2013 PartyPoker WPT Canadian Spring Championship Day 1a: Boucher Leads as 79 Advance
The 2013 PartyPoker World Poker Tour Canadian Spring Championship kicked off on Friday with Day 1a of the CAD$3,300 Main Event from the Playground Poker Club in Quebec. It marked the second time in Season XI the WPT visited Canada as Jonathan Roy took down the WPT Montreal for $755,601 back in November. The first of three starting flights attracted 194 runners, but after ten one-hour levels of play, only 79 remained, with Philippe Boucher and his stack of 278,100 in the lead.
Day 1a Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philippe Boucher | 278,100 |
| 2 | Jeff Gross | 232,800 |
| 3 | Danny Suied | 190,000 |
| 4 | Upeshka Manishan De Silva | 184,500 |
| 5 | Christian Harder | 176,600 |
| 6 | Farid Jattin | 161,000 |
| 7 | Poorya Nazari | 156,000 |
| 8 | Martin Raus | 144,600 |
| 9 | Bryan Piccioli | 123,700 |
| 10 | Kara Scott | 121,500 |
On Day 1a, Roy was hoping to duplicate his WPT success. Unfortunately, according to the WPT Live Reporting Team, Roy fell in Level 7 (250/500/75) after he opened for 1,000 from middle position only to have the button three-bet to 2,225. Action folded back to Roy, who shoved for 11,000 holding the 8♥8♣ and was called by the A♥Q♠ of the player on the button.
It was a race, but according to the PokerNews Odds Calculator, Roy was a 55.09% favorite to win the hand. That improved to 84.65% when the 10♣9♦8♠ flop delivered him a set, and Roy just needed to avoid running cards to stay alive. The 7♣ turn was dangerous because it gave his opponent a gut-shot straight draw to a jack, but there was only a 9.09% chance of that happening. Wouldn’t you know it, the J♥ peeled off on the river and sent Roy to the rail. Luckily, he can re-enter.
Joining Roy on the rail throughout the day were Mike Sexton, Mike Leah, Erik Cajelais, Jonathan Roy, Ben Hamnett, Joe Serock, Phil Laak, Ronnie Bardah, Scott Montgomery, Matt Kay and Chris McClung, to name a few.
McClung exited in the last level of the night with the blinds at 500/1,000/100 when a player in middle position opened for 2,200 and McClung three-bet to 5,200 from the cutoff. Jeff Gross then four-bet to 12,700 from the button, the original raiser folded, and McClung five-bet to 27,000. Gross called and then watched McClung move all in for 56,000 on the J♠7♦3♣ flop. Gross tanked for a couple of minutes and then called with the 9♥9♣, which was actually behind the K♣K♠ of McClung. The 5♣ turn wasn’t particularly interesting, but the 9♦ was as Gross spiked the river to send McClung to the rail.
It was also in Level 10 that current WPT Player of the Year points leader and WPT Grand Prix de Paris champ Matt Salsberg received a welcome double when he moved all in preflop for 27,100 with the A♣Q♠ and a late-position player called him holding the Q♦10♥. Salsberg was well out in front and stayed there as the board ran out K♦Q♥8♣9♣5♥. Salsberg went on to finish the day with 73,400 and looks to sure up his position as Season XI Player of the Year.
Others who advanced to Day 2 include Shannon Shorr (119,500), Huck Seed (65,900), Jonathan Little (65,000), Tommy Vedes (58,300), Phil D’Auteuil (43,000), Aaron Massey (42,600), Will “The Thrill” Failla (41,800) and Grayson Ramage (30,8000).
Day 1b will began at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday, and rest assured PokerNews will be bringing you daily recaps as the event progresses, so be sure to check back for those in the coming days. In the meantime, check out the WPT Canadian Spring Championship Welcome Video:
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