LIVE EVENTS

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Event #4 of the World Cup of Cards, the $100 + $10 6-Max Re-entry, had a great turnout that made a total of 101 entries to this single-day event. The prize pool came just shy of doubling the $5,000 guarantee, and 13 players reached the money.

The action maintained a high pace throughout the afternoon and brought the field down to the final table within seven hours of play. Once at the final table, the massive amount of chips in play gave the players deep stacks, and the pace slowed accordingly. Slowly but surely the eliminations added up until only three players remained. Once it was down to Andrew Lalonde, Vinh Busque and Steven Dubois-Daigle, they opted for an ICM chop of the remaining prize pool. Lalonde had the largest stack in play and received the lion’s share of the prize pool. But the battle was not over. Everyone had their heart set on the beautiful World Cup of Cards trophy, more so than the remaining $295 in prize money.

Lalonde used his chip lead to his advantage during three-handed play and added lots of chips to his stack without showdown by pressuring his opponents whenever possible to build up a huge lead. Dubois-Daigle was eventually eliminated by Busque, and a brief heads-up match between Busque and Lalonde ensued. Lalonde took down several pots to extend his chip lead before the tournament culminated in a preflop all in. Lalonde outflopped Busque to finish off their heads-up battle and claim victory. Congratulations!

6-Max Re-entry Champion: Andrew Lalonde, $2,207

Second Place: Vinh Busque (right), $1,645

Last Hand of Play:

As Glenn Holcombe made his way to the cashier to collect his $1,040 payout for finishing fourth, the three remaining players agreed to an ICM chop of the remaining prize pool.

According to the terms of the deal, Steven Dubois-Daigle will receive $1,705, Andrew Lalonde will get $1,915, and Vinh Busque will pocket $1,655. The deal leaves $285 and, more importantly, the WCC trophy to play for. Play continues three handed.

After a lengthy period without much movement on the final table, several bustouts just happened in quick succession.

Nicolas Andrews was the first to leave the final table, but his seventh place finish will get him a $450 payout. Sylive Belair followed shortly after in sixth place, good for $600. William Munn was eliminated immediately after Belair, but he will benefit from a pay jump to collect $790.

The four remaining players are each guaranteed a four-figure payout at this point, but all eyes remain set on the WCC trophy.

The 6-Max Re-entry has just reached the final table, as the last seven players battle it out for the World Cup of Cards championship trophy and thousands in prize money.

Longtime chip leader Vinh Busque fell off the torrid pace he had earlier this afternoon and now finds himself with a stack near the chip average. He was overtaken by Andrew Lalonde, who now controls the majority of chips in play. But it is still anyone’s game now that the big blind costs most of a starting stack.

The following players made the money but fell short of the final table.

Only two tables remain in the 6-Max Re-entry, and all the remaining players are now assured a payout of at least $200.

The chip leader at the last break, Vinh Busque, who also burst the money bubble, has maintained the largest stack in play, but his lead has narrowed. As play resumes in level 15, an average stack provides roughly 25 big blinds, not too far behind Busque’s stack of about 40 big blinds.

Here are the chip counts for the 10 remaining players:

The action-inducing format of the 6-Max Re-entry has brought the field into the money faster than any of the players expected.

A series of rapid-fire eliminations, spread across the three remaining tables, culminated with a double bustout where Vinh Busque rivered the nuts in a three-way all in to bring the field into the money.

The bubble hand started with WCC event champion Sebastien Hendren moving his short stack all in preflop. Busque, who has lots of chips at his disposal, made the call before Giovanni Petrella moved all in for slightly more and was met with call from Busque. Busque’s was dominated by Petrella’s , and Hendren’s had live pair outs. Busque took the lead thanks to a ten on the flop before running clubs gave him the best possible hand to take the field into the money.

There are now 12 levels of play in the books in the 6-Max Re-entry.

The remaining players appear to have shifted their approach, as the last two levels of play have been characterized by cautious play and pot control. This change is due, in part, to the pressure of the blinds, as an average stack now provides about 26 big blinds. The players have adjusted their ranges accordingly and are considering each decision carefully as this tournament heads down the home stretch to the prize money.

Here is a look at the field from level 12:

Play has just resumed in level 13. The field is down to only 32 runners, just 19 places away from reaching the money.

Many players hit the rail in the lead up to the latest break to take this tournament down to seven tables after nearly four hours of play. The current chip average of 63K is good for 31 big blinds at this stage, leaving plenty of room to play for most in the field.

The current chip leader, Vinh Busque, is sitting on a stack of nearly triple the current average and is the only player with more than double the chips of an average stack, putting him head and shoulders above the rest. But with a short-handed format, things can change very quickly so he will have to stay sharp to maintain his lead.

Although the field in the 6-Max Re-entry counts only one winner from last year’s edition, there is also a 2020 World Cup of Cards event winner still in contention.

Sebastien Hendren was victorious in the first event of the 2020 World Cup of Cards, the $200 + $20 8-Max Deepstack Re-entry. Click here to read all about his win. He collected $7,926 in prize money as well as the stunning champion’s trophy, and he is now on the quest for a second.  Can he make it two trophies in two days? Time will tell. Until then, 39 players are still in the running this afternoon so there remains a lot of poker to be played.

This afternoon’s field is full of local and travelling players, including many who have had success in other Playground events. But this field counts only one 2019 World Cup of Cards event winner, Jonathan Poissant.

Poissant took down Event #3 of the 2019 World Cup of Cards, the $100 + $10 8-Max Deepstack Re-entry, 364 days ago, and he has returned to try to add another WCC trophy to his collection. To read all about his exploits at last year’s event, click here.

Play has just entered level 9 in today’s 6-Max Re-entry, with only 45 players left in contention. Although Poissant has some ground to cover to reel in the current chip leader, he is sitting comfortably with an above-average stack so his WCC dream is still alive!

Play has just resumed in level 7. Following the first break of the day, Jacques Daigle holds the chip lead, as his stack approaches triple the current chip average.

Thanks to 28 re-entries, there is a huge number of chips in play for the 69 remaining players to go get. But few among them have been able to distance themselves from the pack, as only four players have more than double the current chip average.

The late registration and re-entry period is now over, but there was time for this event to take in 101 entries before play resumed in level 7, nearly doubling the prize pool guarantee.