button in SafariL.A. Poker Classic Champ Leads Final 30 of Record-Breaking WSOP Circuit Main Event
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The biggest live poker event ever held in Canada is down to its final 30 players, with Paul Klann leading the way into Day 5 of the CA$5,000 WSOP Super Circuit Canada Main Event at Playground.
A massive 2,844 entries turned out for the Main Event, creating a CA$13,082,400 prize pool and smashing the CA$10 million guarantee. The WSOP Super Circuit stop is the first of its kind at Playground, with the Main Event running through September 10.
Klann bagged 11.3 million, worth 113 big blinds when play resumes at 11 a.m. local time. Guoyan Li is his nearest challenger with 8.1 million, while Nicholas Palma rounds out the top three on 7.6 million.
The final 30 will play another six levels on Wednesday before the remaining contenders return on Thursday to decide who takes home the WSOP Circuit ring and CA$1.5 million top prize.
Negreanu, Mizrachi and Givens Fall on Day 4
Day 4 started with plenty of big names still in contention, but several were unable to make it through another hectic session at Playground.
Poker Hall of Famers Daniel Negreanu and Michael Mizrachi were among the early exits, along with Rami Hammoud, who finished sixth in the 2026 WSOP Main Event.
Negreanu's tournament was ended by Chance Kornuth, who correctly called for the river card he needed to send the Canadian to the rail. Kornuth made much better progress through the day and returns sixth in chips with 6.6 million.
Will Givens also looked like a strong candidate to finish near the top of the counts for much of Day 4. The 2026 WSOP Main Event standout had built one of the biggest stacks in the room before a costly clash with Klann changed the picture.
Givens fired a huge bluff into Klann's nut flush, handing over a sizeable portion of his stack. Klann used that pot to push towards the top of the leaderboard, while Givens was unable to recover and was eliminated before bagging and tagging.
Klann Chasing Another Seven-Figure Score
Klann's name at the top of the counts may be familiar to anyone who followed the tournament circuit in the early 2010s.
The Canadian has $1,170,830 in recorded live tournament earnings, despite having only a small number of results on his Hendon Mob résumé. Almost all of that total came from one tournament.
Klann won the 2013 WPT L.A. Poker Classic Main Event, topping a 517-entry field to collect $1,004,090.
His appearances on the live circuit have been sporadic since that seven-figure victory, and his last cash before this run came at Playground last year. Klann min-cashed the CA$2,500 WSOP Circuit Montreal Main Event, his most recent recorded result before returning to the same venue for the Super Circuit.
Thirteen years on from his LAPC victory, Klann now has a chance to land another seven-figure payday. A win on Thursday would be worth CA$1.5 million, eclipsing his previous best cash once converted to U.S. dollars.
Big Money Up for Grabs at Playground
Everyone returning for Day 5 has already locked up CA$51,000, but the payout jumps will quickly become much more significant.
Reaching the final 26 guarantees CA$65,000, while the final 13 are assured a six-figure payday. A seat at the nine-handed final table is worth at least CA$150,000, with seventh place doubling that figure to CA$300,000.
The final four will each collect at least CA$600,000, while the last three are guaranteed CA$750,000. The runner-up takes home CA$1 million, with CA$1.5 million reserved for the champion.
WSOP Super Circuit Canada Main Event Day 5 Chip Counts
Klann has a 32-big-blind advantage over Li at the top, but there are still several established names in contention.
Kornuth sits sixth with 6.6 million, while Jack Salter returns ninth with 5.7 million. Rayan Chamas has 4.5 million and Jack Hardcastle remains in the mix with 3.3 million.
Day 5 gets underway at Playground on Wednesday, September 9, with the final 30 scheduled to play six more levels. The Main Event then reaches its conclusion on Thursday, September 10.
