A Waiting Hand No More: Yvan Gravel Wins His First Ring in Event #2 $400 Monster Stack
“I’ve been waiting for that ring for a long time,” shared an ecstatic Yvan Gravel with PokerNews. After eleven hours of play, a winner has emerged in Event #2: $400 Monster Stack here at the World Series of Poker Circuit Montreal at Playground. Gravel bested Michael Malouin to take home $40,000 and his first WSOPC circuit ring.
Winner's Reaction
“I feel great… I’m very happy right now.” The joy was noticeable as Gravel showed his excitement after winning his first WSOPC ring.
When asked if there was a turning point for his tournament, Gravel replied “Only in the second half of the final table believe it or not. I started getting cards… and it worked out.”
As for his future plans with the money, Gravel explained that he was “definitely going to Vegas. I go every winter. It’s too hot in the summer.”
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize (CAD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yvan Gravel | Cornwall | $40,000* |
| 2 | Michael Malouin | Montreal | $27,210* |
| 3 | Kevin Lussier | Acton Vale | $18,000* |
| 4 | Carla Sabini | Pointe-Claire | $14,000* |
| 5 | Etienne Leduc | Sainte-Anne de la Perade | $11,000* |
| 6 | Christian Benoit | Laval | $8,500 |
| 7 | Anthony Comand | Laval | $6,500 |
| 8 | Paul Duval | Bath | $5,000 |
| 9 | Sylviane Michee-Blanc | Montreal | $3,800 |
*Denotes a five-way deal
Final Day Action
The second circuit event of the series attracted a total of 707 entrants to generate a prize pool of CAD 233,310 to clear the $200,000 guarantee.
Rohit Kaul enjoyed the chip lead for most of the first half of the day scoring multiple eliminations early on.. Although Micheal Hales overtook the lead when his queens held up against big slick, Kaul took this momentum all the way to a 17th place finish. Hales finished a little further, making it to 11th place.
Carla Sabini was under the radar for most of the day until she gained the chip lead at the two-table redraw with 4,450,000 chips. From that point, she bulldozed her way to the final table. Eliminations were rapid with an exceptionally brutal cooler happening against Kaul’s aces. Shortly after, the unofficial final table was set with Christian Benoit leading the pack (6,640,000).
Sabini found the first elimination, sending Ryan Leeming to the rail. Sylviane Michee-Blanc and the short-stacked Paul Duval fell shortly after. The previous winner of this event in the prior series Anthony Comand was unable to win back-to-back Monster Stacks as he fell in seventh place. Finally, Benoit was sent home as his two pair was outmatched by a turned straight.
The remaining five players agreed to an ICM chop, leaving $11,030 and the WSOPC Ring for the winner. Play seemed to slow, but Etienne Leduc was the next to be sent home. Shortly after, Sabini’s run came to a halt when her two pair was bested by a flopped set.
After doubling up through Kevin Lussier, Gravel sent Lussier home with a podium finish. Gravel seized the chip lead and fought hard to whittle Malouin down to a short stack. Eventually, Malouin was forced to move all in and was sent home in 2nd place.
That concludes the PokerNews coverage for this event, but stay tuned as we continue to bring you all the action for the rest of the World Series of Poker Circuit event here at Playground.