Event #2

71 players advance from Day 1C

May 18, 2019 | 10:48pm | Playground

Day 1C of the Montreal Open brought out a huge field of players that made 272 entries to this multi-day event. With three of seven starting flights in the books, there have already been 567 entries and many, many more are sure to follow before Day 2 gets underway on Monday.

Today’s flight got off to a fast start, with over a hundred players ready and waiting for the opening announcement before the action started at noon. From there, a steady flow of runners made their way into the tournament hall to take part in the action throughout the afternoon. The large crowd and electric atmosphere put lots of chips in play early and often. These dynamics helped some players build huge stacks in the early levels and led to 43 re-entries. In predictable fashion, the field stabilized after the end of the re-entry period as the sprint out of the gate gave way to a steadier pace until the end of level 16. When play concluded, 71 players were able to advance stacks to Day 2.

The chip lead changed hands many times during this flight, as it took a stack of at least triple the chip average to hold the pole position. By the end of the sixteenth level of play, two players-Gagandeep Singh and Kalpesh Raichura- had over 10 million in chips bagged.

The Montreal Open continues tomorrow with Day 1E at noon and Day 1F at 5:00pm. There will also be a turbo starting flight on Monday at 10:00am that will wrap up in time for Day 2 at 3:30pm.

For the full list of Day 1 results, click here.

Some more faces of the Day 1D players

Level: 11
Small Blind: 15K
Big Blind: 30K
BB Ante: 30K
Chip Average: 1.68M
Remaining: 111
Entries: 187

May 18, 2019 | 10:44pm | Playground

The tournament is in level 11 and there are still 111 players fighting away hoping to bag and tag the top stack for Day 2. There is a lot of action going on and some stacks are really starting go skyward, we will try to catch a few hands to bring you in on the action.

Here are a few of the players in the field:

Larivee Magni running away from the pack at the 2nd break

Level: 9
Small Blind: 10K
Big Blind: 20K
BB Ante: 20K
Chip Average: 1.5M
Remaining: 124
Entries: 187

May 18, 2019 | 10:17pm | Playground

Late registration has now come to a close, and the total number of entries for tonight Day 1D is 187 (including 24 re-entries), bringing the total entries from the first four Day 1 flights to 754 players. With another three Day 1’s still to go (Day 1E Sunday at 12:00pm, Day 1F Sunday at 5:00pm, and Day 1G (Turbo) Monday at 10:00am), it looks like the $1,000,000 cash guarantee (plus 15 MILLIONS North America seats) will be surpassed.

The players just had their second break of the evening and one player, Tomas Larivee Magni, a very skilled local player who has had much success in both tournament and cash games, has literally run away from the rest of the pack; where as the average chip stack is around 1.5M, Tomas has a whopping 7,300,000, almost double the second place runner, Lam Nguyen, who has 3,990,000 chips. Nguyen is closely followed by Yirui Zhang, who took down Event #1 last night for a cool $29,389.

Here are the current leaders from the second break:

First Name \| Prénom	Last Name \| Nom	Stack \| Tapis
Tomas	Larivee Magni	7,300,000
Lam	Nguyen	3,990,000
Yirui	Zhang	3,950,000
Rishi	Makkar	3,500,000
Kevin	Boesel	3,300,000

One hour left to late register the Montreal Open satellite

Level: 3
Small Blind: 150
Big Blind: 300
BB Ante: 300
Chip Average: 20.8K
Remaining: 157
Entries: 164

May 18, 2019May 19, 2019 | 8:49pm | Playground

The last $150 + $15 satellite for Event #2, The Montreal Open, still has one more hour of late registration as well as re-entries available. Late registration will be closing at 8:45pm. Players start with 15,000 chips and there is an optional dealer add-on available for $5 which gives another 5,000 chips. There are unlimited re-entries available until the end of late registration, and there is a guaranteed 15 seats in the prize pool. Based on the current number of entries, there are already 24 seats in the prize pool and with the extra entries and re-entries, this will keep growing.

Come try to win your $1000 + $100 seat to the Montreal Open in this last satellite!

Boesel takes the lead at the first break

Level: 5
Small Blind: 5K
Big Blind: 10K
BB Ante: 10K
Chip Average: 1.164M
Remaining: 134
Entries: 156

May 18, 2019 | 8:21pm | Playground

There is a nice mix of amateurs and seasoned pros seated at the tables, many of whom have joined us from both the USA as well as from Europe. The mood is fun yet serious, as the prize pool is quite serious as well.

During the first break, there was the opportunity to count the chip stacks and produce the first leaderboard of the evening. With the average stack hovering just around 1.16M, Kevin Boesel from Rochester, NY is the current chip leader, sitting on a cool 2,800,000 chips. He is followed very closely by Rishi Makkar of Toronto, Ont, who has 2,730,000 in chips. Just behind Rishi is Jan Zeuschner, from Vassenburg, Germany, who is on the same table as our leader, and is playing a stack of 2,600,000.

There certainly will be many changes as the night goes on, we will do our best to keep you up to date and update the leaderboard during the next break.

First Name \| Prénom	Last Name \| Nom	Stack \| Tapis
Kevin	Boesel	2,800,000
Rishi	Makkar	2,730,000
Jan	Zeuschner	2,600,000
Endrit	Geci	2,432,000
Robert	Cicchelli	2,432,000
Xiang	Huang	2,308,000
Dgianni	Di-re	2,250,000
Jamie	Baker	1,980,000
Sebastien	Labbe	1,900,000

1st break chip leader: Kevin Boesel

Second and third in chips, Rishi Makkar and Jan Zeuschner

Last hour of play

Level: 15
Small Blind: 30K
Big Blind: 60K
BB Ante: 60K
Chip Average: 3.1M
Remaining: 87
Entries: 272

May 18, 2019 | 7:53pm | Playground

Although the clock is winding down on Day 1C, the action shows no signs of slowing down.

The field is now down to only 87 players, less than a third of the total entries for the day, and most of the remaining players are playing very deep stacks. The deep stacks are creating big pots with nearly every hand so the players will have to tread carefully if they hope to bag chips for Day 2.

Here’s a look at the field from level 14:

Entering the late stages of Day 1C

Level: 13
Small Blind: 20K
Big Blind: 40K
BB Ante: 40K
Chip Average: 2.5M
Remaining: 109
Entries: 272

May 18, 2019 | 7:01pm | Playground

Play has just resumed following the final break of Day 1C. The field has been reduced to less than half of the original entries, leaving only 109 players in contention as they head down the home stretch.

Thanks to the massive amounts of chips in play, many players have been able to build stacks of more than double, in some cases more than triple, the current chip average. An average stack provides more than 60 big blinds at this stage, leaving lots of room to maneuver, even for those slightly below average. But it remains to be seen whether or not the big stacks in the field will keep their feet to the gas pedal or will simply be content to coast to the end of the flight.

The current chip leader:

First Name \| Prénom	Last Name \| Nom	Stack \| Tapis
David	Williams	8,185,000
Samuel	Barre	7,860,000
Yvan	Gravel	7,685,000
Hubert	Paquet Moisan	5,080,000
Carter	Swidler	5,030,000
Ha Van	Nguyen	4,700,000
Philippe	Breault Raymond	4,575,000
Alexandre	Raymond	4,260,000
Rodney	Ramalho	4,240,000

Player photos in level three

Level: 3
Small Blind: 3K
Big Blind: 7K
BB Ante: 7K
Chip Average: 1.06M
Remaining: 114
Entries: 121

May 18, 2019 | 6:15pm | Playground

Day 1D is off to an amazing start, there are already 121 entries (including 3 re-entries) and there is still another three hours+ to go in the late registration/re-entry period! The value of this tournament is outstanding and the structure with the 1 million chip starting stack and 30 minute blind levels allows for players being able to properly pick their spots to get involved in the action.

Here are some of the players who have joined the action:

Your last chance to qualify for the Montreal Open is tonight!

May 18, 2019 | 6:08pm | Playground

Tonight at 8:00pm is your last chance to play your way in to Event #2, the $1,000 + $100 Montreal Open, through a $150 + $15 turbo re-entry satellite. It is the final satellite in a week-long series that was very popular, allowing 109 players to qualify for this massive event at a fraction of the buy-in cost.

These satellites consistently surpassed their guarantees and tonight’s is likely to surpass all expectations. The Montreal Open has already gathered 567 entries, putting it on pace to exceed the seven-figure guarantee. This already popular event is attracting more entries by the minute so tonight’s satellite will certainly bring out a huge field of players who want to get in on the action. The satellite guarantee is set at 15 seats, but the popularity of this event has set the stage for this one to easily exceed that figure.

The satellite format will be the same as the others held this week, allowing unlimited re-entries until the beginning of the seventh 15-minute level of play. It’s your last chance to qualify for the Montreal Open. Don’t miss out!

Event #2 – Montreal Open Day 1D – cards are in the air!

Level: 1
Small Blind: 2K
Big Blind: 5K
BB Ante: 5K
Chip Average: 1.01M
Remaining: 85
Entries: 86

May 18, 2019May 18, 2019 | 5:40pm | Playground

The cards are “in the air” for Day 1D of the Montreal Open, the fourth flight of Event #2, offering an outstanding guaranteed prize pool of $1,000,000 plus the top 15 finishers receive an entry into the MILLIONS North America $5,000,000 main event (value $10,300)!

This tournament offers the players a great structure with a 1 million chip starting stack, players will play 16 levels of 30 minutes on Day 1, 12 levels of 40 minutes on Day 2, and blinds of 50 minutes on Day 3, which plays down to a winner.

There have now been three starting flights that have been amazingly popular, with already 567 total entries (including re-entries). Players are able to to late register right up until the start of level 9, which is at 9:30pm. There are also unlimited re-entries available until the close of late registration. Players may play multiple Day 1’s, and will bring the largest stack forward to Day 2.

There are additional Day 1 flight on:

Day 1E Sunday 12:00pm
Day 1F Sunday 5:00pm
Day 1G Monday 10:00am (Turbo format)

Day 2 is Monday at 3:30pm
Day 3 is Tuesday at 12:00pm

The last $150 + $15 satellite for the Montreal Open is tonight at 8:00pm, with 15 seats guaranteed, and based on the turnout for the previous satellites, this may grow to many more seats than that!

To follow the blog for full event coverage, click here.

Late registration closed; Vijayaratnam leads after eight levels

Level: 9
Small Blind: 10K
Big Blind: 20K
BB Ante: 20K
Chip Average: 1.5M
Remaining: 179
Entries: 272

May 18, 2019 | 4:51pm | Playground

The late registration and re-entry period has just closed on Day 1D. But before it did, there was time to gather 271 entries for this flight, a figure that was helped by 43 re-entries.

The huge turnout has put a massive number of chips in play in this flight, and many players in the field are now playing with some very deep stacks. The current chip average now provides over 70 big blinds, but the players near the top of the leaderboard have several hundred blinds at their disposal, leaving them lots of room to maneuver and take creative lines in any given pot.

The current chip leader:

First Name \| Prénom	Last Name \| Nom	Stack \| Tapis
Senthuran	Vijayaratnam	5,825,000
David	Williams	5,620,000
Mathieu	Boucher	4,110,000
Yvan	Gravel	4,030,000
Cory	Murphy	3,970,000
Eric	Afriat	3,565,000
Samuel	Barre	3,500,000

Nearing the end of late registration

Level: 8
Small Blind: 8K
Big Blind: 16K
BB Ante: 16K
Chip Average: 1.4M
Remaining: 187
Entries: 265

May 18, 2019 | 4:10pm | Playground

There are now 187 players remaining on Day 1C out of 265 total entries. The size of this field was helped along by the 42 re-entries up to this point, a testament to the fast, loose action of the early levels.

As the timer winds down on level 8, the stacks are deep. The current chip average provides roughly 86 big blinds, and many players in the field are playing stacks big enough to provide several hundred blinds. The depth of play at this stage has helped stabilize the field, as the rate of bustouts and re-entries has slowed significantly. Also, with the end of the re-entry period on the horizon and the prospect of bagging chips for Day 2 beginning to enter player’s minds, many players have shifted their approach away from risk taking and towards surviving to the end of the flight.

The next break is only a few minutes away, stay tuned for a leaderboard update.

Here are some photos from level 7: