LIVE EVENTS

Day 1C of the WPT Montreal Main Event was the largest starting flight of all of the Day 1’s attracting a total of 433 players. In the end 208 players bagged to move on to Day 2 which will play out tomorrow at 12 noon. After all of the starting flights, there were a total of 888 entries (including re-entries), of which 433 players bagged stacks to play on Day 2.

Eric Afriat took the lead early on and stayed in the top position through the second break, but then lost some ground as the night played on. He still managed to find a bag but did not make the top spots. There were some large clashes along the way and in the end, it was Aaron Shepard who bagged the largest stack, taking 250,000 (312 BB’s) into Day 2. He was the only player who bagged over 200,000 chips.

Here are the top five stacks from 1C:

1. Aaron Shepard 250,000 (312 BB’s)
2. Kyle Scott Ferguson 197,200 ((246 BB’s)
3. Louis Boutin 177,000 (221 BB’s)
4. Victor Ramdin 175,000 (219 BB’s)
5. Bradley Smith 171,200 (214 BB’s)

Players return tomorrow at 12 noon. Registration and re-entry remain open until the start of level 13 at 4:30pm. The prize pool is guaranteed to be worth at least CAD 3,000,000, and the payouts will be released after registration closes on Day 2.

For the combined list of all day 1 qualifiers and the seating draw, click here (NB: tonight’s results will be added tomorrow morning)

Over the last level there have been quite a few hands happening between Chaalan Rahime and Aaron Van Blarcum, with the chips moving back and forth across the felt.

In the last hand, with about 20,000 already in the middle on a board, Van Balrcum checked the river and Rahime fired 8,000. Van Barcum chuckled as if he though he might be in throuble but he did make the call.

Rahime:
Van Blarcum:

The pot was shipped to Rahime and the battle continues.

There are now 236 players still in contention from the 359 total entries today and a new chip leader has emerged: Behnam Esfahanizadeh is in command sitting on a stack of 160,900 chips (268 bb’s). He is followed in second by Aaron Van Blarcum with 159,900 (267 bb’s)) and in third by Francis Hamel with 145,400 (242 bb’s).

There are quite a few others who have also built up nice stacks; here is the latest leaderboard:

There are now 331 entries (including 30 re-entries) and players can late register all day today as well as right up to start of level 13 on Day 2 (tomorrow).

With a chip average right now at 48,800, Eric Afriat leads with a cool 137,200 chips. Bradley Smith is right behind him though with 131,700 chips and trying to bolt to the top spot. Quite a few other players have managed to put together stacks of at least double the average; here is the latest leaderbaord from the break:

The action has heated up on table 57. Over the course of a few hands, Ibrahim Hussein has been making some very large three-bets and taking down the pots pre-flop. On the last hand, Ahmed El Bouhssini limped in under the gun and was called by Derek Verrian in mid position. Hussein then raised to 3,300. El Bouhssini folded, and Verrian made the call to see the flop.

The dealer fanned out , and Verrian checked again. Hussein made it 5,800 and Verrian made the call.

The turn came the and Verrian checked. Hussein, who looked quite comfortable while getting a massage at the table, paused, and then looked at Verrian’s stack. After a few more seconds, Hussein put in a bet of 8,600. Verrian called.

The river was the and once again, Verrian checked. It took about 15 seconds before Hussein announced that he was all in for roughly 31K in chips. Verrian went into the tank, and then shook his head and let go of his hand. Hussein just smiled away and looked at him as if he really wanted a call. Hussein is chipping up nicely!

The WPT crew onsite is doing an amazing job as Day 1C is moving along in full speed right now with 267 entries (including 7 re-entries) while late registration remains open all day long.

The players just had their first break of the day and it is local businessman and poker guru Eric Afriat who has jumped to the top of the field to take the lead with 96,000 chips.

Here are the leaders in level 3:

Chip leader: Eric Afriat

The WPT team led by Tony Dunst along with Playground floor manager Farid D. welcoming the players to Playground:

The turnout has been very strong in the early levels with 241 players in their seats out of the 252 entries (including 5 re-entries). Players have all day to register and can late register right up until the start of level 13 at 4:30pm tomorrow.

There are some of the best names in the business seated at the tables in the tournament room so the competition should be fierce today. There will be the first break of the day coming up shortly which will give is a chance to put together a leaderboard of the top stacks currently in play.

Here are some photos taken over the last level:

Today marks the last chance to play a starting flight of the WPT Montreal Main Event. With 165 players already seated, Day 1C should be the largest of all of the starting flights.

With a prize pool guarantee of $3,000,000, the Main Event has brought out players from far and wide. It features eight 60-minute levels of on each starting flight, and starts players with 40,000 in chips. Following a multiple re-entry structure, players are permitted one entry and one re-entry per starting flight, as well as on Day 2 prior to the end of the late registration and re-entry period at the beginning of level 13 (4:30pm). Players can enter multiple starting flights; if a player advances multiple stacks to Day 2 then they will resume play with their largest qualifying stack.

There are also two last chance Main Event satellites taking place today at 1:00pm and at 6:00pm, so if you have been on the fence about jumping in, these $330 + $30 satellites might just be the answer.

The floor staff have just announced “dealers…shuffle up and deal!”  The cards are in the air, and it is game on!