LIVE EVENTS

Day 1C of the Grand Prix Canada was the largest starting flight yet and showed the tremendous popularity of this epic event. It took in 217 entries, which allowed 31 players to advance to Day 2.

This flight was brought to an end fast than any of the players expected, as simultaneous bustouts on adjacent tables dispensed with the need for hand-for-hand play. Kevin St Denis emerged as the chip leader from Day 1C, with 2.13 million in chips, which is the largest stack from any of the live starting flights so far. Following Day 1C, 142 players have qualified for Sunday’s Day 2. To see the combined Day 1 results, click here.

There are many more starting flights for the Grand Prix Canada before Sunday. Starting flights run tomorrow at 12:00pm, 5:00pm and 10:00pm. To see the full schedule, click here.

As play resumes in level 17, the remaining players in Day 1C are only three eliminations away from advancing to Day 2.

There are now two monster stacks out ahead of the field. Aladdin Hammoud has maintained his strong play and added to his stack since taking the chip lead after level 12. But Kevin St Denis managed to go on a hot streak during the last level to capture a narrow lead over Hammoud.

There are only four tables remaining on Day 1C.

The end of the flight is now looming on the horizon, as there are only eight eliminations to go before the survivors bag their chips for Day 2. And the tension is mounting. As the blinds slowly creep up, so do the consequences of each decision, which has led to a lot of emotion on display during the last two levels, something only the drama of the late stages of a tournament can bring out.

Here is a look at the action from level 15:

Play has just resumed in level 13, and Day 1C has a new chip leader. Longtime chip leader Jean-Francois Levesque was eliminated on the last hand before the break by this flight’s new chip leader, Aladdin Hammoud.

Hammoud catapulted to the top of the leaderboard after taking down a massive three-way pot. He was fortunate enough to flop top set against another player’s bottom set and Levesque’s over pair. All the chips went in on the flop, and Hammoud’s set of eights held up to give him an overwhelming chip lead. With more than 200 big blinds in his possession, Hammoud is in great position to cruise into Day 2.

Here are the top stacks in play:

The late registration and re-entry period has just ended on Day 1C. But before the beginning of level 11 there was time for this flight to take in 217 entries, making this the largest starting flight to date.

There are still 88 players in contention, the top 31 of which will advance to Day 2 and secure a payout from this event. With lots of chips to go around, nearly 22 million, there is a good chance that we see the overall chip leader emerge from Day 1C.

The current chip average gets players just less than 50 big blinds, leaving lots of room to play for most in the field.

The players have just returned to their seats and the action is underway in level 9. The field now counts 108 remaining players, out of 200 total entries. As expected, this has become the largest starting flight yet, with nearly 45 minutes left in the late registration and re-entry period.

The gap between the big and small stacks in the field has become immense. Some players are clinging to their tournament lives with only a handful of blinds, while others, like current chip leader Jean-Francois Levesque, are well above 150 big blinds.

Players are making the most out of the extended late registration and re-entry period on Day 1C, as new players and re-entries keep rolling in. There are nearly 19 million in chips in play, thanks in large part to the 49 re-entries collected up to this point. With roughly 100 minutes to go before the end of late registration, this flight is likely to be the largest yet.

The chip leader at the first break, Jean-Francois Levesque, has fallen off the torrid pace he set out with but still controls one of the largest stacks in play.

Here is a look at the action from level 7:

As expected, Day 1C has brought out another strong turnout. Through four levels of play, there are still 114 players left in contention from 156 entries. Most of the players who hit the rail so far opted to re-enter, pushing the number of re-entries to 28, which has helped put more than 15 million in chips in play.

Late registration and unlimited re-entries will be available until 5:30pm, leaving plenty of time to (re-)enter this flight. For anyone who would prefer a fresh start in another starting flight, Day 1D gets going at 5:00pm.

Here is a look at the action from level 4:

New players and re-entries continue to fill in the ranks on Day 1C, as play is set to resume following the first break of the day.

Despite the large starting stacks, the players in this field that they were not shy about putting their tournament lives on the line in their pursuit of chips. Driven by 26 re-entries through the first four levels of play, the early levels were action-packed. Of course, some players benefited from these dynamics more than others, but none more than Jean-Francois Levesque. Levesque could do no wrong in the early stages, as he run up a stack over of 290 big blinds.

As the timer wins down on the second level of play on Day 1C, there are 101 players involved. In all, this flight has collected 108 entries, including six re-entries. So far, this flight is shaping up much like yesterday’s Day 1, which also took in over 100 entries in the first level of play and wound up with a total of 196 entries.

Players will be taking advantage of the extended late registration and re-entry period, which is open until 5:30pm for Day 1C, so expect a massive amount of chips in play today.

Here is a look at some of the action from level 1:

The Grand Prix Canada shifts into the next gear today with two more live starting flights and the final online starting flight. Day 1C kicked off at noon, Day 1D gets going at 5:00pm, and your last chance at an online starting flight on partypoker is this evening at 7:00pm. 

So far, 100 players have advanced stacks to Day 2, and they will be joined by many more following this action-packed day. To see the combined Day 1 results, click here. 

For all live starting flights, players will start with 100,000 in chips to play through as many 30-minute levels as needed to reduce the field to one in seven entries, at which point the money will be reached and the remaining players will advance to Day 2. Each live Day 1 will start 10-handed and move to 9-handed play as soon as possible. 

The Grand Prix Canada is a re-entry event with unlimited re-entries permitted until the end of the late registration period at the beginning of level 11, which will arrive at 5:30pm on Day 1C. Players may enter additional Day 1s even if they have survived a previous Day 1 with chips. Players who qualify for Day 2 more than once resume play on Day 2 with their largest qualifying stack; all other qualifying stacks are forfeited. Players would, however, retain the associated cash prize for every forfeited stack.

Good luck to all!