Event #17 of the 2020 World Cup of Cards was the $100 + $60 + $500 Big Bounty Re-entry tournament. This tournament was not for the faint at heart as it featured non-stop all in action right from the get go. There was a $30,000 guaranteed prize pool and when the late registration and re-entry period came to a close, there were a total of 137 entries which brought the prize pool to $79,734! This was made up of $11,234 in payouts to the top seven places, and another $68,500 in $500 bounties. By the first break, local Tu Kham Tran had climbed to the top of the leaderboard and already had five bounty chips. As the night moved on, the lead changed and it was Dilo Hussein who now held the top spot, with more than four times the average stack. As a matter of interest, five of players […]

Event #15 of the World Cup of Cards, the $75 + $10 + $25 NL Short Deck Hold’em Bounty Re-entry, provided an exciting afternoon of action for a boisterous field of players. This event took in 66 entries, which was more than enough to surpass the prize pool guarantee of $5,000. Those in attendance clearly enjoyed the format, making this single-day tournament a fun-filled affair. Chips were flying throughout most of the afternoon, as players tried to accumulate as many bounty chips as possible. But the dynamics changed entirely at the final table. When it came down to the nine finalists, the big pay jumps became much more enticing than the bounty chips and everyone tightened their ranges accordingly. In the end, it came down to Robert Mitchell and Kristi Newman after 23 levels of play. The two were separated by only one big blind, but their heads-up battle only […]

The $100 + $15 +$50 8-Max Bounty Re-entry was a great success. The evening began with a rush of entries and once late registration was closed, there were a total of 339 entries to increase the $20,000 guarantee to $32,374 and include the top 43 in the money. The field was reduced fairly quickly as players took an aggressive approach in hopes of collecting as many $50 bounty chips as possible. Janet Slaughter took the early chip lead and while she fell behind after the second break, she later rejoined the leaderboard and eventually made it to the final table. Will Johnston and Tony Capone also frequented the leader board throughout the night. The first four eliminations at the final table happened almost immediately after forming. Eddie Daldalian was the next to go in fifth place for a cool $2,090. Pengyu Yu was eliminated in fourth place to be awarded […]

Event #12 of the 2020 World Cup of Cards, the $150 + $25 Strangers in the Night, was a great success, attracting a total of 525 entries from four starting flights. The tournament buy-in established prize pool, while the additional $25 from each entry was given to the Strangers in the Night charity foundation. That means that $13,125 was raised for charity!  The players who made the final table were each guaranteed a payout of at least four figures, but all eyes were set on the champion’s trophy and the $14,362 prize that came along with it.  There were some wild hands that played out early on at the final table, including a three-way all in that saw Trevor Adams with , Danny Knafo with , and Andre Piunno with . Adams hit a king on the flop; Knafo hit a queen on the turn, and Piunno hit an ace […]

Event #13 of the World Cup of Cards, the $150 + $15 Seniors’ Event, was more popular than anyone anticipated, bringing out a field that made a total of 170 entries to this single-day event. The huge turnout built a prize pool that more than doubled the $10,000 guarantee, putting up $24,735 in prize money to be shared between the top 22 players. The action kept up a steady pace throughout the afternoon, with only a relatively short lull for the money bubble. Once the top 22 players made the money, the bustouts piled up quickly and brought about the final table within one level of play. At the final table, the stacks were relatively short, but the players showed their grit and determination by patiently waiting for the right spots. Eventually, when the field counted five players, they agreed to an ICM chop of the remaining prize pool. From […]

The $200 + $20 Grand Prix Canada was the marquee event of the 2020 World Cup of Cards, featuring a $500,000 guaranteed prize pool. This epic event was presented in conjunction with partypoker LIVE and five online starting flights were presented on partypoker. Along with the 10 live Day 1s at Playground, this edition of the Grand Prix Canada collected 2,990 entries, which was more than enough to surpass the massive prize pool guarantee.  In all, 410 players advanced stacks to Day 2 and reached the money. Day 2 was a frantic affair that took the qualifying players down to the final 16 in about 11 hours of play.  Day 3 also got off to a fast start, with tournament lives at risk from the very first hand of play. The final table arrived quickly and put some high-level poker on display, as the finalists demonstrated great skill and determination. […]

Event #11 of the 2020 World Cup of Cards, $100 + $10 PL Omaha Re-entry, attracted a total of 64 entries (including 17 re-entries) to make up a total prize pool of $6,208. The pace of play began extremely fast and many players took their chances knowing unlimited re-entries were available. This resulted in a lot of multi-way all in pots to create some huge stacks in the early levels. Once the field reached the final table, the players adapted a slow but steady attitude with their eyes on the top prize. Anthony Amato, one of the consistent chip leaders of the night, was eliminated in third place to take home $955. This left Emmilie Banville and Young Min Kim to battle it out. Kim flew under the radar for the majority of the tournament but really came alive at the final table, knocking out a number of players to […]

Event #10 of the World Cup of Cards, the $100 + $10 Crazy Pineapple 8-Max Re-entry, featured a $6,000 prize pool guarantee and unlimited re-entries during the late registration period. There were a total of 62 entries, including 12 re-entries, which pushed the prize pool to just meet the guarantee and award a total of $6,014 to the top eight players. The tournament moved at a rapid pace with an array of different chip leaders as the night progressed. Once the late registration period closed, there were a series of eliminations that narrowed the field to the final table in an instant. Jordano Mascaro finished in third place for $925, leaving Normand Plessis Belair and Didier Delvil heads-up for the top spot. The final hand saw Plessis Belair shove all in pre-flop which Delvil called. Board Plessis Belair Delvil While both players could make a pair of sevens, it was Delvil’s […]

Event #8 of the 2020 World Cup of Cards, the $200 + $20 Roll the Dice 8-Max Re-entry tournament attracted a total of 57 entries, allowing the $8,000 guaranteed prize pool to grow to $11,058. This is always one of the most fun events as the player on the button gets to “roll the dice” to determine which variant of the game will be played. Each number on the die corresponds to one of six different choices. The six available games are: NLHE, PLO, 5-Card PLO, NL Pineapple, NL Crazy Pineapple and “player’s choice” (the player gets to chose which one of the five variants that they want to play). Fans of Omaha love this event as it allows for both four and five card action. Nick “NTG” Nickoletopoulos took the early lead and stayed on the leaderboard for most of the night. By the time the second break arrived, […]

Event #7 of the 2020 World Cup of Cards, the $100 + $10 Single Rebuy, had a total of 90 entries (including 27 re-entries). The prize pool guaranteed $10,000 but was able to reach a total of $11,349 to be distributed among the top 12 finishers.  This exciting event allowed players only one re-entry before the late registration period closed which pushed the pace and saw the field shrink rapidly. The chip leaders varied throughout the night, with only a few able to hang on through the quick eliminations following the third break. Right before the bubble burst, the top 13 competitors agreed to a bubble deal which would take $10 from each payout to give the 13th finisher $130. An ICM deal was also reached once the field was down to five, which would award the winner an additional $504. Micheal Azaam Hakim finished in third place to go home with […]

Event #6 of the World Cup of Cards, the $100 + $10 Deepstack Turbo Re-entry, attracted a field of 90 entries that built a prize pool that far exceeded the $5,000 guarantee. In all, there was $8,730 in prize money for the top 12 players. This event kept up a torrid pace throughout most of the afternoon, sending players to the rail one after the other. But once the field reached the final table, the dynamics changed entirely. Longtime chip leader Steven Duguay ran out of steam, and the quickly mounting blinds led to chip lead changing hands several times. In the end, it was Daniel Andelman who capitalized at the final table. Andelman had flown under the radar for most of the afternoon but made the most of his opportunities at the final table. In the end, everything was up for grabs in the three-way battle between Andelman, Dave […]