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 […]

Event #5 of the 2020 World Cup of Cards, the $100 + $20 + $100 6-Max 50/50 Bounty Re-entry, had a total of 209 entries. The prize pool guarantee of $20,000 was more than doubled, with $40,546 ($19,646 in payouts plus $20,900 in bounties) awarded.  The evening was action-packed and full of excitement as players hunted for those $100 bounty chips. The chip lead changed hands many times throughout the evening. Once the money bubble burst, the eliminations happened in rapid succession until the 7-handed final table was formed. On the final table the blinds were starting to get large, and six of the seven players had almost identical stacks. Because of this dynamic, the players agreed to an ICM chop that left an additional $835 for the eventual tournament champion. The following table lists the ICM payouts. As soon as play resumed, there was a series of bustouts. Eventually, […]

Event #4 of the World Cup of Cards, the $100 + $10 6-Max Re-entry, had a great turnout that made a total of 101 entries to this single-day event. The prize pool came just shy of doubling the $5,000 guarantee, and 13 players reached the money. The action maintained a high pace throughout the afternoon and brought the field down to the final table within seven hours of play. Once at the final table, the massive amount of chips in play gave the players deep stacks, and the pace slowed accordingly. Slowly but surely the eliminations added up until only three players remained. Once it was down to Andrew Lalonde, Vinh Busque and Steven Dubois-Daigle, they opted for an ICM chop of the remaining prize pool. Lalonde had the largest stack in play and received the lion’s share of the prize pool. But the battle was not over. Everyone had […]

Event #3 of the World Cup of Cards, the $150 + $15 PL Omaha 3 Lives Re-entry, featured a $7,000 prize pool guarantee and unlimited re-entries during the late registration period.  When that moment arrived, there were a total of 69 entries, including 15 re-entries, which allowed the prize pool to surpass the guarantee and award a total of $9,679 in prize money to the top nine players. At the final table, Adam Bogach was the first to hit the rail, finishing in ninth place for $300. Then Joshua Royal Peteigney finished in eighth place for $390. Chris Arvanitis he ended up leaving in seventh place for $520, followed by James Reinhart, who finishde in sixth place and collected $680 for his efforts. In fifth place was Brian Morgan, scoring $890 to add to his weekend winnings. Once play went four-handed, the players agreed to an ICM chop of the […]

Players had a great dose of fun today playing this great “shootout” variant where a player had to win their initial table in order to make it into the second round where the two final tables would play down to a winner. There were 96 entries in total. Locals Rong Xu and Nicolas Majdalani made it to the heads-up match, and when Majdalani picked up a pocket pair he decided to open shove, a bet that was met by a call. Majdalani: Xu: The board ran , and with Majdalani’s pocket sixes holding, Event #2 of the WCC crowned a champion: Nicolas Majdalani. Event #2 Champion: Nicolas Majdalani, $2,841   Second place, Rong Xu, $2,550 Last hand of play: