LIVE EVENTS

Day 1B of the Playground 200 attracted a total of 112 entries (including 20 re-entries) who played through 14 30-minute levels. The day started off slow and steady and by the time the first break came around, it was Benoit Martineau who had taken the early lead. Throughout the day the lead changed hands many times as players were doing their best to build their stacks. Martineau lost some steam along the way but was still able to bag 101,500 chips.

At the end of level 14 when it was all said and done, with the 2,800,000 chips that were put into play, it was local Karim-Olivier Kamal who bagged the lead with 314,500 chips. Here the top four stacks from Day 1B that will be returning with the other Day 2 qualifiers on Sunday at 1:00pm:

Day 1C has just started and late registration will remain open until 10:15pm.

Day 1D plays out tomorrow, Saturday at 11:00am, and the final starting flight, Day 1E plays at 7:00pm.

Day 2 is on Sunday at 1:00pm, and Day 3 will play down to a winner on Monday evening at 7:00pm.

Play is now down to the wire as the last 30-minute level of the day has just begun. Moves are being made on the remaining four tables as players are putting pressure onto each other, trying to muscle their opponents into a fold. Some have been successful, but sometimes it’s also been costly.

Play is now in level 12 meaning that there is just another 90 minutes left to go in Day 1B. With the average stack now at just under 70K (43 big blinds), Matteo Carelli is in the top spot, playing a stack of 145,100 chips, good for just over 90 big blinds. David Smith is right behind him with 143,600 chips.

Here is the last leaderboard of the day (play will end at the end of level 14):

With the blinds at 500/1,000, after a limp, Dave Bolduc-Hamel raised up to 3,200. It folded to Matt O. on the button who three-bet to 7,000. When it was Julien Lemay’s turn to act out of the big blind, he four-bet to 21,000, prompting those not in the hand to look up and watch the action unfold. Bolduc-Hamel let go of his hand, and Matt O. kept munching on his snack while trying to decide what to do. After a few more bites of his celery, he smiled and mucked his hand.

Lemay was second in chips at the last break and is playing a healthy stack. Matt O. appears to still have about 36,000-38,000 chips, easily enough chips to continue on to the next battle.

The average stack is now 45,900 chips (57 big blinds) and one player has climbed above the 100K mark; Samuel Wong is playing a stack of 101,300 chips, equal to 126 big blinds!

Here are the players with the top stacks out of the 45 remaining players:

All the chips got into the middle between Kevin Javier and Yvan Gravel, both of whom were holding premium hands:

Javier:
Gravel:

With no help to Gravel on the board, Javier’s pocket-queens hold as he sends Gravel to the rail. The ladies definitely made him happy.

The late registration period has now come to a close in Day 1B and the total number of entries made it up to 112 (including 20 re-entries), putting a total of 2,800,000 into today’s starting flight. There will be another break coming up in close to 30 minutes which will allow us the opportunity to produce a new leaderbaord of the top stacks in play today.

Day 1C starts tonight at 7:00pm and late registration will be open until 10:15pm.

Action was opened by Sourasay Souvanh who raised it up from 300 to 700 and had one caller from the small blind, Olivier Filion. When the flop came , Filion checked and Souvanh made it 900; Filion called. On the turn, Filion checked again followed by a bet of 2,500 by Souvanh. Filion gave it some thought and then re-popped it to 11,000. Souvanh called. The river was the , and Filion moved all in for approximately 8,000.  Souvanh gave it about 5-10 seconds of thought and then threw in a calling chip. Filion showed for a missed flush and Souvanh opened for trip-aces.

The players just returned from their first break of the day and the total number of entries is now at 94 (including 8 re-entries), putting 2,350,000 chips into play so far. Late registration is still available for almost another full hour.

The average chip stack is now sitting at just under 30K (96 big blinds) and Benoit Martineau leads the field with his stack of 66,150 chips (220 big blinds).

Here is the first leaderboard of the day:

With the blinds at 100/200, Shawn S. limped in late position and when it was Benoit Martineau’s turn to act in the small blind, he bumped it up to 600. The big blind called and when the action was back on Shawn S., he moved all in. Without any hesitation, Martineau made the call.

Shawn S:
Martineau:

A classic flip with a pair of jacks vs the big slick. The flop came making a pair of aces for Martineau. The turn and river were of no help to Shawn S. who was sent to the rail.

There are now a total of 83 entries with still another 90 minutes left to go in the late registration period. A break will be coming up shortly during which time we will be able to put together the first leaderbaord of day.

Day 1B has already attracted 69 players and with still another two plus hours left to go in the late registration period, it appears that today’s flight will more than double the number of entries from last night’s Day 1A!

Here are some of players currently seated on the tables:

Day 1B of Event #2, the $200 + $20 Playground 200 is just about to start! Last night’s Day 1A attracted 74 runners and it was the winner of last month’s World Cup of Cards Playground 100, Sebastien “Seabass” Drolet-Poitras, who bagged the lead with an impressive 277,000 chips.

Players start with 25,000 chips and play 10-handed (and will move to nine-handed once space permits) through 14 30-minute levels before bagging and tagging for Day 2. Day 2 and 3 will play 10 40-minute levels.

This is a re-entry tournament with unlimited re-entries available until the start of level seven at 2:15pm.

The Playground 200 features a $100,000 guaranteed prize pool, and based on the results of past events, that may end up getting well surpassed!

Additional flights are as follows:

• Day 1C: Friday February 28 at 7:00PM
• Day 1D: Saturday February 29 at 11:00AM
• Day 1E: Saturday February 29 at 7:00PM

Day 2 plays out Sunday at 1:00pm, and Day 3 will play down to a winner on Monday night, starting at 7:00pm.

The cards are in the air; good luck to all competitors!