play has just resumed in level 15. The field is now only three eliminations away from the money, and there is a new chip leader, Sabin Levesque.

Levesque has had one of the largest stacks in play throughout the afternoon, and he found ways to take his stack to new heights in the lead up to the last break, to put himself heads and shoulders above the rest of the field. Former chip leader Mario Savard ran cold after his hot start and hit the rail in level 13.

The blinds have caught up to many in the field, as the chip average only provides 15 big blinds so hand selection will be critical for many in the field if they hope to make it past the money bubble.

Here are the top stacks in level 15:

The Crazy Pineapple 8-Max Re-entry is speeding towards the money bubble in level 13. The action started out a brisk pace this afternoon and still shows no signs of slowing down.

The field is down to the last 21 players, the top 12 of which will secure a payout from this event. Despite the fast-approaching money bubble, the players in the field are clearly enjoying the format and having a good time. Laughter and friendly banter have been this event’s soundtrack, nearly drowning out the sound of riffling chips.

Check out some of the action from level 12:

Play has just resumed following the second break of the day, and Mario Savard still holds the chip lead. Although many in the field ran up their stacks well beyond the chip average since the first break, Savard found ways to keep a buffer of roughly 50K between him and his nearest rival. Savard’s tournament-leading stack gives him roughly 83 big blinds at this stage, which is more than triple the current chip average.

Here are the top stacks in play in level 11:

The action seems to be picking up pace with each passing level, as the field is now down to only 37 players after nine levels of play. Despite the end of the late registration and re-entry period, the players in this field are not being shy with their chips. Three-betting has become commonplace, and hardly an orbit goes by without a tournament life on the line.

The chip leader at the last break, Mario Savard, has remained active, which has put his stack on a roller coaster ride, and maintained the top stack in play.  The blinds are creeping up on the field; the chip average now provides slightly less than 30 big blinds.

Here is a look at the action from level 9:

Mario Savard is in a league of his own, following the first break of the day. Thanks to his stack of more than quadruple the current chip average Savard has a massive lead over the field.

The action picked up as the first break approached, as new players and re-entries helped fill in the ranks. The late registration and re-entry period is now closed, but there was time for this event to take in 20 re-entries for a total of 90 entries. The huge turnout easily surpassed the prize pool guarantee of $5,000 and will see to it that the top 12 players make the money this afternoon and divvy up the $8,730 prize pool between them.

The chip average is good for 36 big blinds in level 7, leaving plenty of breathing room for most in the field.

Here are the top stacks at the first break of the day.

As the Crazy Pineapple 8-Max Re-entry approaches the end of the third level of play, the prize pool guarantee of $5,000 has already been surpassed. With more than one hour to go in the late registration and re-entry period, the penultimate event of the World Cup of Cards has had four re-entries and many more are sure to follow in the levels ahead.

For the most part, the first two levels were fairly cautious, but now that the re-entries have begun both pre- and post-flop ranges will likely expand and the pots will only get bigger from here.

The late registration and re-entry period will be open until the beginning of level 7, which will arrive at 2:15pm.

Here is a look at the action from level 2:

The World Cup of Cards has delivered an abundance of action-packed events, and there are two more in store!

Event #21, the $100 + $10 Crazy Pineapple 8-Max Re-entry, offers an interesting twist on a familiar format and promises to be a fun-filled affair. This single-day event guarantees a prize pool of at least $5,000 but will likely award far more than that.

This exciting hold’em variation gives players not only more to consider but also more cards to work with. Crazy Pineapple provides players with a range of new options and possibilities thanks to a third hole card and the choice of which two to play following the flop action. It promises to be action packed!

Players will start with 20,000 in chips to play through as many 20-minute levels as needed to play down to a winner. Play will be 8-handed throughout the day, and the final table will begin when nine players remain. The Crazy Pineapple 8-Max Re-entry is a re-entry event with unlimited re-entries permitted during the late registration period, which will end at the beginning of level 7 at 2:15pm.

Good luck to all!