Two hometown heroes (Roy, Lefrancois) - one of the country's best (Smith) add in an American star (Gross) and you've got yourself the perfect mix for what should be an exciting final table later today at the Playground Poker Club minutes outside of Montreal.
They started off 1,173 strong - monster numbers in the third biggest WPT tournament in history - and now they're down to the final six, all looking for WPT glory.
Pascal Lefrancois helped but Quebec and French Canada on the poker map back in 2010 when he won his first WSOP bracelet - and went topless for the occasion! Later that year, Quebec's footprint on the poker landscape would be cemented when Lefrancois' good friend, Jonathan Duhamel, went on to win the Main Event.
You may be a little unfamiliar with Jonathan Roy - but you should not overlook the Boucherville native. Roy does have lots of experience on the tournament circuit, including a win in a 8-max side event at the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo this year and a 9th place finish at WPT Malta just a few months ago.
This could be a big moment for Gavin Smith. In his native Canada, chasing that second WPT title. The former WSOP bracelet winner is one of Canada's biggest stars in poker and his four WPT final table performances combined with this two WSOP final tables will surely serve him well later today ... the only problem? He starts the day last in chips.
Jeff Gross will be looking to play the role of spoiler on Tuesday. Gross has tons on the line. He brings a big chip stack to the table today and is looking for his first major poker title.
Gross came oh so close to bracelet #1 at the 2011 WSOP when he finished second to Mark Radoja (a Canadian for what it's worth) in the 5K NLH Shootout event.
Both Lefrancois and Smith were former guests of mine on Poker Eh! on QuadJacks Radio - you can listen to their interviews here: Poker EH! on QuadJacks
FINAL TABLE SEAT ASSIGNMENTS / CHIP COUNTS
Seat 1: Jonathan Roy 7.48M
Seat 2: Pascal Lefrancois 6.06M
Seat 3: Jeff Gross 8.65M
Seat 4: Gavin Smith 1.60M
Seat 5: Peter Kaemmerien 2.40M
Seat 6: Sylvain Siebert 8.85M
Blinds are set at 60K - 120K with a 20K ante for the first 23 minutes of play.
The WPT will live stream the event over at www.WPT.com starting at 4:30pm ET (on a 30-minute delay) ... Mike "Timex" McDonald is expected to join live stream host Tony Dunst in the commentary booth.
TOP 18 PAYOUTS (USD) 1st place $779,710 2nd place $470,920 3rd place $317,450 4th place $211,745 5th place $146,360 6th place $113,155 Serge Cantin $86,505 Martin Raus $63,015 Gabriel Fernandes $45,060 Kuong Chhe Kuoch $32,185 Josue Sauvageau $32,185 Tommy Velliama $32,185 Ashton Griffin $25,070 Amanda Musumeci $25,070 Thahn Phong $25,070 Danny Thahn Nguyen $21,005 Paul Apotstols $21,005 Francois Billard $21,005 RELATED POSTS > LEFRANCOIS WINS BRACELET > G-SMITH WINS BRACELET > ROY WINS MONTE CARLO PRELIM | PTPR SIDE EVENT WORLD POKER TOUR PLAYGROUND POKER CLASSIC WPT NLH Main Event November 23-27, 2012 Playground Poker Club | Quebec Buy-in: $3,325 | Prizepool: $3,387,930 Total Entries: 1,173 PTPR POINTS DISTRIBUTION 1st place 136 2nd place 86 3rd place 56 4th place 46 5th place 41 6th place 36 Serge Cantin 36 Martin Raus 21 Gabriel Fernandes 21 Kuong Chhe Kuoch 21 Josue Sauvageau 21 Tommy Velliama 19 Ashton Griffin 19 Amanda Musumeci 19 Thahn Phong 19 Danny Thahn Nguyen 16 Paul Apotstols 16 Francois Billard 16 |
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