The World Poker Tour and Fallsview Casino have established a powerful history since establishing their partnership in Season XII. Dramatic finishes and historic moments are a tradition at the Fallsview Poker Classic. Leading up to the Season XVII edition on February 23, WPT.com is taking a look back at the previous five seasons of triumph.
Season XII
The inaugural Fallsview Poker Classic attracted 383 entries for the C$5,000 buy-in event. A mix of Canadians and Americans made the final table with Matthew Lapossie coming out on top. Lapossie defeated WPT Champions Club member Dylan Wilkerson heads up to claim the C$363,197 first-place prize.
The finish was the first of two close calls for Wilkerson in Season XII. Wilkerson finished second to James Carroll a few weeks later in the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Stars event.
Other Champions Club members to run deep in the event included Shawn Cunix (11th) and Mike Watson (12th).
Season XIII
Anthony Zinno took the poker world by storm in 2015 and started his journey at Fallsview. Zinno defeated a field of 419 to collect C$380,021 and his second career WPT title. The final table beat by Zinno included established players Corey Hochman and Erik Cajelais.
Darren Elias started his Fallsview legacy with an 11th place result. Once again, Canadian Mike Watson was in the hunt and placed 17th.
Two weeks later, Zinno won his second WPT title in as many events when he shipped the WPT L.A. Poker Classic on his way to being crowned the Hublot WPT Player of the Year.
Season XIV
For the first time in WPT Fallsview Poker Classic history, the entire final table was comprised of Canadians. David Ormsby emerged victorious against 423 players and etched his name in WPT history with the C$383,407 score. Ormsby took down fellow Champions Club member Soren Turkewitsch on his way to victory.
In the Season XV WPT Tournament of Champions, Ormsby represented Fallsview well with a fourth-place run to win $95,375 more.
Two-time Champions Club member Aaron Mermelstein’s run at a third title ended in 18th place.
Season XV
Darren Elias added another WPT title to his legacy and made the WPT Fallsview Poker Classic the site of his third victory. Elias collected C$429,384 versus a herd of 489 to make his third title one to remember. David Eldridge fell to Elias in heads up play while top pro Manig Loeser placed fifth.
Also in the hunt late in the event were Kristen Bicknell (7th) and Connor Drinan (23rd).
Elias won his record-breaking fourth WPT title in Season XVI at the WPT Bobby Baldwin Classic to break a tie shared with, among other players, Anthony Zinno.
Season XVI
The largest field in WPT Fallsview Poker Classic history resulted in Mike Leah topping a field of 517 players to win his first WPT title and C$451,821. The total prize pool topped out at $2,337,803.
Leah’s final table opponents were not easy by any stretch as pros Ryan Yu, Carlos Chadha, and Daniel Wagner all came within striking distance of their first title.
David Eldridge nearly repeated his second-place finish of a season prior but was forced to settle for seventh place instead. WPT Champions Club member Maxime Heroux won his title earlier in Season XVI at WPT Montreal and his next shot at a win resulted in 14th place.
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