As a new event on the World Poker Tour’s Season XV schedule, WPT Playground will run February 10-15, 2017, at Playground Poker Club. The C$3,500 Main Event is part of Playground Poker Club’s 16-event 2017 Winter Festival. In addition to the impressive 16-event schedule on tap, Playground Poker Club will be hosting its Champions’ Freeroll event on Wednesday, February 8.
The Champions’ Freeroll features 16 champions from events that took place at the Playground Poker Fall Classic in November. The WPT Montreal Main Event was won by the WPT’s own Mike Sexton, and he’s been invited back to Playground Poker Club in February for the Champions’ Freeroll. In the Champions’ Freeroll, Sexton and the 15 others will compete for a C$3,500 seat into the WPT Playground Main Event.
In addition to Sexton, the event winners from WPT Montreal who have been invited back for this great opportunity are Jean Francois Jodoin, Chris Annis, Daune Fernandez, Francois Graton-Valiquette, Lukas Soucek, Karam Saleh, Jean-Philippe Piquette, Bob T, Placide Junior Sanon, Mohamad, Dan Vigderhous, Christopher Fisher, Pascal Lefrancois, Keith Laflam, and Jason Trottier.
Let’s see how each player won their way to the WPT Playground Champions’ Freeroll.
Mike Sexton, Winner of the WPT Montreal $3,850 Main Event
Mike Sexton, the famed co-commentator of the World Poker Tour, was one of 648 entries in the WPT Montreal C$3,850 Main Event as part of the Playground Poker Fall Classic. After the dust had settled following several days of exciting poker action, Sexton was the lone man left standing as champion. Sexton battled back from a big deficit in heads-up play against Benny Chen to earn the C$405,880 first-place prize. It was the first WPT Main Tour win of Sexton’s illustrious career and earned him the right to compete against the other Playground Poker Fall Classic champions in the WPT Playground Champions’ Freeroll.
Jean Francois Jodoin, Winner of the Playground Poker Fall Classic Wild $150
Jean Francois Jodoin won the first event of the Playground Poker Fall Classic, the Wild $150. In that event, Jodoin topped a booming field of 1,198 entries that generated a prize pool of C$156,878. The top 117 players finished in the money, and it was Jodoin who outlasted them all with a performance that scored him a first-place payday of C$26,083. The result was the first tracked live tournament result for Jodoin, but it came in a big way with a victory over a field of nearly 1,200 entries.
Chris Annis, Winner of the Playground Poker Fall Classic $220 NL Freeze
Chris Annis earned the largest live tournament cash of his career when he won the $220 No-Limit Hold’em Freeze as part of the Playground Poker Fall Classic. Annis won C$6,108 for topping a field of 207 players. A prize pool of C$40,158 was generated.
Daune Fernandez, Winner of the Playground Poker Fall Classic $250 Frenzy
The third event of the Playground Poker Fall Classic schedule was the $250 Frenzy. A massive 1,336-entry field showed up for the event and generated a prize pool of C$298,129. Emerging victorious was Daune Fernandez for C$50,000 in what was the largest score of his live poker career to date.
Francois Graton-Valiquette, Winner of the Playground Poker Fall Classic $110 NL Deepstack Turbo
Francois Graton-Valiquette became the Playground Poker Fall Classic’s fourth winner when he won the $110 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack Turbo for C$4,545. Graton-Valiquette topped a field of 205 players, of which 21 finished in the money, to earn the second largest payday in a live tournament of his poker career.
Lukas Soucek, Winner of the Playground Poker Fall Classic $1,100 NL Deepstack Freeze
The fifth event of the Playground Poker Fall Classic was the biggest buy-in of the series so far, and the $1,100 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack Freeze generated a prize pool of C$235,710 thanks to a field of 243 players. Lukas Soucek emerged as the event’s champion to take home the C$51,600 top prize. For Soucek, a player hailing from the Czech Republic, it was the largest live tournament score of his career.
Karam Saleh, Winner of the Playground Poker Fall Classic $220 NL 50/50 Bounty
Karam Saleh took down the $220 No-Limit Hold’em 50/50 Bounty event for C$7,359. Saleh topped a field of 347 players in the event that saw C$100 of the buy-in go to the prize pool and another C$100 as a bounty on each player for knocking them out. The traditional prize pool came in at C$33,659, of which the top 36 places were paid.
Jean-Philippe Piquette, Winner of the Playground Poker Fall Classic $550 NL Freeze
The $550 No-Limit Hold’em Freeze event, the seventh on the Playground Poker Fall Classic schedule, generated a prize pool of C$123,675 thanks to a field of 255 entries. The top 32 places reached the money, and it was Jean-Philippe Piquette taking the biggest payday thanks to his first-place finish. Piquette earned C$28,420 for the win.
Bob T, Winner of the Playground Poker Fall Classic $200 NL Seniors’ Event
Bob T orchestrated a victory in the $200 No-Limit Hold’em Seniors’ event, which was for players 50 years of age or older. He earned C$4,090 in first-place prize money after topping Wayne Campbell in heads-up play. The field size was 145 players with a prize pool of C$28,130.
Placide Junior Sanon, Winner of the Playground Poker Fall Classic $330 NL 8-Max Freeze
Placide Junior Sanon won the $330 No-Limit Hold’em 8-Max Freeze for C$14,730. It was the largest score of Junior Sanon’s live poker career, and he topped a field of 259 players to score the first-place prize. To win the title, Junior Sanon defeated Martin Nadeau in heads-up play.
Mohamad Tareg, Winner of the Playground Poker Fall Classic $1,100 NL 50/50 Bounty
Another bounty tournament was on the schedule with the $1,100 No-Limit Hold’em 50/50 Bounty. A field of 205 players turned up for the one-day event, with C$500 of each buy-in going to the traditional prize pool and C$500 being a bounty on each participant’s head. At the end of the day, it was Mohamad Tareg who finished on top to earn the C$24,450 top prize. In addition, Tareg earned 17 bounties for an additional C$8,500 in money won.
Dan Vigderhous, Winner of the Playground Poker Fall Classic $330 5-Card PLO
Dan Vigderhous was the next player to appear in the winner’s circle when he took down the $330 5-Card Pot-Limit Omaha event at the Playground Poker Fall Classic. Vigderhous topped a field of 92 entries to score the C$5,212 first-place prize. The top 10 places were paid, and a prize pool of C$26,772 was generated.
Christopher Fisher, Winner of the Playground Poker Fall Classic $1,650 NL Second Chance
Event 14 of the Playground Poker Fall Classic was the $1,650 No-Limit Hold’em Second Chance event. It attracted 135 entries as a two-day free-out tournament, which generated a prize pool of C$196,425. The top three finishes agreed to a deal, but it was Christopher Fisher who took first place, the title, and C$37,295 payday for winning. For Fisher, the win was the first live poker cash of his career.
Pascal Lefrancois, Winner of the Playground Poker Fall Classic $10,400 High Roller
The biggest buy-in event on the Playground Poker Fall Classic schedule was the $10,400 High Roller, and it attracted a field of 41 entries. Of the C$400,000 prize pool, Pascal Lefrancois scored the biggest payday with a win worth C$128,000. Lefrancois chopped the remaining prize pool in heads-up play with Mark Radoja, then defeated him for the extra C$8,000.
Keith Laflam, Winner of the Playground Poker Fall Classic $165 NL Deepstack Turbo
The $165 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack Turbo event attracted 161 players and generated a prize pool of C$23,425. The top 17 places were paid, with Keith Laflam emerging as the winner to the tune of C$5,510. For Laflam, it was the largest score of his live poker career to date.
Jason Trottier, Winner of the Playground Poker Fall Classic $330 NL Bounty
The last of the side events was the $330 No-Limit Hold’em Bounty tournament. It drew a field of 234 players and created a prize pool of C$45,396. Jason Trottier took the top spot, finishing in first place for C$8,196. For Trottier, this was the first live poker result of his career.
These 16 players have all been invited back to Playground Poker Club to compete in the WPT Playground Champions’ Freeroll on Wednesday, February 8 at 7 p.m. Up for grabs is a C$3,500 seat into the WPT Playground Main Event.
The Season XV WPT Playground Main Event kicks off Friday, February 10 at 11 a.m. local time at Playground Poker Club. The event features two starting flights and more information is available on the event’s page at WPT.com.
*Photos courtesy of Playground Poker Club.