LIVE EVENTS

After a lengthy period without much movement in the field, several players were eliminated in short succession to bring about a seating redraw now that 16 players are left. The stacks are slightly deeper thanks to the recent eliminations, bringing the chip average up to roughly 28 big blinds.

Ryan Yu held the largest stack at the last break and has continued to accumulate chips, but following a flurry of action Santiago Plante has returned to the front of the pack by running his stack well beyond the 2-million mark.

The remaining players in the WPTDeepStacks occupy just three tables, as play begins in level 25. The pay jumps have become much more enticing, as the players eliminated in positions 16 to 20 will receive $7,000 but those who finish in positions 14 and 15 will take $8,500.

The blinds are beginning to catch up to the field, reducing an average stack to about 26 big blinds. Many hands are being decided without ever seeing a flop, and only the biggest stacks in play have the liberty of taking creative lines.

Ryan Yu continues to use his big stack to pressure his opponents at every possibility, with good results, as he still controls the largest stack in play.

Here is an look at some of the action in level 24:

Play has just resumed in level 24, and only 24 players remain in contention, with five millionaires among them. Ryan Yu leads the way with a 60-big-blind stack, closely followed by one of his table mates, Alex Fortin Demers, who trails by a single big blind.

As the timer beeped to indicate the start of level 23, only 30 players remain in contention. The frantic pace of play seen shortly after the money bubble has given way to a much more conservative tournament grind, now that the prospect of making it to the final table has becomes a realistic possibility.

Samuel Gagnon still has one of the largest stacks in play, but Santiago Plante and Francois Billard have matched, if not exceeded his pace, to build comparable stacks.

The pay jumps have grown significantly, as the current payout stands at $5,000 and will increase to $5,900 when the field is down to 24 players.

Here is a look at the action from the last two levels:

Play has just resumed following the latest break in the action, with only 41 players remaining on Day 2.

From the money bubble to the latest break, the action moved along at a hectic pace, sending over 40 players to the rail. In the process, several players have run up huge stacks to make their first appearance on the Day 2 leaderboard. Former chip leader Santiago Plante now controls the second largest stack in play, behind Samuel Gagnon who now leads the way with a stack of nearly 98 big blinds.

From left to right: Ryan Yu, George Grady, Santiago Plante

Following hand-for-hand play on the money bubble, the action picked up pace and reached a new gear, which led to the elimination of over 30 players in the last 40 minutes.

The field now stands at 51 players, each now guaranteed at least $3,250. But the pay jumps will remain small until the field reaches the top 20, so there is every incentive to pull out all the stops and try to capture as many chips as possible for the time being.

The chip leader at the last break, Santiago Plante, has maintained his imposing stack, but another player at his table, Ryan Yu, appears to have overtaken him for the chip lead. Yu brought forward a huge stack from his starting flight and has maintained the strong play that let him get all those chips. Their stacks are close, but both players easily have double the current chip average of 350K, with a slight edge to Yu at this point.

The money bubble has just burst on the WPTDeepStacks. The field was brought into the money by Matwej Troitschanski, who opened the action to 15,000 from early position. The player in the big blind, Nabil Karras, was all in with his big blind. No one else at the table wanted to tangle in this hand, but the other players were happy to watch the drama unfold. Hands were tabled, and Karras got the bad news; his was dominated by .

There was no jack to save Karras, and the remaining field is now in the money. There were several other short stacks in play, who were waiting patiently for the bubble to burst, so the floodgates will open for the next little while as players try to run up their stacks.

Play has just resumed following the first break of the day, and the money bubble is just around the corner.

Of the 88 remaining players, many among them have some imposing stacks. But non more so than Santiago Plante, who has nearly triple the current chip average in his possession, enough for nearly 100 big blinds.

The fast pace of play in the early levels has reduced the field to only 88 players. The action will likely begin to slow down before long, as the current chip average provides just over 40 big blinds and provides significant depth of play at this stage.

The top 85 players will lock up a payout of at least $3,000 so there is a chance that hand-for-hand play may drag out on the bubble, as the players realize that this is their last chance to secure a big payout from the WPT Montreal. But the relatively small pay jumps will likely make for some very aggressive action once the field reaches the money.

Here is a look at the action from level 17:

The remaining players in the WPTDeepStacks picked up right where they left off in their respective starting flights, playing big pots early and often on Day 2. The result has been 27 eliminations within the first hour of play to bring the field that much closer to the money. There were a number of short stacks in the field who were looking to double up or move on at the first opportunity, but even players with lots of chips at their disposal have embraced this aggressive approach.

Here is a look at the action from the first two levels of play:

The official number are in, confirming what everyone in the field already knew. The WPTDeepStacks guaranteed a prize pool of $500,000 but will award far more than that!

The huge turnout of 596 entries has built a prize pool of $863,400, which will be awarded to the top 85 players according to the following table. In addition to a whopping payout, the winner of this event will also receive a free entry to the WPT Tournament of Champions.

Play is set to begin on Day 2. The qualifiers have found their seats, unbagged their chips and are anxiously awaiting the opening announcement.

The WPTDeepStacks had three starting flights, and each of them proved to be very popular, which allowed 128 players to reach Day 2. The top 85 players will reach the money this afternoon, so expect the afternoon’s action to be full of tension as that moment approaches.

Good luck to all!