Well that was fun! Valentino Pedicelli got it in with 
, Alexandre Fournier joined the party with 
, and Prosper Azoulay had them both crushed with 
.
The board runout made quad three’s and all of the players at the table just laughed. As Mario Ho would say, “everyone loves a chopped pot”.
After a series of rapid eliminations, the nine-handed final table has been formed. Here are the seating positions and chip stacks:
| Seat: | First Name | Last Name | Stack | # of big blinds: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valentino | Pedicelli | 57,650,000 | 57.6 |
| 2 | Scott | Shein | 14,150,000 | 14.1 |
| 3 | Alexandre | Fournier | 24,250,000 | 24.2 |
| 4 | Wafic | Fala | 29,450,000 | 29.4 |
| 5 | Francis | Dery | 20,400,000 | 20.4 |
| 6 | Maxime | Chartrand | 55,600,000 | 55.6 |
| 7 | Prosper | Azoulay | 58,050,000 | 58 |
| 8 | Jared | McDonald | 29,200,000 | 29.2 |
| 9 | Paul | Manolan | 16,000,000 | 16 |
Earlier bustouts include:
To win a tournament you have to win your flips. Ebrahimi Ebrahim started Day 3 with 21,350,000 chips and when he picked up a premium pair he decided it was time to get his chips in. Val Pedicelli also had a premium and made the call.
Ebrahim: 
Pedicelli: 
The flop 
was good for Ebrahim but the turn changed everything, making a higher pair for Pedicelli. The river 
was of no help to Ebrahim and he went to the cage to pick up his payout.
14th place: Ebrahimi Ebrahim, $3,250
Nassim K. played a great game and he was delighted to make it to Day 3. He had lost some chips early on today and when Scotty Shein opened for 1,200,000, it folded back to Nassim who called it off with his remaining chips. Shein had ace-queen and Nassim had 9-6 off. Shein took down the pot with ace-high and as Nassim made his way to the desk to collect his payout slip, he was heard saying “I’m happy to have at least made a pay jump”. Well played.
15th place: Nassim K., $3,250
Action started with an all in on the very first hand between Maxime Chartrand holding 
and Francis Dery with 
. The board ran out clean and Chartrand secures an early double-up.
After another orbit of play, with the blinds at 300,000/600,000, Maxime Chartrand raised it up from early middle position to 1,200,000, only to see Gregory Bell move all in. Chartrand snap-called and the hands were tabled:
Bell: 
Chartrand: 
Both players had premium hands and the race was on. A classic coin flip for sure. The dealer fanned out the 
on the flop and all of the sudden there was a sweat as Bell flopped a gutshot straight draw, but of course Chartrand had the blockers. The turn came the 
to pair the board and the river 
sealed the deal for Chartrand, sending Bell to the rail as the first casualty of the night.
16th place: Gregory Bell, $2,750
Day 3 of the Grand Prix Canada is now underway as the cards are in the air! The 16 returning players are now each assured of at least $2,750, with the next pay jump ($3,250) happening in 15th position. All players of course have their eyes set on the $87,000 first prize money along with the gorgeous trophy and the associated bragging rights.
Here is the seating draw for today’s start:
| First Name | Last Name | Seat | Stack |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pham | Duy Tan | Table 19 - Seat 8 | 45,950,000 |
| Mcdonald | Jared | Table 24 - Seat 8 | 34,700,000 |
| Azoulay | Prosper | Table 19 - Seat 7 | 33,575,000 |
| Pedicelli | Valentino | Table 20 - Seat 1 | 30,550,000 |
| Ebrahim | Ebrahimi | Table 20 - Seat 7 | 21,350,000 |
| Chartrand | Maxime | Table 19 - Seat 1 | 20,950,000 |
| Manoian | Paul | Table 20 - Seat 2 | 17,925,000 |
| Marzan | M | Table 20 - Seat 8 | 16,775,000 |
| Charette | Daniel | Table 24 - Seat 7 | 15,500,000 |
| Fournier | Alexandre | Table 20 - Seat 4 | 11,475,000 |
| Bell | Gregory | Table 24 - Seat 4 | 11,425,000 |
| Shein | Scott | Table 24 - Seat 1 | 8,100,000 |
| Dery | Francis | Table 19 - Seat 2 | 7,900,000 |
| Fala | Wafic | Table 19 - Seat 4 | 7,585,000 |
| Kourkjian | Baghdig | Table 24 - Seat 6 | 5,325,000 |
| K. | Nassim | Table 19 - Seat 6 | 4,250,000 |
The Grand Prix Canada’s 2,990 entries has been reduced to the top 16 going into the final day of the tournament. All advancing players are guaranteed a min-cash of $2,750 for the 16th finisher and a grand prize of $87,000 for first place.
Day 3 will commence tomorrow, January 27 at 7:00pm.
Here’s a look at the final seating chart:
| First Name | Last Name | Seat | Stack |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scott | Shein | Table 24 - Seat 7 | 8,100,000 |
| Daniel | Charette | Table 20 - Seat 6 | 15,500,000 |
| Wafic | Fala | Table 24 - Seat 5 | 7,585,000 |
| Baghdig | Kourkjian | Table 20 - Seat 2 | 5,325,000 |
| Prosper | Azoulay | Table 20 - Seat 8 | 33,575,000 |
| Nassim | K. | Table 24 - Seat 6 | 4,250,000 |
| Ebrahimi | Ebrahim | Table 20 - Seat 7 | 21,350,000 |
| Paul | Manoian | Table 24 - Seat 3 | 17,925,000 |
| Jared | Mcdonald | Table 24 - Seat 4 | 34,700,000 |
| Maxime | Chartrand | Table 20 - Seat 1 | 20,950,000 |
| Gregory | Bell | Table 20 - Seat 4 | 11,425,000 |
| Duy Tan | Pham | Table 24 - Seat 1 | 45,950,000 |
| Valentino | Pedicelli | Table 20 - Seat 5 | 30,550,000 |
| Alexandre | Fournier | Table 24 - Seat 2 | 11,475,000 |
| Francis | Dery | Table 20 - Seat 3 | 7,900,000 |
| Mayazul Islam | Marzan | Table 24 - Seat 8 | 16,775,000 |
