LIVE EVENTS

Day 1E of the Grand Prix Canada brought out a large field that contributed a total of 165 entries. The action got off to a fast start and maintained a high pace all the way to the end. Before the late registration and re-entry period came to a close at the beginning of level 11, there were 50 re-entries, which put a massive number of chips in play for the remaining players to go get. The large number of re-entries helped maintain significant depth of play throughout the flight, which took 17 levels of play.

The story for the early part of the flight was Claude Perrault’s incredible start. Perrault built up a massive chip lead before the first break, one that he would maintain for some time. But it turned out to be Jean-Pascal Gauthier’s day. As Perrault fell off the pace, Gauthier rose to the fore and used his big stack to his advantage in the late stages of play to not only maintain but actually extend his chip lead with each passing level. By the time play concluded, Gauthier emerged with 2,082,000 in chips. But Gauthier is not the only player to survive Day 1E with an impressive stack. Mathieu Lavigne went on a hot streak in the late stages of play to build a stack of 1,959,000.

There are still nine starting flights left in the Grand Prix Canada. Check out the full schedule here.

There are now 16 levels of play in the books on Day 1E, and the field is only a few eliminations away from the end of the flight.

Jean-Pascal Gauthier has kept up his winning ways to extend his lead over the field by nearly doubling his stack since the last break. Gauthier now has more than 93 big blinds at his disposal. Mathieu Lavigne came out of nowhere to run up his stack to reach second place on the leaderboard with a stack of just over 77 big blinds.

There are now 28 players remaining, but only the top 24 will advance to Day 2, setting up a tension-filled end to this flight.

The timer has just sounded to indicate the start of the fifteenth level of play on Day 1E, with 37 players left in contention.

The top 24 will reach the money and advance their stacks to Day 2, so it comes as no surprise that the pace of play has slowed significantly. The players are still enjoying relatively deep play, as an average stack provides slightly more than 34 big blinds. But the tension is mounting nonetheless.

Jean-Pascal Gauthier has used his flight-leading stack to his advantage and has chipped up since the last break. Gauthier is, for the time being, the only player in the field with more than one million in chips. Michel Pouliot has quietly built himself an imposing stack of roughly 900,000 in chips. Sinisa Stajic also has a stack in the neighbourhood of 900k, putting him in a dead heat for second place with Pouliot. Former chip leader Claude Perrault still has an above-average stack, but he has been surpassed by many in the field.

For the first time on Day 1E, the chip leader is someone other than Claude Perrault.

Jean-Pascal Gauthier has maintained a healthy stack throughout the flight and found ways to take his stack to new heights in the lead up to the latest break. Gauthier now stands head and shoulders above the field with a stack of nearly 120 big blinds, which is more than triple the current average. Perrault still has plenty of chips at his disposal, sitting in second on the leaderboard with just under 100 big blinds.

As play resumes in level 13, there are 55 players still in contention. The top 24 players will advance to Day 2 so the tension will only mount from here.

The timer has just sounded to indicate the start of the eleventh level of play, meaning that the late registration and re-entry period has ended on Day 1E. But there was time to gather a few more re-entries before the timer sounded for a total of 165 re-entries on the day. The total number of entries hit 50, which means that 24 players will advance from this flight, make the money and move on to Day 2.

The remaining players in the field are eyeing the end of the flight, to be sure, but many are also hoping to bag a stack that can rival the other Day 2 qualifiers. For the time being, Nathan John Henry has the overall chip lead with 3.1 million in chips. To see the combined Day 1 results, click here.

Here is a look a the action from level 10:

Play has just resumed in level 9, following the second break of the day. The chip leader at the first break, Claude Perrault, made significant additions to his stack and extended his lead over the field during the last few levels. Perrault is now sitting comfortably with a stack of slightly more than 190 big blinds, more than triple the current chip average.

The beginning of the ninth level of play brings about the last hour of late registration and re-entries for this flight. Day 1E has collected 44 re-entries up to this point, and a few more may trickle in before level 11 begins.

Despite Perrault’s advantage, many other players are in good position to bag healthy stacks at the end of play today, with a total of six players holding stacks of more than double the current chip average.

Day 1E is proving to be a powerful draw for players, as the number of re-entries has just reached 40 to bring the total entries to 152 . The large turnout has put 15 million in chips in play, with nearly two hours to go in the late registration and re-entry period, creating the potential for a new overall chip leader to emerge from this flight.

Play has settled into a familiar tournament grind, as there have been far fewer multi-way pots than there were prior to the first break. There is a widening gap between the haves and have-nots, forcing some players into “shove-or-fold” territory while others have hundreds of big blinds to play with.

Here is a look at the action from level 7:

Day 1E has just entered its sixth level of play as the number of re-entries grows, seemingly with each passing minute.

Although there have been few new players since the break, nearly everyone who hit the rail early opted to re-enter this flight, leaving 97 players in contention to fight for their part of the 13.5 million in chips in play. The chip leader at the first break, Claude Perrault, has only added to his stack since play resumed, but there remains a long way to go in this flight so he will have to stay sharp throughout the afternoon in order to bag chips at the end of the day.

Here is a look at the field from level 5:

Play has just resumed following the first break of Day 1E, with 98 players still in contention.

There have been 15 re-entries in this flight so far, and players still have more than three hours to (re-)enter, so expect the total number of chips in play to go far beyond the current 11.8 million.

Several players capitalized on the early action to more than double up their stacks, however, they are all trailing Claude Perrault. Perrault had a great start to the day, nearly quadrupling his starting stack; he will have over 245 big blinds at his disposal in level 5.

Day 1E is off to a great start, with more than 100 entries through three levels of play. This flight has already taken in seven re-entries, a figure that will rise much higher before the end of the late registration and re-entry period at 5:30pm.

The players in attendance are looking to build their stacks as quickly as possible, with everyone eager to play big, multi-way pots in the early levels. As new players and re-entries keep coming in by the minute, Day 1E is shaping up to be a great starting flight.

Here is a look at some of the action from the early levels:

The 9-Year Anniversary Series rolls on this afternoon with another starting flight for the marquee event of the series, the $200 + $20 Grand Prix Canada. Offering a guaranteed prize pool of $500,000, the Grand Prix Canada provides outstanding value for a relatively modest buy-in thanks to a player-friendly structure and 19 starting flights.

Players will start with 100,000 in chips for an afternoon of 10-handed play. Day 1E will play 30-minute levels until one in seven entries remain, at which point the players will be in the money and bag their chips for Day 2.

The Grand Prix Canada is a re-entry event with unlimited re-entries permitted until the end of the late registration period on each Day 1 , which will be at 5:30pm. Re-entry is permitted for any player that loses all their chips or chooses to forfeit their stack. A player may play additional Day 1s even if they have survived a previous Day 1 with chips. Players who qualify for Day 2 more than once will resume play on Day 2 with their largest qualifying stack; all other qualifying stacks will be forfeited. Players would, however, retain the associated cash prize for every forfeited stack. The combined Day 1 results can be found here.

The stage is set for the fifth of 14 live starting flights. The players are making their way into the tournament hall, and the cards will be in the air soon. Good luck to all!