Daniel Maor Leads Final Flight of WPT Montreal
The field is set after 300 hopefuls had their last chance to qualify during Sunday’s Day 1c action of the $2,000,000 partypoker.net World Poker Tour (WPT) Montreal. Another 139 players will carry a stack into Day 2. Bagging the largest stack on Day 1c was Daniel Maor.
Across the room, the next event of the 2016 Playground Poker Fall Classic kicked off, the Senior’s event. Local legend Bob T bested a field of 145 to claim the Champion’s trophy and a prize of $4,090.
The third and final flight of the WPT Montreal got underway at 11 a.m. on Sunday morning. When registration closed there were 300 entries in the mix, closing off the total field size at 648. That was enough to give the prize pool a boost, officially closing at CAD $2,199,960. The 274 players returning for Day 2 will have their sights set on the top prize of CAD $425,980. While just one will leave with the largest share, 81 places will earn a cash.
Daniel Maor finished with the top stack after 10 levels on Day 1c. Maor fired 179,700 chips into his bag, unable to catch either of his Day 1a or 1b counterparts. Ivan Fazal Karim (163,100), online legend Shyam Srinivasan (161,000), Matthew McDonough (160,200) and Dakota Vandine (158,500) rounded out the top five stacks from Sunday’s action.
With their final bullet in the barrel, many notables were able to stave off elimination. A few able to survive include Brian Hastings (141,700), Darren Elias (121,800), 2016 World Series of Poker November Niner Griffin Benger (95,900), Montreal Nationals' Pascal Lefrancois (87,200), Ruben Perceval (66,400) and Mike Leah (61,000).
Unfortunately, some were unable to make good with their last chance. Players no longer in the hunt include Ankush Mandavia, Ari Engel, Dylan Wilkerson, Marc-Etienne McLaughlin, Will Failla, Jason Duval and Darlene Lee.
Day 2 will kick off at noon Monday inside Playground Poker Club. Play is scheduled for nine 60-minute levels.
Event #10: $220 NL Hold’em Seniors’ Tournament
The Senior’s events at Playground are always well received and create a fun atmosphere for everyone involved. The Fall Classic installment was no different as 145 hopefuls over the age of 50 took a seat. A voice that can always be heard around the room, Bob T took down another title and a first-place prize of $4,090.
There were some tough players in the hunt Sunday evening. A few not able to make a deep run were Richard Figiel, Gary Lucci, Arthur W, Prosper [Removed:250], Keith Laflam, Medhat Ramzy and David Cadoch.
When the field got down to 16, the remaining players came to an agreement to pay the bubble and Roger Thibault was the first to fall, collecting a prize of $220. The final table was set when Georges Riendeau was eliminated in 11th place.
Gail Seagris took the chip lead into the final table and quickly went to work, taking out Kamal Sadaka. Jacque Blais and Rees Ray Scruggs were the next to depart, falling in ninth and eighth respectively. Bob T busted Andre Bilodeau in seventh and then proceeded to open up negotiations to discuss a deal.
The final six players reached an agreement on a fair cut of the prize pool, leaving extra bonus cash for the top three finishers and play resumed. Locking up the smallest share, Francecso Maltese hit the rail in sixth. Shelley Rapp and Salvador Villaluz soon joined him, Rapp busting in fifth and Villaluz taking fourth.
The final three were now guaranteed some bonus money and it took only one hand to figure it out. With all three players all in preflop and Bob T having his opponents covered, the cards were tabled. Bob T held king-jack while Wayne Campbell had the best hand with ace-ten, dominating Seagris’ ten-four. The board ran out hitting only Bob T, pairing his jack, and all the chips were pushed his way. Campbell had Seagris covered, earning the extra cash for second place.
Here are the final table payouts:
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bob T | $4,090.00 |
| 2 | Wayne Campbell | $3,570.00 |
| 3 | Gail Seagris | $5,210.00 |
| 4 | Salvador Villaluz | $3,590.00 |
| 5 | Shelley Rapp | $3,200.00 |
| 6 | Francesco Maltese | $2,470.00 |
| 7 | Andre Bilodeau | $1,230.00 |
| 8 | Rees Ray Scruggs | $930.00 |
| 9 | Jacques Blais | $700.00 |
| 10 | Kamal Sadaka | $525.00 |
Check out PokerNews daily for a recap of all the action at the Playground Poker Fall Classic. Follow all of the action on the Fall Classic Event Blog.
