Playground

The players have gone on their first 15-minute break.

John Pentefountas raised to 800 in first position and Yan Neiman three-bet to 2,400 in early position which saw only Pentefountas call.

The flop rolled out and Pentefountas check-called a bet of 3,000 from Neiman after some thought.

Pentefountas checked the turn over to Neiman who bet 6,000 and once more Pentefountas called.

On the river , Pentefountas lead out for 8,500.

Neiman called and mucked after seeing Pentefountas’ for kings and tens.

• John Pentefountas - 63,000 (157 bb)
• Yan Neiman - 8,800 (22 bb)

Photo: (From Left To Right) DJ Buckley, Umut Ozturk, Jacob Long, Josh Reichard, John “Farmboy” Kurfman

We are down the final stretch of the Season 16 POY and despite the chilly weather up here in Montreal, the race continues to heat up.

Of the top five player in the race, four of them have made appearances out here in their quest to take the title. Both Josh Reichard (409,000) and Jacob Long (318,000) found bags and will be looking to battle it out on Sunday.

Current MSPT POY Race

1. Umut Ozturk - 8,992
2. Jacob Long - 8,277
3. Josh Reichard - 6,606
4. Anthony Scarborough - 4,984
5. DJ Buckley - 4,783
6. Gerald Cunniff - 4,605
7. Ryan Eamon - 4,150
8. Brett Reichard - 3,950
9. Merritt Kuhn - 3,650
10. Matthew Porter - 3,525

DJ Buckley and Umut Ozturk both have arrived out here at Montreal, with Ozturk looking to set an unprecedented record and claim a third POY in a row. Like Michael Jordan before him, he looks to do a three-peat.

Stay tuned to MSPTPoker.com to see not only who collects points at this stop, but the following three stops as well.

Photo: Nabil Karrass

Action was picked up on the flop in a pot between Nabil Karrass in late position and Anthony Douglas Henderson in the hijack.

The board read and Karrass bet 2,100 which Henderson called.

On the turn , Karrass sized up to 3,500 which Henderson called once more.

Karrass fired a third time on the river to see Henderson fold his hand and he took down an early pot.

• Nabil Karrass - 43,000 (215 bb)
• Anthony Douglas Henderson - 36,000 (180 bb)

The players have taken their seats in the final flight of the Canadian Poker Championship.

Stay tuned to updates on the ground, shortly to come.

Photo: John “Farmboy” Kurfman

One final chance today at 11:00 AM in Day 1D of the Canadian Poker Championship at Playground. 570 entrants have filled the tournament area over the past three days in the hopes to claim a piece of the $1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool. Only 64 players have their seats ready for Day 2 of the event and today’s players look forward to joining them as well.

Leading yesterday’s Day 1C was Kevin Javier with 1,208,000, good for the overall chip lead in the tournament. He was joined on the podium with Lyndon Webster (848,000) and Adam Cader (738,000). Another familiar face that ended up making it through was none other than MSPT Champion John “Farmboy” Kurfman (176,000) who looks to add a second main event title to his resume.

Day 1C Top Ten Chip Counts

1. Kevin Javier - 1,208,000
2. Lyndon Webster - 848,000
3. Adam Cader - 738,000
4. Jiajun Mei - 738,000
5. Jinrong Zhang - 732,000
6. Bibek Karki - 709,000
7. Kyle Zechner - 603,000
8. Albert Nguyen - 535,000
9. Ghassan Menachi - 441,000
10. Alexandre Fournier - 384,000

On the POY front, Josh Reichard (406,000) and Jacob Long (318,000) bagged in the first two flights and will be able to rest today. Arriving yesterday to play were current POY front runner Umut Ozturk and all time MSPT cashing leader DJ Buckley. All four of them sit in the top four on the leaderboard and many implications come with the bags at day's end today.

Many tournament regulars from far and wide have made their way out to play already and some expected to pop in today include Sundiata DaVore, Jon Pardy, Anne Bui, Stuart Taylor, and many more in the quest for MSPT immortality.

Players will be sitting down with 40,000 chips at the start. Blinds will begin at 100/200 with a 200 big blind ante, and levels will escalate every 40 minutes. A break will occur at the conclusion of every three levels, with a 45-minute dinner break beginning at the start of level 9. After that, registration will remain open for the following three levels plus a break. Play will continue until just 11% of the field remains, where all remaining players will be in the money and return on Sunday at 11:00 AM to play down to a winner. This is the final flight and last chance, with unlimited re-entry options.

Stay tuned to MSPTPoker.com for all of the exciting updates on the ground.