WPT Global's Jonathan "Jonty" Willis Wins the WPT500 Montreal
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Jonathan Willis, better known to many in the United Kingdom as Jonty, is on cloud nine right now having become a World Poker Tour (WPT) champion. Willis was the last player standing in the WPT500 event at the WPT Montreal festival, taking home CAD$105,860 ($77,384), which includes a $10,400 entry to the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas.
Willis is well known in the United Kingdom thanks to his work in the poker industry and his talent as a player. He is the Director of Product for WPT Global, which now has a WPT500 champion on its books.
Some 1,395 players bought into the WPT500 for CAD$590, creating a CAD$692,500 ($506,418) prize pool at Playground. By the time the six-handed final table was set, everyone was guaranteed CAD$20,300 ($14,839) for their efforts. Willis was second in chips, with fellow poker industry insider Harley Stoffmaker leading the way.
WPT500 Montreal Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Prize (CAD) | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonty Willis | $105,860 | $77,384 |
| 2 | Andryian Rasulufuniryna | $63,000 | $46,053 |
| 3 | Imtiyaz Khan Walizada | $47,000 | $34,357 |
| 4 | Harley Stoffmaker | $35,500 | $25,951 |
| 5 | Zoei-Jou Yuan | $26,500 | $19,372 |
| 6 | James Pillon | $20,300 | $14,839 |
James Pillon's time at the final table was limited because he lost all but one big blind on the third hand of play. Pillon's ace-queen of spades lost to the ace-nine of Andryian Rasulufuniryna after a nine landed on the flop. Pillon busted two hands later when his suited jack-five lost to Rasulufuniryna's ace-queen.
Fifth place and CAD$26,500 ($19,372) went to Zoei-Jou Yuan. Rasulufuniryna min-raised to 500,000 from under the gun with pocket kings, Yuan three-bet all-in for 3,000,000 from the small blind with ace-queen, and Rasulufuniryna called. Yuan flopped a queen and an ace-high flush draw but the turn and river did not help her, and she headed to the cashier's cage.
Fourteen hands later, Stoffmaker fell by the wayside. After nursing a short stack for a while, Stoffmaker three-bet all-in for 1,925,000 with king-ten after Willis had opened to 550,000. Willis called with ace-eight of spade, and claimed the pot with an ace on the turn. Stoffmaker collected CAD$35,500 ($25,951) for his fourth-place finish.
Three-handed play spanned 28 hands, ending with the elimination of Imtiyaz Khan Walizada. Blinds had increased to 150,000/300,000/300,000a, and Rasulufuniryna raised to 800,000 on the button before calling the 8,200,000 shove from Walizada from the small blind. Walizada turned over ace-seven of diamonds, which needed help to beat Rasulufuniryna's ace-king, but that help never arrived.
Rasulufuniryna held a substantial chip lead over Willis going into heads-up, but that lead only lasted a few hands before Willis reversed the deficit. Willis continued applying pressure and was leading four-to-one at the time of the final hand.
With blinds now at 200,000/400,000/400,000a, Willis made it 1,000,000 to go with pocket nines, Rasulufuniryna three-bet jammed for 10,200,000 with king-eight, and Willis called. Willis flopped a set, turned a boat, and became the WPT500 Montreal champion.
Action Comes Thick and Fast at Playground
Willis did not spend too much time celebrating because he jumped into the $1,100 WPT Prime Montreal. He bagged up 309,000 chips, and goes into Day 2 as one of the 160 survivors. Willis is guaranteed at least CAD$2,000 ($1,462) for his efforts but will bank CAD$191,300 ($139,840) if he goes back-to-back and becomes the tournament's champion.
WPT Prime Montreal Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samuel Guillen | 1,129,000 |
| 2 | Alon Messica | 1,061,000 |
| 3 | Patrick Braga | 1,033,000 |
| 4 | Rayan Chamas | 973,000 |
| 5 | Sebastien Aube | 870,000 |
| 6 | Eric Welsh | 860,000 |
| 7 | Anoop Jugurnath | 740,000 |
| 8 | Sandy Lam | 690,000 |
| 9 | Adrian Brown | 688,000 |
| 10 | Dennis Nguyen | 677,000 |
The CAD$3,500 buy-in WPT Montreal Main Event shuffles up and deals on May 16 and runs through to May 22. Playground and the WPT have placed a CAD$2,000,000 guarantee on its prize pool. Three flights, each starting at 11:00 a.m. ET on May 16-18. Day 2 and Day 3 run on May 19 and May 20, respectively, before a televised final table takes place on May 22.
If you can't make it to Montreal but still want some hot poker action, why not head online to WPT Global, where the $7 million guaranteed Spring Festival is in full swing. The series continues until May 26, and comes with 100% rakeback via three special freerolls! The $1,060 buy-in, $750,000 guaranteed WPT Prime has started and runs through to May 19, with the $3,500 buy-in, $1,000,000 guaranteed WPT Championship taking place from May 19-26.
