2025 WSOPC Calgary – Event #12: $1700 NLH Main Event
The 2025 poker season in Canada kicks off with WSOP Circuit Calgary, starting January 8. Spanning 13 days of thrilling Circuit action in Cowtown, you can stay updated with live coverage by Lyle Bateman right here.
Manish “Bubs” Ralh, Winner of WSOP-C Calgary Jan 2025 Main EventManish “Bubs” Ralh shows off the WSOP-C bling after winning the Main
Manish “Bubs” Ralh is relatively new to the game, but he’s already won his first Circuit ring. He had a stellar run heads up against Angelo Jopek in the Main Event Day 3, coming from behind once they got two ways.
His first recorded cash was in 2020, but the rest of his results are from 2024 and he said at the table during heads-up that he’s only recently gotten serious about the game. This is his second win but biggest score by a long shot — his lifetime earnings before tonight were just over $80k USD with a best cash of $44k. Tonight’s win comes close to quadrupling his lifetime earnings before tonight.
Angelo Jopek was on the run of his life for most of the final table, but when he got heads up against Manish “Bubs” Ralh, it all came crashing down for him. Ralh dominated the heads up portion, taking most of the pots and building a big lead by dinner. Jopek found some life and clawed some chips back on a hand with significant flop action.
The pot was more than 10 million by the end of the flop action, with paired nines and a three on the board. Jopek had been winning pots all day with a nine in his hand, prompting the 4-bet/call action on the flop. It slowed down to checking on the turn and Jopek fired 3.2 million on the river when it ran out ten-four, forcing a fold from Ralh.
That was about all he could get though as Ralh’s relentless aggression, and apparently going card dead, kept Jopek on his heels. It ended on a hand when Ralh raised it to 1.25 million and then snap-called when Jopek shoved. Ralh was miles in front chip-wise, and also with the hand as Jopek was left looking for a king with king-seven against pocket jacks. No help came on the flop and Jopek had to settle for second, though it’s worth noting the players evened the prizes a bit between them.
It was limped preflop to see 9♣3♥9♠. “That’s my card, man,” Angelo Jopek said with a smile as he’s won a few pots tonight with at least one 9 in his hand.
Jopek checked and Manish Ralh bet 500k. Jopek came over the top to 1.6 million before Ralh smiled and said “What, my nine is no good? Kicker problems?”
Ralh pumped it up to 3.5 million and Jopek called. The both checked on the 10♠ turn, and Jopek fired 3.2 million on the 4♦ river. Ralh conceded the hand and Jopek got a few chips back.
The Main Event players are on their dinner break now with Manish Ralh holding a big advantage. The last 30 minutes or so has been a lot of non-showdown hands with Ralh taking the majority and slowly chipping up to more than 40 million while it seems like Angelo Jopek’s rungood has stalled and he is down to 14 million.
They are just about to return to the action shortly.
Angelo Jopek raised to 800k from the button and Manish Ralh called. Ralh check-called for 1 million on the K♦J♥10♦ flop. He check-called again on the A♠ turn for 1.5 million, but when Rahl fired 5 million on the 2♦ river Jopek tanked for a few seconds before folding Q♠4♠ face up. Ralh showed it was a solid fold as he tabled 9♦5♦ for the rivered straight.
The players have now taken a quick break with the stacks virtually even though Jopek still has about 2 million more.
In a pretty funny hand, both players limped it preflop, then checked through a board of 6♦Q♥7♥8♦7♦. On the river Angelo Jopek said “No balls, you win. Five high.”
Manish Ralh hesitated for the few seconds, showing his own five high with five-three. Jopek tables five-three as well. “You play that shit?” he joked as they chopped the pot.
Ashkan Razavi was 4th in this event in Aug 2024, and he just went one better today with 3rd place. After big stack Angelo Jopek folded the button, Mansih Ralh raised the small blind to 850k then tank-called when Razavi shoved the big for 7.725 million.
It was a gross spot for Razavi with nines into pocket tens for Ralh. The board ran dry for both hands leaving the tens in front and Razavi on the rail in 3rd.
Jopek is still sitting behind a mountain of chips, but Ralk is now on close to 20 million after collecting Razavi’s stack.
Manish Ralh opened the button to 700k and Angelo Jopek defended his big blind. Jopek check-called for 400k on the 8♠K♣10♠ flop and again for 1.5 million on the 6♦ turn. They both checked the 2♥ river and Rlah announced “King” showing K♣9♦ while Jopek fired his cards to the muck after spending about 20 seconds staring at his hand and the board.
In the first hand, Angelo Jopek raised to 600k from the button and Ashkan Razavi called from the big blind. Razavi check-called for 400k on the 8♥3♠A♠ flop and they both checked the Q♥ turn. When the 3♣ river paired the board, both players checked again and Jopek mucked when Razavi showed A♦6♦.
“I wanted to bluff, but that river was terrible,” Jopek said.
The next hand Manish Ralh raised to 700k from the button and Jopek called from the big blind. They both checked the 5♠Q♣7♣ flop, and Ralh folded after Jopek check-raised the 2♥ turn from 800k to 2.1 million.
Angelo Jopek is on the run of his life today. He now has 70% of the chips in play at the final table with more than 38 million. Neither of his competitors has 10 million, so he;s got a stranglehold on the final three.
They’ll be back for Level 32 (150k/300k/300k) in a bit more than 5 minutes.
Angelo Jopek is on the run of his life now, playing well and hitting cards when he has to. He just sent Pascal Gregoire to the rail by cracking his pocket kings. Jopek called off with ten-nine and turned trip nines for a huge win. I’ll grab exact counts in about 10 minutes when they go on break, but Jopek now has at least half the chips in play.
They are four ways now after Scott Johnson followed Greg Taylor to the rail today. I missed the action as he busted while I was writing the previous hand, but he took the final 5-digit payout tonight with the remaining players now all guaranteed at least $105,691.
They are down to five now after Greg Taylor shoved under the gun and Ashkan Razavi called from the big blind for a not-so-classic race between ace-jack for Razavi and king-queen for Taylor. The board ran dry for both hands and Razavi’s ace held for the win.
Manish Ralh raised to 550k from the middle before Scott Johnson shoved 1.2 million from the hijack. Ralh called for a race between his J♠10♠ and pocket sevens for Johnson. Ralh flopped some hope with backdoor spades, but when the 9♠4♣2♣A♣4♠ runout was done, the sevens were still good.
Johnson doubled to a bit more than 3 million while Ralh is still playing a bit more than 10 million after the hand. There is a break coming in about 20 minutes and I’ll do another full round of counts while they are away from the table, but it’s safe to say Angelo Jopek is still the big stack as he has a stack of plaques in front of him plus several stacks of blues.
Angelo Jopek has been on a run for the past 39 minutes or so, stacking chips like crazy. He is now playing close to half the chips in play with just shy of 24 million in front of him and only about 55 million in play.
Greg Taylor raised to 1 million under the gun, the snapped it off when Scott Johnson shoved the small blind for 1.5 million. Taylor was dominated with ace-jack into ace-king and the board missed both hands to leave the ace-king in front. Taylor was left with about 5.1 million while Johnson is up to about 4 million.
They are still pretty deep on the final table with more than 200 big blinds in play right now.
The are down to seven left after Angelo Jopek raised the small blind to 400k, then snapped it off when Rus King shoved the big with less. King was dominated with king-seven into ace-king, but the 2♥5♥5♠10♠A♣ didn’t bring any joy for King and Jopek chipped up a bit more as King hit the rail for 7th place.
They are down to 7 remaining in the Main Event after Robin Bergren shoved ace-eight and was called off by queen-nine. He had about 5 bigs and looked in decent shape to double in what amounted to roughly a race. The nine came on the river to send Bergren to the cage for 8th place tonight.
Nikhil Madadi shoved and Rus King called with more from his left. Madadi needed a king or diamonds with K♦Q♦ against pocket queens for King. The board paired jacks but there was no king or diamonds coming for Madadi and he was out in 9th place tonight.
Michael Lim was the first player to exit the final table today in 10th place. I missed the action while I was processing the pictures, but he’s had a bit of a rollercoaster today with his stack up and down.
Weston Pring laddered up a couple of spots today but ended his day just before the final table. I missed the action while getting chip counts done from the break. Stay tuned for some final table faces coming soon.
Johnny Dalphond hit the rail just before the break for 12th place, though I missed the action while I was writing the previous bust. I’ve just had a look at all the remaining stacks with Ash Razavi still out in front and Manish Ralh also playing more than 10 million.
Dennis Ashmore was one of the shorties coming into today, but he managed to ladder up one pay jump at least. Pascal Gregoire shoved the hijack for 1.575 million and Dennis Ashmore called with less from the small blind. He was in trouble with pocket fours into pocket sixes and the board missed both hands to send Ashmore out in 13th place.
The remaining 12 players will be on their first break of the day in a couple of minutes, and I’ll grab chip counts while they are away from the table.
Michael Lim was down to just over 1.5 million when he got it in with suited connectors and Johnny Dalphond called it off with ace-queen off. Lim flopped huge with a flush and straight draws on 5♠3♠2♥ then turned the spades on the K♠10♣ runout with his seven-six of spades.
Lim is up to about 3.5 million now while Dalphond dropped to 2.66 million.
They are down to 13 and everyone is now guaranteed almost $16k with the pay jump at 13th place. Michael Bernstein came into today with the short stack and he did his best to grab a double, putting his final 500k into the middle with pocket sevens from the button. Scott Johnson called it off from the big blind with king-nine, then spike two pair on the 6♣K♥9♦3♦J♥ board. Berny couldn’t find his seven and hit the rail in 14th place today.
Ashkan Razavi was on pocket tens against the pocket aces for Weston Pring when the money went in preflop. Razavi smashed the flop with a ten to jump into the lead as Pring let out a loud sigh. That changed toa cheer when the ace hit the turn to re-pop Pring to the top. He held for a huge double to stay alive in a hand that initially looked like it would bad-beat him to the rail for the min-cash today.
Rus King opened the hijack to 300k then called when Manish Ralh raised it up from the cutoff to 1.3 million. The flop was 7♠9♠Q♦ and King checked to Ralh, then folded when Ralh put out 1.35m. Ralh showed pocket queens for the flopped set.
Meanwhile, on the other table, Ashkan Razavi opened the hijack to 240k, then folded when Weston Pring shoved for a bit less than 2 million.
The opening level of Day 3 is nearly complete with action moving to 100k/150k/150k in about a minute.
Scott Johnson opened the cutoff to 275k before Michael Lim reraised the small blind to 600k. Big blind Rus King said “Easy fold” as he mucked his hand, but Johnson called to see a flop of 4♥A♦10♦.
Lim fired 500k and Johnson laid down his hand. Lim rolled over pocket kings as he collected the pot, showing that the ace on the flop didn’t scare him.
It’s the final day of play here at WSOP-C Calgary for Jan 2025 and that means there’s some money on the table. One of the players seated around the final two tables of the Main Event will pocket more than $311k later today, but all 14 of them have already secured a decent score of at least $12,865.
Ashkan Razavi comes into Day 3 with the lead and he’s been here before — He was 4th last August in this event so he’ll be looking to go a few spots deeper than that today. Scott Johnson and Rus King are his closest competitors with stacks in the 6 million range but every player in the game today has the chips and skills to take it all the way.
Day 1a: Jan 16, 11 AM Day 1b: Jan 17, 11 AM Day 1c: Jan 18, 11 AM Day 2: Jan 19, Noon Day 3: Jan 20, Noon
Blinds:
60 Minutes
Entries:
14/1371
Prizes:
$2,077,065
There are 14 players left in the Main Event for Day 3 and Ashkan Razavi, who took 4th in the August Main, is the chip leader to start Day 2. He has 8.575 million to start the day with Scott Johnson his closest competitor with 6.68 million. Rus King also has more than 6 million while Michael Lim and Robin Bergeron are playing stacks in the 5 million range.
Day 3 action starts at noon on Monday in the Chrome room and they’ll play it down to a winner on Monday. Blinds will remain at 60 minutes throughout the day and everyone returning is guaranteed at least $12,865. That will be the first payout before it jumps to $15,829 at 13th place. See the Payouts tab for a look at all the prizes awarded on Day 2.
Day 2 is over with 14 players still in action for the final day of play on Monday. Vancouver’s Ashkan Razavi bagged the big stack today with more than 8.5 million. That’s almost 2 million ahead of the second-place player Scott Johnson who has 6.68 million. Rus King also has more than 6 million for 3rd.
It’s worth noting that Razavi made Day 3 of this event in August of 2024, finishing his run in 4th place. In that one, he started Day 3 looking way up at the eventual winner Alex Liu who came into Day 3 with about half the chips in play five-handed. This year, everyone else will be looking up at Razavi.
The dream od a repeat for Alex Liu is now dead as he hit the rail in 15th place tonight. He was the winner of the most recent Main Event last August, and made a pretty deep run in this one as the last winner still in action. That means that WSOP-C Calgary still has not had a repeat winner and this year will be a new player once again.
They are down to 16 left with about 35 minutes to play until the Day 2 bags come out. Terry Goode and Romualdo Cusano were the most recent busts to bring them to 16.
Level 27 has just kicked off and this will be the final level of the night. It looks like Rus King is the leader now with about 6.85 million in front of him while Greg Taylor, two to his right, is on about 5.2 million. Ashkan Razavi (who was 4th in the August 2024 Main) and Pascal Gregoire are both playing stacks in the 4 million range.
There are now about 50 minutes left until they bag up for the night.
Michael Lim raised early to 165k and it folded around to Pascal Gregoire in the big blind. He put out the call to see J♣7♣K♠ on the flop.
Gregoire checked to Lim who bet 230k. Gregoire tanked for a bit before announcing all in with the smaller stack.
“Fuck,” Lim muttered under his breath, and the dealer double-checked to make sure he didn’t say “call.” He eventually did say “Call” and he was drawing to straight clubs with eight-seven against top pair for Gregoire with king-nine of hearts.
The 4♠2♦ runout were bricks and Gregoire’s king held up for the win and the double. Lim was the leader with over 6 million, but he shipped about 2.5 million of that over to Gregoire, putting Lim down to about 4 million with Gregoire up to a bit more than that.
Weston Pring opened to 200k from the middle and August champ Alex Liu raised to 500k from the hijack. It folded back to Pring and he shoved more than Liu had behind. Liu hit the tank, checking the clock and the other table to assess the situation before folding after a couple of minutes in the tank.
“If it dropped to 17, I’d just call,” Liu said after the hand, as there is a $2,200 pay jump for 17th place tonight. Liu is relatively short at the moment, but he’s still in the running to be the first player to win two Main Event rings in Calgary.
They are down to 20 players left with 10 minutes to play in Level 25. Recent payouts are below and stay tuned for a look at the remaining players in the field and how they are seated.
They are down to 25 left and play has moved into the Chrome room now. They cleared out of Sundance when they got down to the final two tables, but two more players have busted as I was getting set up in Chrome. See below for the recent payouts and check the Payouts tab for the full list from today.
They are now two eliminations off the final three tables after Dunstin Centanni ran into it to end his day in 30th place. He was deep in the tank on the turn of a board reading 8♣7♦J♣2♥ until the clock was finally called on him after around 6 minutes. He made the call before time ran down, but his two pair with seven-eight was behind a set of eights for his opponent.
The river bricked out and Centanni was left short. The remainder went in a couple of hands later and he hit the rail for 30th place. Jeff “Ironman” Charlebois also hit the rail recently for 32nd place, but as previously mentioned, no matter how deep he went here today, he’s running pretty good in life right now.
They are down to 32 remaining now in the Main — see below for the recent prizes and check the Payouts tab for the full payouts for Day 2. Once the field is down to the final three tables I’ll do my best to get full counts for the remaining players.
The players are now back from their dinner break with 35 players left on four tables. Rus King still looks to be leading with more than 4 million in front of him while Ashkan Razavi looks to be playing about 3 million. Angelo Jopek has about 2 million in front of him, and the August champ Alex Liu is playing just over a million. Meanwhile, Thomas Taylor has just hit the rail for 35th place.
Jeff “Ironman” Charlebois at the final table of the 6-Max event in Jan 2022 at WSOP-C Calgary
One player who is still around at the final four tables of play today is Jeff Charlebois. He’ll be recognizable to most players here at Deerfoot Inn & Casino thanks to his ubiquitous Ironman mask, which debuted during the COVID restrictions back in Jan 2022.
He’s already having a pretty decent run in the Main Event this year with almost $9k already locked in, but the truth is, no matter how deep he goes in this one, he’s running well in life at the moment as he’s just beaten cancer.
Charlebois has spent the last 6 months in chemotherapy for a grapefruit-sized tumour, but on the first Friday of the series he received good news from his doctor — the tumour is now nothing but scar tissue. He spent the day calling friends and family to relay the good news, then decided to get into his car and drive all night for some poker here at Deerfoot.
Obviously, beating cancer has given Charlebois a new lease on life, and while his first few days at the series were a bit rough with exhaustion, he’s found his second wind with three cashes so far. But more than that, he said the 6 months he spent in treatment were a real eye-opener for him as he was going through chemo with 41 other people, seeing them for six hours every three weeks during his treatments.
While Charlebois had a good chance at recovering as a result of the chemo sessions, many of the people he was sitting with weren’t so lucky, going through the grueling process with far less hope of recovery. He said he realized just how blessed he was after watching his fellow patients struggle.
Cancer is a bitch, and it’s not always possible to write a “feel-good” story about it. Charlebois is a great example that it can be beaten, at least in some cases, but he also wants to remind people that life is short and it can take sharp turns when we least expect it. Glad to see you back in action Jeff — the local community hopes to be seeing you at the tables for a long time coming.
The Main Event players are on their dinner break now with the end of Level 23 and they are down to the final four tables. In theory, there are still chips at five tables as they got down to 35 with two busts on the final hand before dinner, so they’ll break a table as soon as they get back in about 30 minutes.
Sean O’Reilly might be living the life of Reilly right now as he just survived with a double after cracking aces. He shoved the hijack over a raise from the middle, but his [invalid notations] was in trouble against pocket aces. The flop didn’t look good for O’Reilly, but one diamond gave him a glimmer of hope, and when the turn and river also sparkled he found a double to stay alive today.
The field is down to the final five tables tonight with about 20 minutes to play in Level 22. Robin Bergren just sent a player to the rail to bump his stack to about 4 million and what looks like the lead right now. Greg Taylor and Rus King are both playing around 3.8 million while recent PPT Main Event winner Stephen Dauphinais has about 2 million in front of him. Giulio Rosati is playing just shy of that, while the August Champion Alex Liu is on about 1.3 million and sitting next to one of his compatriots from that final table, Ashkan Razavi who has about 2 million right now.
The Main Event players are on their second break of the day now with 51 players left in the action. They will be back at the felt in about 5 minutes for Level 22 with 6 levels to play in Day 2.
They are down to 57 players left in the Main Event with 20 minutes to play in Level 21. There is another break following this level with six levels of play remaining in the day after the break.
I’ve been spending some time today catching up on the series results in my combined spreadsheets, and the numbers for this year are looking decent. It looks like the total will be a bit down from the 2024 numbers this year as the combined prizes for the series are sitting at just over $5 million from nearly 9,000 entries with two events to go. With the High Roller and Last Chance yet to play, it’s likely that total will end up over 9,000 entries with somewhere around $5.6 million in total prizes.
They are down to 66 players left in the Main Event with about 5 minutes to play in Level 20. The action has slowed a little bit as the field dwindles, but there’s still a pretty steady stream of players heading to the Payout desk to get their slips signed.
The field is down to 91 players at the first break of Day 2 and the action at the Payouts desk is slowing somewhat for the first time today. Players will be back at the felt in about 10 minutes for Level 20, but in the meantime, below is a look at recent payouts.
The field is nearing double-digits now with more than 45 players hitting the rail since the start of the day. The second level of Day 2 has about 40 minutes remaining with the first break of the day scheduled following this level.
The action is moving quickly here on Day 2 with the field down to 126 already and still 10 minutes to play in the opening level. As usual, recent payouts are below with the complete prizes so far (and full prize numbers to first) are under the Payouts tab.
The payouts have been coming fast so far today with the field already down to 142 and barely 20 minutes gone in the opening level of play. Below is a look at the early prizes today and the full prize numbers, along with results so far, are listed on the Payouts tab.
The prizes are in and the winner at the end of the game is going to pocket $312k for their troubles this series. The numbers are dropping quickly with 12 players hitting the rail since the start of play about 15 minutes ago. I’m still working on getting the Payouts page updated with all the numbers, but look for a fairly long list of early payouts coming shortly.
Day 1a: Jan 16, 11 AM Day 1b: Jan 17, 11 AM Day 1c: Jan 18, 11 AM Day 2: Jan 19, Noon Day 3: Jan 20, Noon
Blinds:
60 Minutes
Entries:
159/1371
Prizes:
$2,077,065
The Day 2 field is set with 159 players returning all in the money. There are two big stacks that everyone is looking up at — Michael Lin and Sunny Lubana are the only players with more than a million, and they both have at least 1.1 million. Rauno Tahvonen came oh-so-close to the million mark with 995k while Glenn Baker has 970k for 4th and Sarath Samakasekera is just shy of 900k for fifth.
Day 2 action gets underway at noon at the start of Level 18 since all three flights in this one went the distance. The blinds will move to 60 minutes at the start of play and remain there through the final hand on Monday. Day 2 is scheduled to play until the end of Level 27 and all remaining players will bag for Day 3 on Monday.
Day 1c is complete with 75 players bagging chips for Day 2 and 23 players getting Day 1 payouts. Michael Lim bagged the big stack from the final flight and it was enough to push Day 1a leader Sunny Lubana off the top spot but Lim and Lubana are the only players bringing a million or more into Day 2.
Rauno Tahvonen, Glenn Baker, Sarath Samakasekera, and Gordon Wong round out the 1c top five counts. I spotted two former champions in today’s field. Nicholas Teeuwen won the May 2024 Main and the first, and so far only, player from outside Alberta to bag a Calgary Main, was the final player to collect a cash on Day 1c, but Cody McKay, who won the first-ever Main Event ring in Calgary bagged more than 20 bigs for Day 2.
See below for a look at all the advancing stacks as well as the Day 1c Payouts.
They are now in the money with a bit more than 30 minutes left in the night. One of the players who just made the money is Anthony Mar, a DJ from Vancouver. He had a bit of an epic story a couple of years ago, bagging 1a, flying back to Vancouver to DJ all weekend, and flying back in Sunday morning to cash on Day 2. He might be writing another story this year as he’s been here the whole time and cashed 1a and 1b so far. He’s now in the money on 1c as well for a minimum of three cashes, but he’s going for max value with cashing two flights and then bagging the whole thing on Day 3.
The clock is paused with 43:24 remaining in Level 17 with action now on the hand-for-hand money bubble. They’ll take two minutes off the clock for each hand played now until the unfortunate bubble player hits the rail. The first-ever WSOP-C Calgary Main Event winner, Cody McKay, is still in the field looking to clear his first hurdle on the repeat win.
There’s an interesting dynamic developing on one table tonight as they near the bubble. Glenn Baker and Sunny Lee have both been playing big stacks fro most of the night, and now they are seated next to each other. Lee has position on Baker’s left, but he’s still playing a somewhat shorter stack than Baker who looks to be nearing a million now.
The final Level of play for 1c has just begun with the field two off the Day 1 money. There are 100 players left alive right now so the clock should pause very soon after the next elimination.
They are down to 107 players left in 1c of the Main with about 20 minutes to play in Level 16. It now looks likely that it will be late in this level or early in 17 when the clock pauses for hand-for-hand play.
They are 14 off the money with players on the break following Level 16. This is the final break of the night with two more levels on the schedule. Bubble play in Level 16 still looks likely and one player who’ll be eyeing that mark and beyond is the inaugural winner of this event in Jan 2022, Cody McKay. He’s in the action today and playing about 220k right now, looking to be the first repeat Main Event winner at WSOP-C Calgary. McKay won a bit more than $290k for that one, but the win this year should easily be worth more than $300k.
I likely won’t have eyes on the prizes tonight since they won’t be able to even start doing the final prize pool until they know how many players bag up tonight. That means no one will likely know the prizes until sometime Sunday morning, but they’ll be on the board when Day 2 players return to the Sundance room at noon Sunday.
Based on previous editions of the Main Event, however, it looks like a lock that the top prize for the Main this time around will be more than $300k. Based on the percentage from Jan 2024, 1st place would by just over $310k — that number may vary slightly when the final prizes come out on Sunday, but it looks certain to be over $300k.
As they near the money bubble, the early leader Sunny Lee looks to have dropped to second place. He’s playing about 780k right now, up from his previous big stack but Glen Baker has chipped up to the lead with about 900k in front of him.
They are now less than 20 players to the money with about 10 minutes to play before the final break of the night, so bubble play in Level 16 still looks on track.
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The board says they are 31 away from the money now, but the truth is it’s less than 30 as they are only updating the board when a table breaks. Money starts getting handed out at 98th place tonight so my guess is the bubble play happens sometime in Level 16 after the final break of the night.
The numbers for 1c are confirmed and 649 entries for more than $980k in prizes on the final flight. That puts the total prize pool at $2.077 million.
There are 98 paid spots from today’s action with at least 65 players going through to tomorrow’s Day 2. If they hit 65 before the end of Level 17 the bags will come out early, otherwise the remaining players will bag at the end of 17. The only thing that might mess with that schedule would be if they don’t make it to 98 before the end of 17. Day 1c MUST hit the money, so if they aren’t in the money by the end of 17, they’ll keep playing until 98 players are left, and then bag for the night.
Alex has been wandering around watching some of the action as well and he just relayed a couple of interesting hands to me. Steve Zhang just won a hand with trips over trips blind on blind when both players rivered trip sixes. Ryan Jensen preserved his tournament life by open-folding a set of eights on a seven-nine-three-eight-six board, He would have been at risk with a call on the very straight-y board and elected for discretion over valour.
The cutoff opened to 8k and big blind and ME champ Nicholas Teeuwen called to see a flop of 3♠9♦J♣. He checked it over to the cutoff who fired 6k, but then folded to the check-raise to 22k. Teeuwn won this event in May 2024 to be the first non-Alberta player to bag the Main Event here in Calgary and he’s sitting at a table that includes Cuong Lieu, who was runner-up in the May 2022 Main Event, Youssef Hmama, Ben Locker, Jackson Oniske, and Jayvee Lumahan.
Entries for the Main Event are now closed with the final unofficial tally for Day 1c at 649 entries. That will be confirmed later tonight when the 1c prizes are posted, but if it holds it should mean 98 paid spots from today with at least 65 players bagging for tomorrow’s Day 2.
While there are a lot of familiar faces in the crowd who have been here for most of the series, there are a couple of players I’ve seen today for the first time. Weimin Hou, who picked up a ring here in the mix NLH/PLO event in 2022, Sinan Tawfik, and Anthony Mar are all here for the final few days of play.
There are about 10 minutes left in the break following Level 12 with entries to the Main Event set to close when they sit down for Level 13. The prizes are just shy of $2.1 million at the moment, and it doesn’t look like it will quite hit that mark before it shuts down for the night, but it’s still a decent turnout.
The prizes are pushing towards $2.1 million today with the field up to 1,362 combined and 640 for 1c alone. I’ve gotten a bit of help from Alex again here in the Main Event room, along with double-ring winner Nicholas Lee. They’ve just grabbed some chip counts for me and it looks like Sunny Lee is the chip leader so far today with 550k in front of him. See below for a few other stacks thanks to Akex and Nick.
Last year, Jenelle Exner etched her name into poker history with an incredible back-to-back victory in the Ladies events at WSOP Circuit Calgary. After claiming her first ring in May, she returned in August, outlasting a tough field, including runner-up Barb Walser, to secure her second title in style.
The prize pool is now over $2.05 million with about an hour left to enter the game. The 1c field is over 630 entries now for a total of 1,355 across all three starting days. They need 45 more entries to hit 1,400 total which would put the prizes over $2.12 million.
The combined prizes are pushing close to $2.05 million now with 626 entries for 1c and 1,348 across all days. There are about 30 minutes left in Level 11 with the entry desk shutting down at the start of Level 13 os the end of entries is now about 90 minutes away.
The combined prizes are now over $2.025 million with 615 entries on the board today and 1,337 across all three starting days. There are just under 2 hours left to get your stack into the Main Event now with entries set to close for good at 8:3o PM tonight.
Also, check out the contemporaneous coverage of the Ladies event going on now as well. Alek Gillies is in the Chrome room following all the Ladies action and he’ll be on the case until they award the ring later tonight.
The 1c players are less than 5 minutes away from sitting down for Level 10 and the final three levels of entry for this Main Event. The 1c field just pushed over 600 for prizes of more than $2 million across all starting days but it’s likely we’ll see a few more entries before the desk shuts for the night.
The combined field is now at 1,326, less than 75 away from 1,400, so that’s not an impossible number to hit with a bit more than 2 hours to get into the game.
The 1c field is up to 590 now for more than 1,300 in total. That puts the combined prizes less that $15k away from $2 million with about 15 minutes to play in Level 9.
The 1c players will take a dinner break following this level, then return for three more levels of entry after dinner before the Main Event field is set in stone at the start of Level 13.
We enjoyed chatting with the WSOPC Calgary Event #11 $1k NLH Turbo finishers. It’s always fun to hear their stories, share some laughs, and capture the unique atmosphere at the table.
Day 1c prizes are now over $865k for a combined total of more than $1.95 million for the Main right now. There are about 4 hours of entry left on this Main so passing $2 million seems like a lock with ~25 more entries required to push past that.
The room(s) is full of familiar faces with the entirety of Sundance full to the rafters and several Main Event spillover tables over in Chrome playing out alongside the Ladies event. Alek Gillies is in the house over in Chrome following the Ladies for the night, so make sure to check out his coverage and give the Ladies some love as well.
As expected, Day 1c is a big one with 550 entries on the board and 390 remaining in play. That puts the combined field at 1,272, just 200 off the 2024 combined total of 1,475. The combined prizes are just shy of $2 million now and they need another 49 entries today to cap $2 million.
That number seems like it will be hit easily — it remains to be seen if they can find 200 entries to match last year. Registration is still open for more than 4 hours.
Day 1a: Jan 16, 11 AM Day 1b: Jan 17, 11 AM Day 1c: Jan 18, 11 AM Day 2: Jan 19, 11 AM Day 3: Jan 20, 11 AM
Blinds:
40/60 Minutes
Starting Stack:
40k
Late Entry:
12 Levels (~8:30 PM)
Day 1 Ends:
17 Levels (~12:10 AM)
Entries:
84/722
Prizes:
$1,093,830
There are two flights to the Main Event now in the books with the field at 722 entries and prizes of nearly $1.1 million. There are now 84 players waiting for Day 2 after 35 players advanced from the first flight and 49 more found bags in 1b.
That leaves the final shot coming Saturday at 11 am and it promises to be a big one. So far, Days 1a and b have fallen a bit short of expectations with the field now 55 smaller than the 2024 numbers after 2 flights. Sunny Lubana is still the stack to beat after bagging 1.1 million on 1a while 1b leader Pascal Gregoire is second after two flights.
Players sit down with 40k in chips to play 40-minute levels on Day 1. Players can enter for 12 levels during Day 1, meaning the entry desk should close around 8:30 PM. After that, they’ll play 5 more levels on Day 1 (at most) but they’ll bag early if they hit 10% of the field before then. Note that’s a change from most events in the series where bags come out at 5%.
I will be in the Sundance room for most of 1c, though I will be late to the floor after what is expected to be a late night with the PLO Bounty on Friday night.
Day 1b went the distance with 17 full levels of play. They made it into the money but fell 8 players short of hitting the 10% early cutoff point.
Pascal Gregoire bagged the big stack on 1b, but he’s still looking up at the 1a bag of Sunny Lubana. Gregoire bagged 886k for what will be the second best stack so far on Day 2 after Lubana’s 1.1 million. Ashkan Razavi, who was at the final table of the Main in August and finished 4th after a short-stack comeback, Nicholas Lee (2 rings), Romualdo Cusano, and Chun Kit Kwan (2 rings and a WPT title) round out the 1b top five.
Full payouts for 1b as well as the 49 stacks are below — seat assignments won’t be posted until the end of day 1c.
We enjoyed chatting with the WSOPC Calgary Event #11 $1k NLH Turbo finishers. It’s always fun to hear their stories, share some laughs, and capture the unique atmosphere at the table.
Day 1b entries ended with the combined prizes just shy of $1.1 million. There were 403 entries on 1b for $610k in 1b prizes. That means there are 61 paid spots from today with at least 40 moving on to Day 2. I’ll have the names of Day 1 payouts and bagging players later in the evening.
There are just under 30 minutes left in Level 12 with entries set to close on Day 1b at the start of Level 13. They’ll take a 15-minute break following this level with entries open until the end of the break. Right now, it looks like there will be ~60 paid spots with at least 40 players advancing, but that may change if numbers ramp up in the final 45 minutes of entry.
There are about 20 minutes to play in Level 11 in 1b of the Main Event. The 1b field is at 385 entries now for 704 across both flights and $1.066 million in prizes.
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Discover how players at different stakes compare, from consistent grinders to those chasing higher limits, and what it takes to achieve significant profits. Whether you’re a casual player or an aspiring pro, this analysis offers a glimpse into the financial realities of online poker.
The Main Event 1b players are back from their dinner break now so there are three levels of entry remaining. The reg-desk will stay open through the 15-minute break following Level 12 but will close at the start of Level 13 around 8:30 PM.
The 1b field is up to 369 entries with the action in Level 9. They’ll go for the dinner break following this level, then return for three more levels of entry before the second flight closes at the start of Level 13. The current combined prizes are just shy of $1.05 million.
The combined prizes are now over $1 million for the Main Event with Day 1b at just shy of 350 entries. There are about 5 minutes to play in Level 7 and entries are still open for more than 4 hours so I expect to see another 50+ entries at least before the desk shuts down at about 8:30 PM.
Jordan Banfield wins 2025 WSOP Circuit Calgary Event #3
Jordan Banfield, a poker streamer for WPT Global, earned his first WSOP Circuit gold ring at the Deerfoot Inn & Casino by taking down Event #3: C$400 NLH Black Chip Bounty for C$16,983 plus bounties. Banfield battled through a 363-entry field, coming back from a deficit in heads-up play against Daniel Bourdages to secure the title.
It looks like Sunny Lubana bagged the biggest stack from Day 1a with 35 players advancing to Day 2 from the opening flight. He had 1.1 million in his bag at the end of the night, the only player in seven digits.
Shane Brotherwood, Colten Yamagishi, and Michael “Berny” Bernstein bagged in the 600k range with Pavlo Vertiiko rounding out the top five with 593k. Full qualifying stacks for Day 1a are below with the caveat that there was no chip count on one bag so Talal Shoush is listed as DNR, but he for sure has a bag in play for Day 2.
The Day 1a field is confirmed at 319 entries for prizes of $483,285 and they are now less than 15 minutes from the end of the scheduled day. There are 5 more players left until they hit 10% of the field, so it looks like 1a will go the distance and bag more than 10%.
Entries for the opening flight to the Main Event are now closed with 319 entries on the board. That number is still unofficial, but if it holds it should mean 48 paid spots from today with at least 32 moving forward to Day 2.
I’ll confirm the numbers later once the Day 1a prizes are posted. They now have a bit less than 5 levels left in the schedule, with the early exit at 32 players if they get there before the end of Level 17. Note that Level 17 is a one-hour level.
The prize pool is now over $475k with 314 entries on the board and about 5 minutes to play in Level 11. Level 12 is the final level of entry for today’s flight with the desk open through the break following that level and will be closed when they sit down for Level 13.
The 2024 target number is 342 so it’s looking a little less likely they’ll hit that number before it closes, but 28 entries in the next hour isn’t out of the question.
The 1a field is just shy of 300 entries now for more than $450k in the kitty so far. Level 9 has about 25 minutes to play, and dinner is scheduled following this level. Once they finish dinner, three levels of poker are left before the entry desk shuts down for 1a.
The Main Event opening flight is up to 288 entries now with Level 7 nearly complete. There are still five levels of poker in the entry period with the desk set to shut down at about 8:30 tonight.
The prizes are now over $400k for the opening day of play in the WSOP-C Calgary Jan 2025 Main Event with 274 entries on the board. There are a bit more than 5 hours still left in the reg period for today’s flight, so it’s still looking good to beat the 2024 number of 342.
There are more than 250 entries for Day 1a now with Level 5 nearly complete. The 1a field is up to 258 wth 197 remaining in play right now. They are now less than 85 entries away from the 2024 1a total with the prizes pushing $400k already.
The field is up to 244 entries in Level 5 with about 20 minutes left in the level. There are 207 players left in the game over in Sundance and more than 6 hours left for entries.
2024 Day 1a saw 342 entries, so the field this year is already less than 100 entries away from the break that number, so it’s looking good for another event to go past last year’s numbers.
The Main Event players are just about head out for their first break of Day 1a as the end of Level 3 approaches. There are just shy of 200 entries on the board as the clock ticks down with the 2024 target set at 342 entries. At this point, it’s looking very good to smash that number, but time will tell. Entries remain open until the end of Level 12, which should be about 8:30 PM tonight, with two more starting flights to run before Day 2 is set.
Day 1a: Jan 16, 11 AM Day 1b: Jan 17, 11 AM Day 1c: Jan 18, 11 AM Day 2: Jan 19, 11 AM Day 3: Jan 20, 11 AM
Blinds:
40/60 Minutes
Starting Stack:
40k
Late Entry:
12 Levels (~8:30 PM)
Day 1 Ends:
17 Levels (~12:10 AM)
It’s time for the Main Event. Day 1a action gets going at 11 AM on Jan 16 with two more starting flights on Jan 18 and Jan 19. Players sit down with 40k in chips to play 40-minute levels on Day 1.
Players can enter for 12 levels during Day 1, meaning the entry desk should close around 8:30 PM. After that, they’ll play 5 more levels on Day 1 (at most) but they’ll bag early if they hit 10% of the field before then. Note that’s a change from most events in the series where bags come out at 5%.
I likely won’t be watching Day 1a or 1b very closely as there are Day 2s running on both of those days, but I should be there for the duration of 1c (with a likely late start).
Day 1b went the distance with 17 full levels of play. They made it into the money but fell 8 players short of hitting the 10% early cutoff point.
Pascal Gregoire bagged the big stack on 1b, but he’s still looking up at the 1a bag of Sunny Lubana. Gregoire bagged 886k for what will be the second best stack so far on Day 2 after Lubana’s 1.1 million. Ashkan Razavi, who was at the final table of the Main in August and finished 4th after a short-stack comeback, Nicholas Lee (2 rings), Romualdo Cusano, and Chun Kit Kwan (2 rings and a WPT title) round out the 1b top five.
Full payouts for 1b as well as the 49 stacks are below — seat assignments won’t be posted until the end of day 1c.
We enjoyed chatting with the WSOPC Calgary Event #11 $1k NLH Turbo finishers. It’s always fun to hear their stories, share some laughs, and capture the unique atmosphere at the table.
Day 1b entries ended with the combined prizes just shy of $1.1 million. There were 403 entries on 1b for $610k in 1b prizes. That means there are 61 paid spots from today with at least 40 moving on to Day 2. I’ll have the names of Day 1 payouts and bagging players later in the evening.
There are just under 30 minutes left in Level 12 with entries set to close on Day 1b at the start of Level 13. They’ll take a 15-minute break following this level with entries open until the end of the break. Right now, it looks like there will be ~60 paid spots with at least 40 players advancing, but that may change if numbers ramp up in the final 45 minutes of entry.
There are about 20 minutes to play in Level 11 in 1b of the Main Event. The 1b field is at 385 entries now for 704 across both flights and $1.066 million in prizes.
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The Main Event 1b players are back from their dinner break now so there are three levels of entry remaining. The reg-desk will stay open through the 15-minute break following Level 12 but will close at the start of Level 13 around 8:30 PM.
The 1b field is up to 369 entries with the action in Level 9. They’ll go for the dinner break following this level, then return for three more levels of entry before the second flight closes at the start of Level 13. The current combined prizes are just shy of $1.05 million.
The combined prizes are now over $1 million for the Main Event with Day 1b at just shy of 350 entries. There are about 5 minutes to play in Level 7 and entries are still open for more than 4 hours so I expect to see another 50+ entries at least before the desk shuts down at about 8:30 PM.
Jordan Banfield wins 2025 WSOP Circuit Calgary Event #3
Jordan Banfield, a poker streamer for WPT Global, earned his first WSOP Circuit gold ring at the Deerfoot Inn & Casino by taking down Event #3: C$400 NLH Black Chip Bounty for C$16,983 plus bounties. Banfield battled through a 363-entry field, coming back from a deficit in heads-up play against Daniel Bourdages to secure the title.
There is more than $980k in prizes now with the 1b field at 328. That puts the combined field at almost 650 with players heading out for the break following Level 6.
In 2024, 1b got 435 entries so this year is still about 100 entries away from last year’s numbers, but entries are still open for more than 5 hours today.
The 1b field is closing in on 300 entries with action in Level 5. That puts the 1b prizes just shy of $450k with the field 23 off the 1a numbers. Combined, the two flights are over 600 entries for prizes of more than $930k already.
I expect today’s flight to push that well above $1 million in total prizes with at least 100 more entries today, but time will tell what the final numbers will be.
Day 1a: Jan 16, 11 AM Day 1b: Jan 17, 11 AM Day 1c: Jan 18, 11 AM Day 2: Jan 19, 11 AM Day 3: Jan 20, 11 AM
Blinds:
40/60 Minutes
Starting Stack:
40k
Late Entry:
12 Levels (~8:30 PM)
Day 1 Ends:
17 Levels (~12:10 AM)
Entries:
35/319
Prizes:
$483,285
The opening flight to the Main Event is in the books and 35 players advanced to Day 2 from a starting field of 319 entries. The stack to beat at the moment belongs to Sunny Lubana (who donates 10% of all his winnings to an educational charity that puts underprivileged kids through school in his homeland of India) with 1.1 million
Players sit down with 40k in chips to play 40-minute levels on Day 1. Players can enter for 12 levels during Day 1, meaning the entry desk should close around 8:30 PM. After that, they’ll play 5 more levels on Day 1 (at most) but they’ll bag early if they hit 10% of the field before then. Note that’s a change from most events in the series where bags come out at 5%.
I likely won’t be watching Day 1a or 1b very closely as there are Day 2s running on both of those days, but I should be there for the duration of 1c (with a likely late start).
Day 1c is complete with 75 players bagging chips for Day 2 and 23 players getting Day 1 payouts. Michael Lim bagged the big stack from the final flight and it was enough to push Day 1a leader Sunny Lubana off the top spot but Lim and Lubana are the only players bringing a million or more into Day 2.
Rauno Tahvonen, Glenn Baker, Sarath Samakasekera, and Gordon Wong round out the 1c top five counts. I spotted two former champions in today’s field. Nicholas Teeuwen won the May 2024 Main and the first, and so far only, player from outside Alberta to bag a Calgary Main, was the final player to collect a cash on Day 1c, but Cody McKay, who won the first-ever Main Event ring in Calgary bagged more than 20 bigs for Day 2.
See below for a look at all the advancing stacks as well as the Day 1c Payouts.
They are now in the money with a bit more than 30 minutes left in the night. One of the players who just made the money is Anthony Mar, a DJ from Vancouver. He had a bit of an epic story a couple of years ago, bagging 1a, flying back to Vancouver to DJ all weekend, and flying back in Sunday morning to cash on Day 2. He might be writing another story this year as he’s been here the whole time and cashed 1a and 1b so far. He’s now in the money on 1c as well for a minimum of three cashes, but he’s going for max value with cashing two flights and then bagging the whole thing on Day 3.
The clock is paused with 43:24 remaining in Level 17 with action now on the hand-for-hand money bubble. They’ll take two minutes off the clock for each hand played now until the unfortunate bubble player hits the rail. The first-ever WSOP-C Calgary Main Event winner, Cody McKay, is still in the field looking to clear his first hurdle on the repeat win.
There’s an interesting dynamic developing on one table tonight as they near the bubble. Glenn Baker and Sunny Lee have both been playing big stacks fro most of the night, and now they are seated next to each other. Lee has position on Baker’s left, but he’s still playing a somewhat shorter stack than Baker who looks to be nearing a million now.
The final Level of play for 1c has just begun with the field two off the Day 1 money. There are 100 players left alive right now so the clock should pause very soon after the next elimination.
They are down to 107 players left in 1c of the Main with about 20 minutes to play in Level 16. It now looks likely that it will be late in this level or early in 17 when the clock pauses for hand-for-hand play.
They are 14 off the money with players on the break following Level 16. This is the final break of the night with two more levels on the schedule. Bubble play in Level 16 still looks likely and one player who’ll be eyeing that mark and beyond is the inaugural winner of this event in Jan 2022, Cody McKay. He’s in the action today and playing about 220k right now, looking to be the first repeat Main Event winner at WSOP-C Calgary. McKay won a bit more than $290k for that one, but the win this year should easily be worth more than $300k.
I likely won’t have eyes on the prizes tonight since they won’t be able to even start doing the final prize pool until they know how many players bag up tonight. That means no one will likely know the prizes until sometime Sunday morning, but they’ll be on the board when Day 2 players return to the Sundance room at noon Sunday.
Based on previous editions of the Main Event, however, it looks like a lock that the top prize for the Main this time around will be more than $300k. Based on the percentage from Jan 2024, 1st place would by just over $310k — that number may vary slightly when the final prizes come out on Sunday, but it looks certain to be over $300k.
As they near the money bubble, the early leader Sunny Lee looks to have dropped to second place. He’s playing about 780k right now, up from his previous big stack but Glen Baker has chipped up to the lead with about 900k in front of him.
They are now less than 20 players to the money with about 10 minutes to play before the final break of the night, so bubble play in Level 16 still looks on track.
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The board says they are 31 away from the money now, but the truth is it’s less than 30 as they are only updating the board when a table breaks. Money starts getting handed out at 98th place tonight so my guess is the bubble play happens sometime in Level 16 after the final break of the night.
The numbers for 1c are confirmed and 649 entries for more than $980k in prizes on the final flight. That puts the total prize pool at $2.077 million.
There are 98 paid spots from today’s action with at least 65 players going through to tomorrow’s Day 2. If they hit 65 before the end of Level 17 the bags will come out early, otherwise the remaining players will bag at the end of 17. The only thing that might mess with that schedule would be if they don’t make it to 98 before the end of 17. Day 1c MUST hit the money, so if they aren’t in the money by the end of 17, they’ll keep playing until 98 players are left, and then bag for the night.
Alex has been wandering around watching some of the action as well and he just relayed a couple of interesting hands to me. Steve Zhang just won a hand with trips over trips blind on blind when both players rivered trip sixes. Ryan Jensen preserved his tournament life by open-folding a set of eights on a seven-nine-three-eight-six board, He would have been at risk with a call on the very straight-y board and elected for discretion over valour.
The cutoff opened to 8k and big blind and ME champ Nicholas Teeuwen called to see a flop of 3♠9♦J♣. He checked it over to the cutoff who fired 6k, but then folded to the check-raise to 22k. Teeuwn won this event in May 2024 to be the first non-Alberta player to bag the Main Event here in Calgary and he’s sitting at a table that includes Cuong Lieu, who was runner-up in the May 2022 Main Event, Youssef Hmama, Ben Locker, Jackson Oniske, and Jayvee Lumahan.
Entries for the Main Event are now closed with the final unofficial tally for Day 1c at 649 entries. That will be confirmed later tonight when the 1c prizes are posted, but if it holds it should mean 98 paid spots from today with at least 65 players bagging for tomorrow’s Day 2.
While there are a lot of familiar faces in the crowd who have been here for most of the series, there are a couple of players I’ve seen today for the first time. Weimin Hou, who picked up a ring here in the mix NLH/PLO event in 2022, Sinan Tawfik, and Anthony Mar are all here for the final few days of play.
There are about 10 minutes left in the break following Level 12 with entries to the Main Event set to close when they sit down for Level 13. The prizes are just shy of $2.1 million at the moment, and it doesn’t look like it will quite hit that mark before it shuts down for the night, but it’s still a decent turnout.
The prizes are pushing towards $2.1 million today with the field up to 1,362 combined and 640 for 1c alone. I’ve gotten a bit of help from Alex again here in the Main Event room, along with double-ring winner Nicholas Lee. They’ve just grabbed some chip counts for me and it looks like Sunny Lee is the chip leader so far today with 550k in front of him. See below for a few other stacks thanks to Akex and Nick.
Last year, Jenelle Exner etched her name into poker history with an incredible back-to-back victory in the Ladies events at WSOP Circuit Calgary. After claiming her first ring in May, she returned in August, outlasting a tough field, including runner-up Barb Walser, to secure her second title in style.
The prize pool is now over $2.05 million with about an hour left to enter the game. The 1c field is over 630 entries now for a total of 1,355 across all three starting days. They need 45 more entries to hit 1,400 total which would put the prizes over $2.12 million.
The combined prizes are pushing close to $2.05 million now with 626 entries for 1c and 1,348 across all days. There are about 30 minutes left in Level 11 with the entry desk shutting down at the start of Level 13 os the end of entries is now about 90 minutes away.
The combined prizes are now over $2.025 million with 615 entries on the board today and 1,337 across all three starting days. There are just under 2 hours left to get your stack into the Main Event now with entries set to close for good at 8:3o PM tonight.
Also, check out the contemporaneous coverage of the Ladies event going on now as well. Alek Gillies is in the Chrome room following all the Ladies action and he’ll be on the case until they award the ring later tonight.
The 1c players are less than 5 minutes away from sitting down for Level 10 and the final three levels of entry for this Main Event. The 1c field just pushed over 600 for prizes of more than $2 million across all starting days but it’s likely we’ll see a few more entries before the desk shuts for the night.
The combined field is now at 1,326, less than 75 away from 1,400, so that’s not an impossible number to hit with a bit more than 2 hours to get into the game.
The 1c field is up to 590 now for more than 1,300 in total. That puts the combined prizes less that $15k away from $2 million with about 15 minutes to play in Level 9.
The 1c players will take a dinner break following this level, then return for three more levels of entry after dinner before the Main Event field is set in stone at the start of Level 13.
We enjoyed chatting with the WSOPC Calgary Event #11 $1k NLH Turbo finishers. It’s always fun to hear their stories, share some laughs, and capture the unique atmosphere at the table.
Day 1c prizes are now over $865k for a combined total of more than $1.95 million for the Main right now. There are about 4 hours of entry left on this Main so passing $2 million seems like a lock with ~25 more entries required to push past that.
The room(s) is full of familiar faces with the entirety of Sundance full to the rafters and several Main Event spillover tables over in Chrome playing out alongside the Ladies event. Alek Gillies is in the house over in Chrome following the Ladies for the night, so make sure to check out his coverage and give the Ladies some love as well.
As expected, Day 1c is a big one with 550 entries on the board and 390 remaining in play. That puts the combined field at 1,272, just 200 off the 2024 combined total of 1,475. The combined prizes are just shy of $2 million now and they need another 49 entries today to cap $2 million.
That number seems like it will be hit easily — it remains to be seen if they can find 200 entries to match last year. Registration is still open for more than 4 hours.
Day 1a: Jan 16, 11 AM Day 1b: Jan 17, 11 AM Day 1c: Jan 18, 11 AM Day 2: Jan 19, 11 AM Day 3: Jan 20, 11 AM
Blinds:
40/60 Minutes
Starting Stack:
40k
Late Entry:
12 Levels (~8:30 PM)
Day 1 Ends:
17 Levels (~12:10 AM)
Entries:
84/722
Prizes:
$1,093,830
There are two flights to the Main Event now in the books with the field at 722 entries and prizes of nearly $1.1 million. There are now 84 players waiting for Day 2 after 35 players advanced from the first flight and 49 more found bags in 1b.
That leaves the final shot coming Saturday at 11 am and it promises to be a big one. So far, Days 1a and b have fallen a bit short of expectations with the field now 55 smaller than the 2024 numbers after 2 flights. Sunny Lubana is still the stack to beat after bagging 1.1 million on 1a while 1b leader Pascal Gregoire is second after two flights.
Players sit down with 40k in chips to play 40-minute levels on Day 1. Players can enter for 12 levels during Day 1, meaning the entry desk should close around 8:30 PM. After that, they’ll play 5 more levels on Day 1 (at most) but they’ll bag early if they hit 10% of the field before then. Note that’s a change from most events in the series where bags come out at 5%.
I will be in the Sundance room for most of 1c, though I will be late to the floor after what is expected to be a late night with the PLO Bounty on Friday night.
Day 2 is over with 14 players still in action for the final day of play on Monday. Vancouver’s Ashkan Razavi bagged the big stack today with more than 8.5 million. That’s almost 2 million ahead of the second-place player Scott Johnson who has 6.68 million. Rus King also has more than 6 million for 3rd.
It’s worth noting that Razavi made Day 3 of this event in August of 2024, finishing his run in 4th place. In that one, he started Day 3 looking way up at the eventual winner Alex Liu who came into Day 3 with about half the chips in play five-handed. This year, everyone else will be looking up at Razavi.
The dream od a repeat for Alex Liu is now dead as he hit the rail in 15th place tonight. He was the winner of the most recent Main Event last August, and made a pretty deep run in this one as the last winner still in action. That means that WSOP-C Calgary still has not had a repeat winner and this year will be a new player once again.
They are down to 16 left with about 35 minutes to play until the Day 2 bags come out. Terry Goode and Romualdo Cusano were the most recent busts to bring them to 16.
Level 27 has just kicked off and this will be the final level of the night. It looks like Rus King is the leader now with about 6.85 million in front of him while Greg Taylor, two to his right, is on about 5.2 million. Ashkan Razavi (who was 4th in the August 2024 Main) and Pascal Gregoire are both playing stacks in the 4 million range.
There are now about 50 minutes left until they bag up for the night.
Michael Lim raised early to 165k and it folded around to Pascal Gregoire in the big blind. He put out the call to see J♣7♣K♠ on the flop.
Gregoire checked to Lim who bet 230k. Gregoire tanked for a bit before announcing all in with the smaller stack.
“Fuck,” Lim muttered under his breath, and the dealer double-checked to make sure he didn’t say “call.” He eventually did say “Call” and he was drawing to straight clubs with eight-seven against top pair for Gregoire with king-nine of hearts.
The 4♠2♦ runout were bricks and Gregoire’s king held up for the win and the double. Lim was the leader with over 6 million, but he shipped about 2.5 million of that over to Gregoire, putting Lim down to about 4 million with Gregoire up to a bit more than that.
Weston Pring opened to 200k from the middle and August champ Alex Liu raised to 500k from the hijack. It folded back to Pring and he shoved more than Liu had behind. Liu hit the tank, checking the clock and the other table to assess the situation before folding after a couple of minutes in the tank.
“If it dropped to 17, I’d just call,” Liu said after the hand, as there is a $2,200 pay jump for 17th place tonight. Liu is relatively short at the moment, but he’s still in the running to be the first player to win two Main Event rings in Calgary.
They are down to 20 players left with 10 minutes to play in Level 25. Recent payouts are below and stay tuned for a look at the remaining players in the field and how they are seated.
They are down to 25 left and play has moved into the Chrome room now. They cleared out of Sundance when they got down to the final two tables, but two more players have busted as I was getting set up in Chrome. See below for the recent payouts and check the Payouts tab for the full list from today.
They are now two eliminations off the final three tables after Dunstin Centanni ran into it to end his day in 30th place. He was deep in the tank on the turn of a board reading 8♣7♦J♣2♥ until the clock was finally called on him after around 6 minutes. He made the call before time ran down, but his two pair with seven-eight was behind a set of eights for his opponent.
The river bricked out and Centanni was left short. The remainder went in a couple of hands later and he hit the rail for 30th place. Jeff “Ironman” Charlebois also hit the rail recently for 32nd place, but as previously mentioned, no matter how deep he went here today, he’s running pretty good in life right now.
They are down to 32 remaining now in the Main — see below for the recent prizes and check the Payouts tab for the full payouts for Day 2. Once the field is down to the final three tables I’ll do my best to get full counts for the remaining players.
The players are now back from their dinner break with 35 players left on four tables. Rus King still looks to be leading with more than 4 million in front of him while Ashkan Razavi looks to be playing about 3 million. Angelo Jopek has about 2 million in front of him, and the August champ Alex Liu is playing just over a million. Meanwhile, Thomas Taylor has just hit the rail for 35th place.
Jeff “Ironman” Charlebois at the final table of the 6-Max event in Jan 2022 at WSOP-C Calgary
One player who is still around at the final four tables of play today is Jeff Charlebois. He’ll be recognizable to most players here at Deerfoot Inn & Casino thanks to his ubiquitous Ironman mask, which debuted during the COVID restrictions back in Jan 2022.
He’s already having a pretty decent run in the Main Event this year with almost $9k already locked in, but the truth is, no matter how deep he goes in this one, he’s running well in life at the moment as he’s just beaten cancer.
Charlebois has spent the last 6 months in chemotherapy for a grapefruit-sized tumour, but on the first Friday of the series he received good news from his doctor — the tumour is now nothing but scar tissue. He spent the day calling friends and family to relay the good news, then decided to get into his car and drive all night for some poker here at Deerfoot.
Obviously, beating cancer has given Charlebois a new lease on life, and while his first few days at the series were a bit rough with exhaustion, he’s found his second wind with three cashes so far. But more than that, he said the 6 months he spent in treatment were a real eye-opener for him as he was going through chemo with 41 other people, seeing them for six hours every three weeks during his treatments.
While Charlebois had a good chance at recovering as a result of the chemo sessions, many of the people he was sitting with weren’t so lucky, going through the grueling process with far less hope of recovery. He said he realized just how blessed he was after watching his fellow patients struggle.
Cancer is a bitch, and it’s not always possible to write a “feel-good” story about it. Charlebois is a great example that it can be beaten, at least in some cases, but he also wants to remind people that life is short and it can take sharp turns when we least expect it. Glad to see you back in action Jeff — the local community hopes to be seeing you at the tables for a long time coming.
The Main Event players are on their dinner break now with the end of Level 23 and they are down to the final four tables. In theory, there are still chips at five tables as they got down to 35 with two busts on the final hand before dinner, so they’ll break a table as soon as they get back in about 30 minutes.
Sean O’Reilly might be living the life of Reilly right now as he just survived with a double after cracking aces. He shoved the hijack over a raise from the middle, but his [invalid notations] was in trouble against pocket aces. The flop didn’t look good for O’Reilly, but one diamond gave him a glimmer of hope, and when the turn and river also sparkled he found a double to stay alive today.
The field is down to the final five tables tonight with about 20 minutes to play in Level 22. Robin Bergren just sent a player to the rail to bump his stack to about 4 million and what looks like the lead right now. Greg Taylor and Rus King are both playing around 3.8 million while recent PPT Main Event winner Stephen Dauphinais has about 2 million in front of him. Giulio Rosati is playing just shy of that, while the August Champion Alex Liu is on about 1.3 million and sitting next to one of his compatriots from that final table, Ashkan Razavi who has about 2 million right now.
The Main Event players are on their second break of the day now with 51 players left in the action. They will be back at the felt in about 5 minutes for Level 22 with 6 levels to play in Day 2.
They are down to 57 players left in the Main Event with 20 minutes to play in Level 21. There is another break following this level with six levels of play remaining in the day after the break.
I’ve been spending some time today catching up on the series results in my combined spreadsheets, and the numbers for this year are looking decent. It looks like the total will be a bit down from the 2024 numbers this year as the combined prizes for the series are sitting at just over $5 million from nearly 9,000 entries with two events to go. With the High Roller and Last Chance yet to play, it’s likely that total will end up over 9,000 entries with somewhere around $5.6 million in total prizes.
They are down to 66 players left in the Main Event with about 5 minutes to play in Level 20. The action has slowed a little bit as the field dwindles, but there’s still a pretty steady stream of players heading to the Payout desk to get their slips signed.
The field is down to 91 players at the first break of Day 2 and the action at the Payouts desk is slowing somewhat for the first time today. Players will be back at the felt in about 10 minutes for Level 20, but in the meantime, below is a look at recent payouts.
The field is nearing double-digits now with more than 45 players hitting the rail since the start of the day. The second level of Day 2 has about 40 minutes remaining with the first break of the day scheduled following this level.
The action is moving quickly here on Day 2 with the field down to 126 already and still 10 minutes to play in the opening level. As usual, recent payouts are below with the complete prizes so far (and full prize numbers to first) are under the Payouts tab.
The payouts have been coming fast so far today with the field already down to 142 and barely 20 minutes gone in the opening level of play. Below is a look at the early prizes today and the full prize numbers, along with results so far, are listed on the Payouts tab.
The prizes are in and the winner at the end of the game is going to pocket $312k for their troubles this series. The numbers are dropping quickly with 12 players hitting the rail since the start of play about 15 minutes ago. I’m still working on getting the Payouts page updated with all the numbers, but look for a fairly long list of early payouts coming shortly.
Day 1a: Jan 16, 11 AM Day 1b: Jan 17, 11 AM Day 1c: Jan 18, 11 AM Day 2: Jan 19, Noon Day 3: Jan 20, Noon
Blinds:
60 Minutes
Entries:
159/1371
Prizes:
$2,077,065
The Day 2 field is set with 159 players returning all in the money. There are two big stacks that everyone is looking up at — Michael Lin and Sunny Lubana are the only players with more than a million, and they both have at least 1.1 million. Rauno Tahvonen came oh-so-close to the million mark with 995k while Glenn Baker has 970k for 4th and Sarath Samakasekera is just shy of 900k for fifth.
Day 2 action gets underway at noon at the start of Level 18 since all three flights in this one went the distance. The blinds will move to 60 minutes at the start of play and remain there through the final hand on Monday. Day 2 is scheduled to play until the end of Level 27 and all remaining players will bag for Day 3 on Monday.
Manish “Bubs” Ralh, Winner of WSOP-C Calgary Jan 2025 Main EventManish “Bubs” Ralh shows off the WSOP-C bling after winning the Main
Manish “Bubs” Ralh is relatively new to the game, but he’s already won his first Circuit ring. He had a stellar run heads up against Angelo Jopek in the Main Event Day 3, coming from behind once they got two ways.
His first recorded cash was in 2020, but the rest of his results are from 2024 and he said at the table during heads-up that he’s only recently gotten serious about the game. This is his second win but biggest score by a long shot — his lifetime earnings before tonight were just over $80k USD with a best cash of $44k. Tonight’s win comes close to quadrupling his lifetime earnings before tonight.
Angelo Jopek was on the run of his life for most of the final table, but when he got heads up against Manish “Bubs” Ralh, it all came crashing down for him. Ralh dominated the heads up portion, taking most of the pots and building a big lead by dinner. Jopek found some life and clawed some chips back on a hand with significant flop action.
The pot was more than 10 million by the end of the flop action, with paired nines and a three on the board. Jopek had been winning pots all day with a nine in his hand, prompting the 4-bet/call action on the flop. It slowed down to checking on the turn and Jopek fired 3.2 million on the river when it ran out ten-four, forcing a fold from Ralh.
That was about all he could get though as Ralh’s relentless aggression, and apparently going card dead, kept Jopek on his heels. It ended on a hand when Ralh raised it to 1.25 million and then snap-called when Jopek shoved. Ralh was miles in front chip-wise, and also with the hand as Jopek was left looking for a king with king-seven against pocket jacks. No help came on the flop and Jopek had to settle for second, though it’s worth noting the players evened the prizes a bit between them.
It was limped preflop to see 9♣3♥9♠. “That’s my card, man,” Angelo Jopek said with a smile as he’s won a few pots tonight with at least one 9 in his hand.
Jopek checked and Manish Ralh bet 500k. Jopek came over the top to 1.6 million before Ralh smiled and said “What, my nine is no good? Kicker problems?”
Ralh pumped it up to 3.5 million and Jopek called. The both checked on the 10♠ turn, and Jopek fired 3.2 million on the 4♦ river. Ralh conceded the hand and Jopek got a few chips back.
The Main Event players are on their dinner break now with Manish Ralh holding a big advantage. The last 30 minutes or so has been a lot of non-showdown hands with Ralh taking the majority and slowly chipping up to more than 40 million while it seems like Angelo Jopek’s rungood has stalled and he is down to 14 million.
They are just about to return to the action shortly.
Angelo Jopek raised to 800k from the button and Manish Ralh called. Ralh check-called for 1 million on the K♦J♥10♦ flop. He check-called again on the A♠ turn for 1.5 million, but when Rahl fired 5 million on the 2♦ river Jopek tanked for a few seconds before folding Q♠4♠ face up. Ralh showed it was a solid fold as he tabled 9♦5♦ for the rivered straight.
The players have now taken a quick break with the stacks virtually even though Jopek still has about 2 million more.
In a pretty funny hand, both players limped it preflop, then checked through a board of 6♦Q♥7♥8♦7♦. On the river Angelo Jopek said “No balls, you win. Five high.”
Manish Ralh hesitated for the few seconds, showing his own five high with five-three. Jopek tables five-three as well. “You play that shit?” he joked as they chopped the pot.
Ashkan Razavi was 4th in this event in Aug 2024, and he just went one better today with 3rd place. After big stack Angelo Jopek folded the button, Mansih Ralh raised the small blind to 850k then tank-called when Razavi shoved the big for 7.725 million.
It was a gross spot for Razavi with nines into pocket tens for Ralh. The board ran dry for both hands leaving the tens in front and Razavi on the rail in 3rd.
Jopek is still sitting behind a mountain of chips, but Ralk is now on close to 20 million after collecting Razavi’s stack.
Manish Ralh opened the button to 700k and Angelo Jopek defended his big blind. Jopek check-called for 400k on the 8♠K♣10♠ flop and again for 1.5 million on the 6♦ turn. They both checked the 2♥ river and Rlah announced “King” showing K♣9♦ while Jopek fired his cards to the muck after spending about 20 seconds staring at his hand and the board.
In the first hand, Angelo Jopek raised to 600k from the button and Ashkan Razavi called from the big blind. Razavi check-called for 400k on the 8♥3♠A♠ flop and they both checked the Q♥ turn. When the 3♣ river paired the board, both players checked again and Jopek mucked when Razavi showed A♦6♦.
“I wanted to bluff, but that river was terrible,” Jopek said.
The next hand Manish Ralh raised to 700k from the button and Jopek called from the big blind. They both checked the 5♠Q♣7♣ flop, and Ralh folded after Jopek check-raised the 2♥ turn from 800k to 2.1 million.
Angelo Jopek is on the run of his life today. He now has 70% of the chips in play at the final table with more than 38 million. Neither of his competitors has 10 million, so he;s got a stranglehold on the final three.
They’ll be back for Level 32 (150k/300k/300k) in a bit more than 5 minutes.
Angelo Jopek is on the run of his life now, playing well and hitting cards when he has to. He just sent Pascal Gregoire to the rail by cracking his pocket kings. Jopek called off with ten-nine and turned trip nines for a huge win. I’ll grab exact counts in about 10 minutes when they go on break, but Jopek now has at least half the chips in play.
They are four ways now after Scott Johnson followed Greg Taylor to the rail today. I missed the action as he busted while I was writing the previous hand, but he took the final 5-digit payout tonight with the remaining players now all guaranteed at least $105,691.
They are down to five now after Greg Taylor shoved under the gun and Ashkan Razavi called from the big blind for a not-so-classic race between ace-jack for Razavi and king-queen for Taylor. The board ran dry for both hands and Razavi’s ace held for the win.
Manish Ralh raised to 550k from the middle before Scott Johnson shoved 1.2 million from the hijack. Ralh called for a race between his J♠10♠ and pocket sevens for Johnson. Ralh flopped some hope with backdoor spades, but when the 9♠4♣2♣A♣4♠ runout was done, the sevens were still good.
Johnson doubled to a bit more than 3 million while Ralh is still playing a bit more than 10 million after the hand. There is a break coming in about 20 minutes and I’ll do another full round of counts while they are away from the table, but it’s safe to say Angelo Jopek is still the big stack as he has a stack of plaques in front of him plus several stacks of blues.
Angelo Jopek has been on a run for the past 39 minutes or so, stacking chips like crazy. He is now playing close to half the chips in play with just shy of 24 million in front of him and only about 55 million in play.
Greg Taylor raised to 1 million under the gun, the snapped it off when Scott Johnson shoved the small blind for 1.5 million. Taylor was dominated with ace-jack into ace-king and the board missed both hands to leave the ace-king in front. Taylor was left with about 5.1 million while Johnson is up to about 4 million.
They are still pretty deep on the final table with more than 200 big blinds in play right now.
The are down to seven left after Angelo Jopek raised the small blind to 400k, then snapped it off when Rus King shoved the big with less. King was dominated with king-seven into ace-king, but the 2♥5♥5♠10♠A♣ didn’t bring any joy for King and Jopek chipped up a bit more as King hit the rail for 7th place.
They are down to 7 remaining in the Main Event after Robin Bergren shoved ace-eight and was called off by queen-nine. He had about 5 bigs and looked in decent shape to double in what amounted to roughly a race. The nine came on the river to send Bergren to the cage for 8th place tonight.
Nikhil Madadi shoved and Rus King called with more from his left. Madadi needed a king or diamonds with K♦Q♦ against pocket queens for King. The board paired jacks but there was no king or diamonds coming for Madadi and he was out in 9th place tonight.
Michael Lim was the first player to exit the final table today in 10th place. I missed the action while I was processing the pictures, but he’s had a bit of a rollercoaster today with his stack up and down.
Weston Pring laddered up a couple of spots today but ended his day just before the final table. I missed the action while getting chip counts done from the break. Stay tuned for some final table faces coming soon.
Johnny Dalphond hit the rail just before the break for 12th place, though I missed the action while I was writing the previous bust. I’ve just had a look at all the remaining stacks with Ash Razavi still out in front and Manish Ralh also playing more than 10 million.
Dennis Ashmore was one of the shorties coming into today, but he managed to ladder up one pay jump at least. Pascal Gregoire shoved the hijack for 1.575 million and Dennis Ashmore called with less from the small blind. He was in trouble with pocket fours into pocket sixes and the board missed both hands to send Ashmore out in 13th place.
The remaining 12 players will be on their first break of the day in a couple of minutes, and I’ll grab chip counts while they are away from the table.
Michael Lim was down to just over 1.5 million when he got it in with suited connectors and Johnny Dalphond called it off with ace-queen off. Lim flopped huge with a flush and straight draws on 5♠3♠2♥ then turned the spades on the K♠10♣ runout with his seven-six of spades.
Lim is up to about 3.5 million now while Dalphond dropped to 2.66 million.
They are down to 13 and everyone is now guaranteed almost $16k with the pay jump at 13th place. Michael Bernstein came into today with the short stack and he did his best to grab a double, putting his final 500k into the middle with pocket sevens from the button. Scott Johnson called it off from the big blind with king-nine, then spike two pair on the 6♣K♥9♦3♦J♥ board. Berny couldn’t find his seven and hit the rail in 14th place today.
Ashkan Razavi was on pocket tens against the pocket aces for Weston Pring when the money went in preflop. Razavi smashed the flop with a ten to jump into the lead as Pring let out a loud sigh. That changed toa cheer when the ace hit the turn to re-pop Pring to the top. He held for a huge double to stay alive in a hand that initially looked like it would bad-beat him to the rail for the min-cash today.
Rus King opened the hijack to 300k then called when Manish Ralh raised it up from the cutoff to 1.3 million. The flop was 7♠9♠Q♦ and King checked to Ralh, then folded when Ralh put out 1.35m. Ralh showed pocket queens for the flopped set.
Meanwhile, on the other table, Ashkan Razavi opened the hijack to 240k, then folded when Weston Pring shoved for a bit less than 2 million.
The opening level of Day 3 is nearly complete with action moving to 100k/150k/150k in about a minute.
Scott Johnson opened the cutoff to 275k before Michael Lim reraised the small blind to 600k. Big blind Rus King said “Easy fold” as he mucked his hand, but Johnson called to see a flop of 4♥A♦10♦.
Lim fired 500k and Johnson laid down his hand. Lim rolled over pocket kings as he collected the pot, showing that the ace on the flop didn’t scare him.
It’s the final day of play here at WSOP-C Calgary for Jan 2025 and that means there’s some money on the table. One of the players seated around the final two tables of the Main Event will pocket more than $311k later today, but all 14 of them have already secured a decent score of at least $12,865.
Ashkan Razavi comes into Day 3 with the lead and he’s been here before — He was 4th last August in this event so he’ll be looking to go a few spots deeper than that today. Scott Johnson and Rus King are his closest competitors with stacks in the 6 million range but every player in the game today has the chips and skills to take it all the way.
Day 1a: Jan 16, 11 AM Day 1b: Jan 17, 11 AM Day 1c: Jan 18, 11 AM Day 2: Jan 19, Noon Day 3: Jan 20, Noon
Blinds:
60 Minutes
Entries:
14/1371
Prizes:
$2,077,065
There are 14 players left in the Main Event for Day 3 and Ashkan Razavi, who took 4th in the August Main, is the chip leader to start Day 2. He has 8.575 million to start the day with Scott Johnson his closest competitor with 6.68 million. Rus King also has more than 6 million while Michael Lim and Robin Bergeron are playing stacks in the 5 million range.
Day 3 action starts at noon on Monday in the Chrome room and they’ll play it down to a winner on Monday. Blinds will remain at 60 minutes throughout the day and everyone returning is guaranteed at least $12,865. That will be the first payout before it jumps to $15,829 at 13th place. See the Payouts tab for a look at all the prizes awarded on Day 2.
Day 3 Players, Seats, and Stacks
32 – 1
Ashkan Razavi
8,575,000
32 – 2
Dennis Ashmore
1,580,000
32 – 4
Weston Pring
1,945,000
32 – 6
Robin Bergren
5,365,000
32 – 7
Pascal Gregoire
3,010,000
32 – 8
Nikhil Madadi
2,050,000
32 – 9
Angelo Jopek
2,480,000
—
—
—
38 – 1
Scott Johnson
6,680,000
38 – 2
Greg Taylor
3,995,000
38 – 3
Michael Won Taek Lim
5,640,000
38 – 4
Rus King
6,160,000
38 – 5
Manish Ralh
2,680,000
38 – 6
Michael Bernstein
725,000
38 – 7
John Dalphond
3,855,000
Day 3 Prizes
Place
Prize
1
$312,624
2
$208,416
3
$147,340
4
$105,691
5
$76,945
6
$56,864
7
$42,669
8
$32,516
9
$25,172
10
$19,800
11
$19,800
12
$15,829
13
$15,829
14
$12,865
Event 16
Event 12
Place
Player
Prize
1
Manish “Bubs” Ralh
$312,624
2
Angelo Jopek
$208,416
3
Ashkan Razavi
$147,340
4
Pascal Gregoire
$105,691
5
Scott Johnson
$76,945
6
Gregory Taylor
$56,864
7
Rus King
$42,669
8
Robin Bergren
$32,516
9
Nikhil Madadi
$25,172
10
Won(Michael) Lim
$19,800
11
Weston Pring
$19,800
12
Johnny Dalphond
$15,829
13
Dennis Ashmore
$15,829
14
Michael Bernstein
$12,865
15
Alex Liu
$12,865
16
Ye(Steve) Zhang
$12,865
17
Romualdo Cusano
$12,865
18
Terry Goode
$10,633
19
Sam Raz
$10,633
20
Zeyu James Du
$10,633
21
Sarath Samarasekera
$10,633
22
Gavin Li
$10,633
23
Stephen Dauphinais
$10,633
24
Sean O’Reilly
$10,633
25
Jeremy Lyons
$10,633
26
Aleksei Ponomarev
$10,633
27
Pasquale Dicosmo
$8,940
28
Giuilo Piredda Rosati
$8,940
29
Jae Lee
$8,940
30
Dustin Centanni
$8,940
31
Tien Phung
$8,940
32
Jeff (Ironman) Charlebois
$8,940
33
Alemu Makonen
$8,940
34
Hee “Sunny” Lee
$8,940
35
Thomas Taylor
$8,940
36
Rauno Tahvonen
$7,647
37
Shane Brotherwood
$7,647
38
Malachy Hagan
$7,647
39
Nicholas Lee
$7,647
40
Gordon Johnson
$7,647
41
Kevin Huang
$7,647
42
Zhi Yang
$7,647
43
Aaron Quon
$7,647
44
Michael Letal
$7,647
45
Joshua Frazer
$6,658
46
Saeed Ganji
$6,658
47
Gennady Klimenko
$6,658
48
Andrew Fahey
$6,658
49
Cuong Nguyen
$6,658
50
Colten Yamagishi
$6,658
51
Shawn Leis
$6,658
52
Kris Steinbach
$6,658
53
Wai Chan
$6,658
54
Wai Chan
$5,902
55
Ruoxiao Shi
$5,902
56
David Swirski
$5,902
57
Alen Bakovic
$5,902
58
Joshua Hopkins
$5,902
59
Sunny Lubana
$5,902
60
Connor Daynard
$5,902
61
Jay Glass
$5,902
62
Christopher Charlton
$5,902
63
Matthew Busch
$5,329
64
Teo Sanchez
$5,329
65
Donald Arsenault
$5,329
66
Garrett Gilmurray
$5,329
67
Robert Kliss
$5,329
68
Haochen Zhou
$5,329
69
Ke’Andre Willis
$5,329
70
Rocco Smeriglio
$5,329
71
Ron Campbell
$5,329
72
Steven Filipovic
$4,901
73
Scott Dyck
$4,901
74
Nader Aram Panahi
$4,901
75
Clinton Cockburn
$4,901
76
Roman Gallivan
$4,901
77
Trent Hopper
$4,901
78
Gaetano Buda
$4,901
79
Talal Shoush
$4,901
80
Dylan Payne
$4,901
81
David Quang
$4,595
82
Yiming Nie
$4,595
83
Bemjamin Cooper
$4,595
84
Ryan Parungao
$4,595
85
Jacob Watrich
$4,595
86
Mehmet Seginc
$4,595
87
Jimmy Lee
$4,595
88
Glenn Baker
$4,595
89
Yiquan Zhong
$4,595
90
Giuseppe Galluzzo
$4,392
91
Robert Lothian
$4,392
92
Frank Almond
$4,392
93
Chad Lummerding
$4,392
94
Hassan Issa
$4,392
95
Yong Lu
$4,392
96
Faisal Al Qutub
$4,392
97
Roger Grosset
$4,392
98
Mike Leah
$4,392
99
Cody Mckay
$4,281
100
Gordon Wong
$4,281
101
Renmei Liu
$4,281
102
Kevin Kelso
$4,281
103
Richard Rex
$4,281
104
Karamjeet Shergill
$4,281
105
Cole Neufeld
$4,281
106
Louis Collette
$4,281
107
Jackson Oniske
$4,281
108
Rafael Stern
$4,078
109
Jorge-Alberto Artiga-Pacheco
$4,078
110
Christopher Bush
$4,078
111
Rami Hammoud
$4,078
112
Pavlo Vertiiko
$4,078
113
Kevin Javier
$4,078
114
Ryan Cairns
$4,078
115
David Swaim
$4,078
116
Dongwoo Ko
$4,078
117
Scott Stuve
$4,078
118
Richard Mullen
$4,078
119
Marc-Andre Yelle
$4,078
120
Steven Labelle
$4,078
121
Zilong Zhao
$4,078
122
Hoang Quach
$4,078
123
Jeremie Bilodeau
$4,078
124
Francis Fortin
$4,078
125
Ning Ma
$4,078
126
Steven Desjarlais
$4,078
127
Bryan Lin
$4,078
128
Trevor Morrisette
$4,078
129
Alexander Wong
$4,078
130
Keith Mcintosh
$4,078
131
Christopher Bowers
$4,078
132
Kyle Chang
$4,078
133
Marco Carreira
$4,078
134
Zofimo Xavier
$4,078
135
Andy Truong
$4,078
136
Kip Howard
$4,078
137
Dylan Boyer
$4,078
138
Jayvee Lumahan
$4,078
139
Harpreet Padda
$4,078
140
Wayne Hoffert
$4,078
141
Colin Burton
$4,078
142
Daniel Lefebvre
$4,078
143
Luting Li
$4,078
144
Don Lee
$4,078
145
Gregory Liow
$4,078
146
Michael Hooper
$4,078
147
Jacob Hobday
$4,078
148
Aidan Klingbeil
$4,078
149
Michael Retuya
$4,078
150
Raymond Cawaling
$4,078
151
Steven Mager
$4,078
152
Julius Roque
$4,078
153
Tianshu Liu
$4,078
154
John Lawford
$4,078
155
Harman Jassal
$4,078
156
Kayvan Payman
$4,078
157
Joe Basaraba
$4,078
158
Bryan Robitaille-Fequet
$4,078
159
Brayden Brown
$4,078
Angelo Jopek
Ashkan Razavi
Greg Taylor
Manish Ralh
Michael Lim
Nikhil Madadi
Pascal Gregoire
Robin Bregren
Rus King
Scott Johnson
Angelo Jopek Heads Up in the Main
Mansih Ralh Heads Up in the Main
Heads up WSOP-C Calgary Jan 2025 Main Event
Manish “Bubs” Ralh shows off the WSOP-C bling after winning the Main
Manish “Bubs” Ralh, Winner of WSOP-C Calgary Jan 2025 Main Event