The first of two internationally televised final tables at the WPT Montreal festival is set, as Brad Owen headlines his second career broadcast final table in the WPT Prime Montreal championship.
Owen, a WPT Global Ambassador, enters the final table of WPT Prime Montreal second in chips as he looks to secure the first major live title of his career. The 36-year-old pro who built up a tremendous following in poker via his YouTube vlogs is well-positioned to make just such a run when play resumes Tuesday afternoon.
He’ll start the final table in second place, just behind chip leader Dan Stavila. Stavila’s one of three U.S.-based pros in the mix for the WPT Prime Montreal title, along with Owen and one of the most interesting stories of this tournament, Steven Marin. Marin is an 18-year-old from Philadelphia looking to become one of the youngest champions ever to win a WPT-branded event.
On the opposite side of the equation are three Canadians, including two Ottawa-based players in Jikai Zhang and Marc Lavergne, along with a popular local player in Adam Cader.
They’ll all be back at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, May 21 to play it out for the $139,840 first-place prize, which includes a $10,400 seat to the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas in December. The action will be filmed for future TV broadcast, and will also be live-streamed on a 30-minute delay on the WPT’s YouTube, Twitch and a variety of other platforms.
Here’s what each of the final six players will be competing for:
- $139,840
- $87,208
- $64,328
- $48,246
- $36,550
- $27,778
As the final six players prepare under the spotlight of a WPT Prime final table, let’s get to know a little bit more about each of them.
Dan Stavila – 15,150,000 (121 BB)
Age: 25
Hometown: Chisinau, Moldova
Currently Resides: Las Vegas, Nevada
Lifetime Live Tournament Earnings: $204,951
Biggest Lifetime Cash: $28,400, 506th, 2022 WSOP Main Event
Dan Stavila enters Tuesday’s WPT Prime Montreal final table with the most chips, one of two players (along with Owen) carrying more than 100 big blinds into what will be an incredibly deepstacked start to the day.
Like all but one of the six of the players who made it down to the final table, Stavila had to fight back from the bottom half of the chip counts at the start of Day 2 of this tournament, and over the course of the last two days managed to ride a wave that carried him all the way to the brink of a WPT Prime title.
“Truly feels amazing,” said Stavila, “Very grateful to be here. And today it was just phenomenal, one of those perfect days that you could only dream up. Well, with the exception of, you know, blasting off into aces against the fella on my left, but that one’s on me.”
Despite helping to recharge former short stack Adam Cader’s stack, Stavila still has plenty of ammunition to play with and he likes his chances to pull through with a victory.
“I just want to enjoy the moment,” said Stavila. “Over the next couple days rest up a little bit, and come back on Tuesday ready to take the trophy back to the States.”
End of Day Chip Counts:
Day 1: 193,000 (106/160)
Day 2: 1,865,000 (9/32)
Brad Owen – 13,050,000 (104 BB)
Age: 36
Hometown: Santa Rosa, California
Currently Resides: Las Vegas, Nevada
Lifetime Live Tournament Earnings: $817,931
Biggest Lifetime Cash: $152,266, 7th, 2023 WPT $50,000 Alpha8 at Wynn Las Vegas
Other Prominent Scores: 4th, 2023 WPT Gardens Poker Championship for $125,000; 3rd, 2023 WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas $10,000 No Limit Hold’em (8-Max) for $107,800; 35th, 2022 WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas for $99,600; 88th, 2023 WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas for $53,500
Brad Owen has the most lifetime live earnings, the largest single result, and the highest profile of any of the six players at the final table of WPT Prime Montreal. As a WPT Global Ambassador, Owen has stretched beyond the cash games that made him one of the highest profile poker vloggers in the world and into success in the tournament world as well.
A year ago this month, Owen played at his first career televised final table at HyperX Arena in Las Vegas and ultimately finished fourth in the WPT Gardens Poker Championship. Now he returns to the terrestrial poker airwaves for a second time with a clear focus.
“I’m feeling really good, and I’ve just come into this tournament super focused,” said Owen. “I’ve been running well, I feel like I’m playing my best poker and I have one goal in mind – and that’s to win this thing.”
The last year has been far and away the most successful of Owen’s tournament career. In addition to his WPT Gardens final table, Owen banked two of three biggest cashes of his career during side events at the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas, and for the second consecutive year cracked the top 100 players in the WPT World Championship itself.
End of Day Chip Counts:
Day 1: 287,000 (75/160)
Day 2: 2,225,000 (6/32)
Jikai Zhang – 10,525,000 (84 BB)
Age: 25
Home Country: China
Currently Resides: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Lifetime Live Tournament Earnings: $19,361
Biggest Lifetime Cash: $11,038, 7th, 2024 WSOP International Circuit Montreal $300 Colossus
Among the Canadian residents in the mix for the WPT Prime Montreal title, Jikai Zhang has the strongest starting position. Zhang, who was born in China, attended the University of Ottawa and has only started recording live tournament cashes over the last two months – all of which have come at Playground.
Zhang is guaranteed the biggest tournament result of his career to date regardless of his finish, and if he can pull off the victory he’ll get his first chance to record a cash stateside in December in Las Vegas.
End of Day Chip Counts:
Day 1: 193,000 (106/160)
Day 2: 1,865,000 (9/32)
Adam Cader – 7,000,000 (56 BB)
Age: 35
Hometown: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Currently Resides: Saint-Lambert, Quebec, Canada
Lifetime Live Tournament Earnings: $174,737
Biggest Lifetime Cash: $37,766, 2nd, 2024 WSOP International Circuit Calgary $1,000 No Limit Hold’em
Other Prominent Scores: 21st, 2018 WPT Montreal for $23,287
Adam Cader began the official final table bubble of WPT Prime Montreal with only five big blinds, but doubled up three times (including the aforementioned clash against Stavila in which Cader made a set of aces). The 35-year-old local from Montreal received far and away the most support from the rail in the playdown phase at the end of Day 3, and he’ll likely have more of the same once the final table resumes.
The vast majority of Cader’s results have also come at Playground, though his career-best result came via a second-place finish in a WSOP International Circuit event in Calgary back in January. He made a deep run in the 2018 edition of WPT Montreal before falling in 21st place, and he’ll be looking to set a new career high-water mark on Tuesday, which he’d do with a finish of third place or better.
End of Day Chip Counts:
Day 1: 262,000 (80/160)
Day 2: 1,550,000 (12/32)
Marc Lavergne – 3,750,000 (30 BB)
Age: 39
Hometown: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Lifetime Live Tournament Earnings: $160,946
Biggest Lifetime Cash: $52,486, 1st, 2023 Playground 13th Anniversary Series Main Event
Other Prominent Scores: 1st, 2023 Playground $500 CAD No Limit Hold’em for $25,955
As is the case with the other two Canadian-based players at the WPT Prime Montreal final table, the best results that Marc Lavergne has posted in his career have come at Playground. Unlike the other two players, however, Lavergne has posted a pair of wins at this property, and hopes to find a third in this event.
Lavergne’s day job in his lifelong hometown of Ottawa is owning his own moving company, but he hopes a big result in this event could help bolster his bankroll as he pursues poker professionally. He qualified for WPT Prime Montreal on WPT Global for just $55.
End of Day Chip Counts:
Day 1: 242,000 (88/160)
Day 2: 1,645,000 (11/32)
Steven Marin – 2,000,000 (16 BB)
Age: 18
Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Lifetime Live Tournament Earnings: $33,121
Biggest Lifetime Cash: $15,066, 1st, 2024 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown $1,100 5-Card Pot Limit Omaha
Other Prominent Scores: 1st, 2024 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown $600 5-Card Pot Limit Omaha for $14,500
Steven Marin enters the final table of WPT Prime Montreal as the shortest stack, but if he’s able to mount a comeback he’ll likely have at least a couple of spots locked up among the WPT’s record books. The 18-year-old from Philadelphia made his way up to Montreal for the second major live series of his career, and he’ll be walking away with the kind of result you don’t see from many players his age in this era of poker.
During his first series, Marin went to another WPT festival that allows players as young as 18 to participate – the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown in Hollywood, Florida – and Marin proved himself in a big way by taking home two trophies in 5-card PLO side events over the course of a month.
End of Day Chip Counts:
Day 1: 82,000 (154/160)
Day 2: 1,545,000 (13/32)
Player stats and earnings courtesy of The Hendon Mob/GPI.