2016 Playground Poker Club World Cup of Cards

NL Hold'em Freeze
Day: 1
Event Info

2016 Playground Poker Club World Cup of Cards

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
77
Prize
3,462 CAD
Event Info
Buy-in
100 CAD
Prize Pool
5,000 CAD
Entries
146

NL Hold'em Freeze

Day 1 Completed

Francesco Maltese Wins Event #4: NL Hold'em Freeze for $3,462

Event #4 Champion Francesco Maltese
Event #4 Champion Francesco Maltese

There is a new World Cup of Cards event champion at Playground Poker Club. Francesco Maltese topped a field of 146 to win Event #4: NL Hold'em Freeze for $3,462.

Maltese defeated Andrej Markovinovic heads-up to claim the title. In the final hand, Markovinovic raised all-in preflop and was called by Maltese. Markovinovic had {a-Hearts}{k-Diamonds} but was behind Maltese's {7-Clubs}{7-Hearts}. A classic race was underway with Maltese having a slight advantage. That edge proved to be enough as the board ran out {8-Spades}{3-Clubs}{6-Spades}{q-Clubs}{3-Diamonds}. Markovinovic received $2,550 for his runner-up finish.

Tanvir Ahmed fell victim to a cruel beat falling in fifth. Ahmed had turned a full house with {k-}{j-} on a {2-}{2-}{2-}{j-} board and was all-in against Markovinovic's {a-}{k-}. A {2-} came on the river giving both players quads but Markovinovic's ace-kicker took the pot. Ahmed was awared $1,090.

PlaceNamePrize (CAD)
1Francesco Maltese$3,462
2Andrej Markovinovic$2,550
3Maxime Pitre-Pepin$1,920
4Daniel Letarte$1,450
5Tanvir Ahmed$1,090
6Bart Sieminski$820
7David Pare$620
8Jason Conforti$460
9Andre Pelletier$350
10Jason Mottershead$260

PokerNews will be here throughout the festival, bringing you all the news, updates, and photos. Follow @pokernews on Twitter for live updates, Periscope broadcasts, and more. Also, follow PokerNews on Facebook and Instagram.

Tags: Andrej MarkovinovicFrancesco Maltese

Andrej Markovinovic Eliminated in 2nd Place ($2,550)

Andrej Markovinovic raised all-in preflop and was called by Francesco Maltese.

Maltese: {7-Clubs}{7-Hearts}
Markovinovic: {a-Hearts}{k-Diamonds}

A classic race was underway with Maltese having a slight advantage. That edge proved to be enough as the board ran out {8-Spades}{3-Clubs}{6-Spades}{q-Clubs}{3-Diamonds}.

Player Chips Progress
Francesco Maltese
Francesco Maltese
21,900,000
21,100,000
21,100,000
Andrej Markovinovic
Andrej Markovinovic
Busted

Tags: Andrej MarkovinovicFrancesco Maltese

Maxime Pitre-Pepin Eliminated in 3rd Place ($1,920)

Maxime Pitre-Pepin open-shoved on the button and Andrej Markovinovic made the call from the small blind. Francesco folded in the big blind.

Pitre-Pepin: {k-Clubs}{9-Spades}
Markovinovic: {a-Clubs}{5-Diamonds}

The board ran out {j-Spades}{7-Spades}{a-Diamonds}{8-Clubs}{j-Clubs} unable to give Pitre-Pepin any help and his tournament was over.

Player Chips Progress
Andrej Markovinovic
Andrej Markovinovic
1,350,000
650,000
650,000
Francesco Maltese
Francesco Maltese
800,000
-40,000
-40,000
Maxime Pitre-Pepin
Maxime Pitre-Pepin
Busted

Tags: Andrej MarkovinovicFrancesco Maltese

Maltese Triples Into Chip Lead

Andrej Markovinovic opened to 125,000, Francesco Maltese moved all-in, and Daniel Letarte raised all-in for more. Markovinovic called and three tabled their hands.

Markovinovic: {a-Clubs}{q-Spades}
Letarte: {a-Hearts}{q-Hearts}
Maltese: {k-Hearts}{10-Hearts}

The dealer delivered a {3-Spades}{3-Clubs}{10-Diamonds}{j-Hearts}{7-Spades} board and Maltese tripled with his pair of tens.

Player Chips Progress
Francesco Maltese
Francesco Maltese
840,000
440,000
440,000
Andrej Markovinovic
Andrej Markovinovic
700,000
-180,000
-180,000
Daniel Letarte
Daniel Letarte
200,000
-410,000
-410,000

Final Four on Break; Maltese Rivers Royal Flush

The final four players are on a 15-minute break.

Just before the break Francesco Maltese hit a royal flush to stay alive. Down to two big blinds, Maltese got all his chips in the middle preflop with [ahkh. He had one caller and the two seen a {2-Hearts}{j-Hearts}{10-Hearts}{6-Diamonds}{q-Hearts} board roll out.

When they return, blinds will be 30k/60k with a 5k ante. Average stack is 547,500.

Player Chips Progress
Andrej Markovinovic
Andrej Markovinovic
880,000
-380,000
-380,000
Daniel Letarte
Daniel Letarte
610,000
160,000
160,000
Francesco Maltese
Francesco Maltese
400,000
200,000
200,000
Maxime Pitre-Pepin
Maxime Pitre-Pepin
270,000
85,000
85,000

Tanvir Ahmed Eliminated in 5th Place ($1,090)

Andrej Markovinovic had Tanvir Ahmed all-i and at risk on the turn of a board of {2-}{2-}{2-}{j-}. Ahmed though had turned a full house with {k-}{j-} and was ahead of Markovinovic's {a-Spades}{k-Clubs}.

Poker is cruel sometimes and as the dealer swept out the river, a {2-} fell putting quads on the board and Markovinovic's ace-high was best.

Player Chips Progress
Andrej Markovinovic
Andrej Markovinovic
1,260,000
494,000
494,000
Daniel Letarte
Daniel Letarte
450,000
169,000
169,000
Francesco Maltese
Francesco Maltese
200,000
10,000
10,000
Maxime Pitre-Pepin
Maxime Pitre-Pepin
185,000
29,000
29,000
Tanvir Ahmed
Tanvir Ahmed
Busted