Playground

This second day of the Canadian Poker Championship passed the numbers of yesterday as 179 entrants came out to put chips in a bag. Combined with the numbers from yesterday’s flight, this puts the overall total between the days of play at 298, with two more registration days looming over the rest of the week.

Leading the way is Kurtis Ruhl who sits with 980,000. Hailing from Fergus, Ontario, the tournament regular spent a lot of the day hanging around the top of the pack. It was two hands after the final break of the night that sent him into the stratosphere, one that involved a two outer he drilled to see another player exit the tournament. With $162,047 in lifetime earnings, he looks to add an MSPT title to his burgeoning resume.

Sitting right behind him is Medhat Ramzy who ended with 890,000. With $341,164 in lifetime earnings over the past 13 years of tournament playing, Ramzy has acquired a whole host of cashes from not just Playground, but other casinos across North America. An MSPT title has yet to cross his plate, but his sizable stack today will put him in prime position for a deep run on Sunday.

A couple of this week’s gold card winners made it through in the form of Benjamin Szwimer (579,000) and Justin George (349,000). They will be joining the Day 2 ranks in an attempt to make their trip up to Playground even more trophy-filled.

Those with eyes on the Season 16 Player of The Year Race now see another exciting development as Jacob Long (318,000) found his way to a bag. Sitting in second place on the leaderboard at the moment, he now has secured a few more points in his quest to narrow the gap between himself and Umut Ozturk, looking to claim first in the player of the year race.

Today was not for everyone as many regulars of the tournament across North America took their leave. Players like Sundiata DaVore, Bradley Smith, Anne Bui, and Adam Cader all took their chances on the felt and came up empty. They will be among the many players with the ability to exercise a re-entry option for the following two days.

Play ended in Level 15, meaning that players will return to the end point of yesterday on Sunday at 11:00 AM. Yesterday’s day ended with 39:35 in Level 15 with blinds at 3,000/6,000, with a 6,000 big blind ante and is the point in the tournaments that the clock will reset to unless either of the following two flights end earlier.

That will conclude today’s coverage of Day 1B of the Canadian Poker Championship, stay tuned to MSPTPoker.com for all of the exciting updates on the ground!

Photo: Phillippe Brouchard

Action was picked up on the flop in a pot between Phillippe Brouchard and Medhat Ramzy, with Ramzy in position.

On the board of , both players got in all of their chips with Brouchard all in for 260,000 and at risk.

Phillippe Brouchard:
Medhat Ramzy:

The board ran out and the queens up was good for the pot while Brouchard became the bubble boy of the Day.

Stay tuned to later tonight for full chip counts and a full recap of the flight.

• Medhat Ramzy - 890,000 (111 bb)
• Phillippe Brouchard - Eliminated

Photo: Kurtis Ruhl

A player moved all in for 130,000 from middle position and Kurtis Ruhl called in the cutoff while all other players folded.

Middle Position:
Kurtis Ruhl:

The board ran out and the fives full on the river was good for Ruhl to take down the pot and eliminate a player.

Now the players have gone into the hand for hand portion of the tournament.

• Kurtis Ruhl - 810,000 (101 bb)

Players have gone on another 15-minute break.

Photo: Jacob Long

Kurtis Ruhl raised to 12,000 in middle position and a player in late position called. Action folded around to the big blind where Jacob Long moved all in for 125,000, quickly folding out Ruhl while the late position player asked for a count.

“If you have to ask, you can’t afford it,” said Long as his opponent contemplated his decision. After a few more exchanges back and forth, the late position player called to put Long at risk.

Jacob Long:
Late Position:

The board ran out and the pair of tens held up for the three-time MSPT Gold Card winner.

• Jacob Long - 265,000 (44 bb)

Photo: Benjamin Szimer

Brian Wright raised to 11,000 from under the gun and in middle position, Benjamin Szwimer three-bet to 35,000 which only Wright called.

The flop rolled out and Wright check-called a bet of 25,000 from Szwimer.

On the turn , Wright checked over to Szwimer who sized up to 80,000 and Wright called.

Wright thought for a bit before opting to check the river and Szwimer moved all in for 263,000 effective, sending Wright into the tank. After just under a minute of thought, Wright tossed his hand into the muck.

Szwimer tabled for just the two pair on the board with an ace-kicker and the MSPT Gold Card champion ascended into the chip lead of the tournament.

• Benjamin Szwimer - 761,000 (152 bb)
• Brian Wright - 263,000 (52 bb)

Photo: Wesley Sproule

Action was picked up on the flop in a pot between Wesley Sproule in the big blind and Francis Collins in early position.

With 40,000 in the center, Sproule jammed for 90,000 on a board reading , which Collins called.

Wesley Sproule:
Francis Collins:

Nothing changed on the runout of and the three aces were good for the pot while Sproule left the tournament area.

• Francis Collins - 310,000 (77 bb)
• Wesley Sproule - Eliminated

Photo: Ayden Marr

Jacob Long opened to 8,000 from early position and in the hijack, Ayden Marr three-bet to 21,000. In the big blind another player jammed all in for 49,000 which only Marr called.

Big Blind:
Ayden Marr:

The board ran out and the kings up was good for Marr to rake in the pot.

• Ayden Marr - 174,000 (43 bb)
• Jacob Long - 171,000 (43 bb)

As the thirteenth level of play has begun, the registration period of Day 1B has come to a close.

179 entrants have entered today, bringing the total number to 298 entrants across two days.

Stay tuned to see who fills in the ranks of the 20 bags.