LIVE EVENTS

Day 1E of the Grand Prix Canada turned out to be the largest starting flight yet, with 292 entries tallied throughout the afternoon. As with most of the other starting flights, it took 17 levels to reduce the field to the qualifying players. When the chips went into the bag, Daniel Charette emerged as this flight’s chip leader with 1,822,000 ready and waiting for Day 2. To see the combined Day 1 results, click here.

There are three more starting flights running tomorrow. Day 1H starts at noon, Day 1I kicks off at 5:00pm, and the final starting flight, Day 1J Turbo,  goes at 10:00pm. Don’t miss out!

There are now six millionaires in the field, as the Day 1E enters level 17.

This flight is only eight eliminations away from the end of play, so the tension is mounting. The pressure of the blinds is beginning to be felt, as an average stack gets players only 29 big blinds.

Although there are six players above the seven-figure mark, Philippe Laudy leads them all with a stack of over 70 big blinds.

Known by many as “Mama Poker,” Walleta Anstey is having a solid run on Day 1E. But, more importantly, we just learned that Mama Poker has reason to celebrate other than the big stack of chips in front of her, so she decided to make her first visit to Playground.

Good luck and best wishes!

The blinds are slowly but surely catching up to the field. An average stack provides nearly 37 big blinds at this point, which means that many players are well below that mark and beginning to feel the pressure.

Now that this flight is only 25 eliminations away from the end of play, each decision is taking on greater and greater importance. The players are taking their time to consider all possibilities before putting chips in the middle.

Here is a look at the action from level 15:

There is a new chip leader on Day 1E. Gil Levy fell of the incredible pace he set out with and has been overtaken by several players. The new chip leader, David Richard, is the only player in the field with a seven-figure stack, but he is closely followed by Maxime Hartout. Both of these players are way out ahead of the blinds, with stacks above the 120-big blind mark.

The top 42 players will advance from this flight, meaning that nearly half of the remaining players will qualify for Day 2. For the time being, an average stack gets players 40 big blinds.

The late registration and re-entry period for Day 1E has just ended, but there was time for this flight to collect 292 entries before the timer sounded to indicate the start of level 11.

The 120 remaining are now vying for the top 42 spots in order to qualify for Day 2 and secure a payout of at least $400 from the Grand Prix Canada. There is still lots of poker to be played before that moment arrives, as an average stack is worth nearly 49 big blinds at this stage, leaving lots of room to maneuver for most of the players still in contention.

Here is a look at the action from level 10:

As play resumed in level 9, Gil Levy was still head and shoulders above the field, with a stack approaching the seven-figure mark. But many other players have found success on Day 1E, as there is no shortage of stacks far above the current chip average of 201K.

An average stack gets players nearly 60 big blinds at this point, which is plenty to work with but a far cry from the hundreds of blinds that the chip leaders have at their disposal,

Day 1E is showing no signs of slowing down, as this flight adds new players and re-entries at a brisk pace.

Most of the players who hit the rail so far have opted to re-enter. The 66 re-entries collected so far have helped push the total number of chips in play beyond the 26-million mark, which means that this flight has a good chance of producing a new overall chip leader.

The late registration and re-entry period will be open until 5:30pm, leaving nearly two hours to get in on the action.

Check out the action from level 6:

The players have just returned to their seats, and play has resumed in level 5. More new players and re-entries came in during the break, bringing the total number of entries up to 232.

The fast action of the early levels helped several players build up their stacks, but none more so than Gil Levy. Levy was fortunate enough to flop a nut flush and get maximum value on the last hand before the break to bring his stack up to almost unfathomable heights. With over 480 big blinds in his possession, Levy has more than double the chips of his next closest rival.

The players are about to take their first break of the day, as Day 1E just keeps growing. There were 214 entries tallied during the first two hours of play, a figure driven by the steady stream of re-entries, which is now up to 35.

As expected, the chips were flying in the early stages. The players in attendance got up to speed quickly this afternoon, looking to build their stacks as quickly as possible.

Here is a look at the action from level 4:

After less than an hour of play on Day 1E, this flight has already taken in 169 entries. So far, 13 players have already opted to fire a second bullet, a figure which will likely grow exponentially before the end of the late registration and re-entry period at 5:30pm.

The huge early turnout bodes well for this flight, which is shaping up to be the largest yet!

The Grand Prix Canada has already proven to be a hit, as players from far and wide have flocked to both the live and online starting flights. So expect huge fields of players today and tomorrow, as the last six starting flights will take over the tournament hall. Day 1E starts at noon, followed by Day 1F at 5:00pm and Day 1G Turbo tonight at 10:00pm. 

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 1E. 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. Over 170 players have already qualified for Day 2. To see the combined Day 1 results, click here.

Day 1E is about to begin. Good luck to all!