WSOP Circuit Playground Wraps Up as Final Winners Crowned

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Managing Editor
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WSOPC Playground Winners

The WSOP Circuit Playground festival has come to a close, crowning 15 new WSOP Circuit champions and awarding almost $5 million in prize money.

The Main Event was won by James Pillon, taking home C$333,240 but there were a whole host of other winners at the festival, including Progressive Knockout and Mystery Bounty events.

WSOP-C Playground Event #12: $600 No Limit Hold'em 8-Max Results

Event #12: $600 8-Max was one of the bigger events of the WSOP Circuit festival at Playground, attracting 290 entries. It was an all-Canadian final table, with the event more than doubling its prize pool of $60,000.

Eventually it was Francis Denis who defeated Laetitia Jeancolas heads-up to win C$26,570.

PlacePlayerCountryPayout (CAD)
1Francis DenisCanada$26,570
2Laetitia JeancolasCanada$19,725
3Nathan McgillCanada$20,805
4Richard JohansenCanada$9,000
5Pietro Lo GiudiceCanada$7,000
6Thomas LaversCanada$6,000
7Andrew NahasCanada$5,000
8Marco Del DucaCanada$4,000

WSOP-C Playground Event #13: $600 Mega Stack Results

Another big event was Event #13: $600 Mega Stack which attracted 272 entries. The final four players agreed to an ICM chop, with $7,300 and the WSOP Circuit ring set aside to the winner.

In the end, Grigore Miron Banea came out on top, winning $25,830 for his troubles.

PlacePlayerCountryPayout (CAD)
1Grigore Miron BaneaCanada$25,830
2Joel KoganCanada$19,800
3Vincent TringleCanada$13,120
4William PettersenUnited States$14,250
5Laetitia JeancolasCanada$6,500
6Menachem HayesCanada$5,500
7Matthew WadeCanada$4,500
8Greg MccannCanada$3,500
9Duff CharetteCanada$3,000

WSOP-C Playground Event #14: $1,000 Progressive Knockout Results

There was plenty of action in Event #14: $1,000 Progressive Knockout, with 168 players generating a prize pool of $80,640, with $67,200 given out in bounties.

Victor Bovet came out on top, defeating Johnson Phanyaseng heads-up, denying Dustin Melanson another WSOP Circuit ring after he previously won the WSOPC Playground Main Event in April 2024.

PlacePlayerCountryPayout (CAD)
1Victor BovetCanada$15,000
2Johnson PhanyasengCanada$15,000
3Shane Lee BrotherwoodCanada$8,120
4Francis Fortin ChevalierCanada$5,300
5Bryan LinCanada$4,200
6Marc-Andre Kudjick-PaquinCanada$3,500
7Sebastien BonneauCanada$2,900
8Dustin MelansonCanada$2,360
9Zilong ZhaoCanada$2,360

WSOP-C Playground Event #15: $400 Luxon Pay Mystery Bounty Results

Ian Monahoyios

The final event at Playground for the WSOP Circuit festival was Event #15: $400 Luxon Pay Mystery Bounty. This exciting event saw an ICM chop, with Ian Monahoyios adding a WSOP Circuit ring to his resume.

His best WSOP Circuit result came last year, finishing seventh in the WSOPC Event #14: $2,200 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller in Calgary for $22,750.

Meanwhile, Giovanni Massa won the $5,000 Luxon Pay Mystery Bounty to the Mediterranean Poker Party (MPP) in 2025.

PlacePlayerCountryPayout (CAD)
1Ian MonahoyiosCanada$5,280
2Jared McdonaldCanada$4,385
3Charanjeev MalhotraCanada$3,775
4Manuel FernandezCanada$4,880
5William GilliesCanada$1,700
6Frederic BrissonCanada$1,400
7Kevin KlunCanada$1,200
8Yaofei FengCanada$1,000
9Patrick CartierCanada$800
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Managing Editor

Based in the United Kingdom, Will started working for PokerNews as a freelance live reporter in 2015 and joined the full-time staff in 2019. He now works as Managing Editor. He graduated from the University of Kent in 2017 with a B.A. in German. He also holds an NCTJ Diploma in Sports Journalism.

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