Event #9: $1,700 Main Event
Day 1a Completed
2024 WSOP-C Playground
Event #9: $1,700 Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1a
2024 WSOP-C Playground
Buy-in
1,700 CAD
Prize Pool
1,500,000 CAD
Entries
1,503
Level
35
Blinds
250,000 / 500,000
Ante
500,000
Entries
207
Players Left
21
Level 18
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Day 1a of the World Series of Poker Circuit Playground Main Event has come to an end. The day attracted 207 entries and ended when the 10% stopping point was reached after nearly 14 hours of play.
The chip leader to end the night was Kevin MacDonald who hit a late night surge to finish with an astounding 1,579,000 which was well beyond the reach of the next closest competitor. The New Brunswick native collected a lot of his stack in a big three-way all in late in the night where his aces held against kings after a flop. MacDonald would not look back at all from that point and only moved up higher before play ended.
Second in chips was Samuel Roussy-Majeau, who finished with 987,000 after he held a steady stack for much of the final few levels of play. Right behind him in third was Haroun Ben Ounis with 890,000 who was spotted early in the day winning pots and never looked back from there as he held a large stack throughout the entire day.
After third, there was a substantial drop off to the fourth largest stack where Hugo Theotol can be found with 511,000. Greg McCann rounds out the top five counts with 500,000 on the nose.
Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Hometown | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kevin MacDonald | Miramichi, NB | 1,579,000 |
| 2 | Samuel Roussy-Majeau | Montreal, QC | 987,000 |
| 3 | Haroun Ben Ounis | Montreal, QC | 890,000 |
| 4 | Hugo Theotol | Terrebonne, QC | 511,000 |
| 5 | Greg McCann | Kippens, NF | 500,000 |
| 6 | Jiachen Gong | Verdun, QC | 458,000 |
| 7 | Francis Chevalier | Verdun, QC | 435,000 |
| 8 | Arnaud Bonhomme-Lemieux | Quebec, QC | 411,000 |
| 9 | Zackery Lowrie | Brossard, QC | 300,000 |
| 10 | Douglas James | Abbotsford, BC | 273,000 |
Play ended with 15:37 remaining in Level 18 as the pace of play was fairly steady throughout the day. The only part where things slowed was on the bubble with 30 minutes of hand for hand play needed to burst the bubble which was eventually done thanks to quad aces.
The 21 surviving players will move on to Day 2 on Sunday where they will join everyone who survives Day 1b and Day 1c.
Tune back in to PokerNews on Friday at 11 a.m. when Day 1b will take to the felt.
Level 18
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,579,000
489,000
|
489,000 |
|
||
|
987,000
57,000
|
57,000 |
|
890,000
723,000
|
723,000 |
|
511,000
-224,000
|
-224,000 |
|
500,000
310,000
|
310,000 |
|
458,000
145,000
|
145,000 |
|
435,000
260,000
|
260,000 |
|
411,000
411,000
|
411,000 |
|
300,000
190,000
|
190,000 |
|
273,000
116,500
|
116,500 |
|
249,000
124,500
|
124,500 |
|
246,000
180,000
|
180,000 |
|
214,000
-16,000
|
-16,000 |
|
190,000
110,000
|
110,000 |
|
||
|
190,000
130,000
|
130,000 |
|
184,000
-81,000
|
-81,000 |
|
183,000
45,000
|
45,000 |
|
183,000
35,500
|
35,500 |
|
159,000
-16,000
|
-16,000 |
|
|
||
|
149,000
69,000
|
69,000 |
|
131,000
36,000
|
36,000 |
Level 18
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
The 10% stopping threshold has just been reached with 21 players left. Chip counts and recap to follow shortly
Level 18
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Action was captured on the turn with the board reading Q♠4♠2♦K♥. Jiachen Gong bet 76,000. Hugo Theotol raised that up to 250,000.
Gong folded after a bit as Theotol added more chips to his growing stack late in Day 1a.
Elsewhere, Samuel Roussy-Majeau has emerged as one of the largest stacks with near a million.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
930,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
|
735,000
600,000
|
600,000 |
|
|
313,000
14,000
|
14,000 |
Level: 18
Blinds: 5,000/10,000
Ante: 10,000
Level 17
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Gary So was at risk preflop for his remaining 68,000 against Greg McCann.
Gary So: 5x5x 
Greg McCann: AxQx
The flop came 2xQxKx to put So on the verge of going out. But another 5x binked off on the turn to dramatically change the quation. The river was the 9x and So counted his double.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
190,000
109,500
|
109,500 |
|
|
138,000
28,000
|
28,000 |
Level 17
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
The flop read 8♣Q♠10♥. Patrick Dao Nguyen moved all in from the big blind for 45,000. Ryan Lelinowski called in the cutoff. Kevin MacDonald jammed all in for over 300,000 which had the healthy stack of Lelinkowski covered.
Lelinowski leaned back and sighed as he would have to commit his entire stack to call. After about a minute he did make the call to create a big three-way all in.
Patrick Dao Nguyen: J♦8♠
Ryan Lelinowski: K♦K♠
Kevin MacDonald: A♦A♣
MacDonald was in great shape to take down a massive pot as the turn brought the 7♣. The river was the 6♣ to confirm the mounds of chips for MacDonald while the two busted players went to the rail.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,090,000
1,048,000
|
1,048,000 |
|
|
||
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
Level 17
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Pietro Leone was all in and at risk preflop. The dealer began to deal the board before realizing he was supposed to hold up during hand for hand play. So the damage was already displayed, with only the river being held up to wait for the rest of the hands at the other tables to finish up.
Pietro Leone: 7♥7♣
Mickael Thomas: A♦A♥
The board showed A♣8♦4♠6♦. The players waited as Leone was already packing up with only a five able to save him. But the river was the A♠ and the bubble was finally breached.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
290,000
210,000
|
210,000 |
|
|
Busted |
Level 17
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Hand for hand play has extended to over 30 minutes as nobody is willing to get the chips in so far on the bubble.