WPT Montreal Main Event Day 1A: Philippe Boucher Storms Out To Early Advantage

The cards are in the air for the World Poker Tour stop at the Playground Poker Club in Montreal, Quebec, with players positioning themselves for a run at a championship that has quickly become one of the most hotly contested on the WPT circuit.

WPT announcer and Poker Hall of Famer Mike Sexton was on hand to issue the perfunctory call to “shuffle up and deal” as the players flooded the floor of the Playground. Even though it was an early wake up for poker players (11AM roughly), the tables seemed to have quite a few notables among them. Canadians Matt Jarvis, Scott Montgomery, Jonathan Roy and Will Molson were on hand to defend their home turf, greeting such American opposition as defending WPT Player of the Year Joe Serock, 2013 WPT POY contender Matt Salsberg, Phil Laak, former World Champion Huck Seed and Sexton himself as the action got underway on Thursday.

Salsberg was able to find some early action which pushed him forward as the opening bell’s chime dimmed. On a Q♦ 7♦ 6♠ K♦ flop and turn, Salsberg called the all-in of an opponent and revealed a 10♦ 8♦ for a turned flush. His opponent still had outs, however, with his pocket Kings having turned a set. Those outs would disappear, however, when an innocuous trey hit the river, shooting Salsberg up to nearly double his chip stack and a player out of the Playground.

As the afternoon wore on, more players took advantage of the late registration period to get in on the action (the format of the WPT Montreal allows for registration up to Level 6 and players who bust on Day 1A can re-enter on both Days 1B and 1C). Jonathan Little, Sam Chartier, Shannon Shorr, Erik Cajelais, Tommy Vedes, Will “The Thrill” Failla and Adam Geyer were all players who took advantage of the late registration option, with varying degrees of success. Cajelais was one who might take another shot tomorrow or Saturday, while Shorr was able to push his stack above the average chip count with 119,500 by day’s end.

By the end of the late registration period, 194 players had put some of their hard earned bankrolls on the line and, if this year’s tournament at the Playground holds true, there should be even more action on the line as players either step up for their first shots on Days 1B and 1C or re-enter the tournament after busting Day 1A.

Once the remaining 150 players came back from the dinner break after Level 6, the intensity ramped up just a notch. Roy was one of the first to go after flopping a set of eights against an opponent holding A-Q on a 10-9-8 board. The seven on the turn didn’t change much, but the cruelly dealt Jack on the river handed his opponent a straight to eclipse his set and send him into the Montreal evening.

Roy would be joined on the rail by a host of strong players in the event that included Jarvis, Vinny Pahuja, Kevin Stammen, Serock (eliminated by Kara Scott, playing in a tournament in her native Canada for the first time), Montgomery, Chris McClung and Dan Buzgon by the end of the evening, but another pro quietly stormed his way to the top of the leaderboard.

Without any great recognition from the throngs around the Playground, 2011 World Series of Poker Europe bracelet winner Philippe Boucher was able to destroy anyone who came in front of him. By the end of the night, he had accumulated a stack of chips that should make him a force come Day 2 of this tournament on Sunday.

1. Philippe Boucher, 278,100
2. Jeff Gross, 232,800
3. Danny Suied, 190,000
4. Upeskha De Silva, 184,500
5. Christian Harder, 176,600
6. Farid Jattin, 161,000
7. Poorya Nazari, 156,000
8. Martin Raus, 144,600
9. Bryan Piccioli, 123,700
10. Kara Scott, 121,500

The entire size of the field – and the prize they will be playing for – will not be known until Saturday afternoon once late registration closes on Day 1C. The last tournament at the Playground for the WPT was one for the record books, however. In November, Jonathan Roy won the WPT event for a score of $779,710 and the tournament set a record for the largest poker tournament entries (1173) and prize pool in Canadian history. It is expected that this tournament should crack the 1000 entry mark and it should prove to be an interesting watch as the WPT Montreal rolls into its second Day One tomorrow.