Montreal Nationals vs. LA Sunset
Day 1 Started
2016 Global Poker League Week 9
Montreal Nationals vs. LA Sunset
Day: 1
Montreal Nationals vs. LA Sunset
It's the last day of Week 9 of the Global Poker League. After Tuesday's 6-max matches and yesterday's Eurasia heads-up battles, today it's time for the Americas conference.
Like yesterday there are three heads-up matches scheduled for today. At 1pm EDT (7pm CEST), so in about 15 minutes, the action will get underway we this first match.
Olivier Busquet, representing the LA Sunset, will take on, Montreal Nationals Marc-André Ladouceur.
After their three heats, it's time for the battle between the New York Rounders and the Sao Paulo Metropolitans. The Rouders selected Tom Marchese. The Mets' pick is Byron Kaverman.
At 6pm EDT the last match of this week will start. Jonathan Jaffe will play for the San Francisco Rush. He will face Jake Cody from the Las Vegas Moneymakers
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
50,000 | |
|
50,000 |
Ladouceur and Busquet Meet Again
The first battle of the day, is a rematch of the match Marc-André Ladouceur and Olivier Busquet played on may 5th. Ladouceur will be looking for revanche, as he lost two of the three heats in that match.
The manager of the Montreal Nationals only scored three points in that match but knows how to win in this format. He defeated Igor Yaroshevsky 2-1 in his only other heads-up battle in this inaugural season of the Global Poker League.
Olivier Busquet has a fine track record in the GPL heads-up matches. Not only did he score a win against Ladouceur, but he won six of his seven matches. All with a 2-1 score. Felipe Ramos was the only beating Busquet (2-1).
GPL Heads-up Rules
What can you expect from the Global Poker League today? Every heads-up match will be played over three heats between the same players. They start each heat with 50,000 chips apiece.
Levels last 4 minutes and they will start with 200/400-blinds and an ante of 40. Both players start each heat with an 18-minute game clock. Meaning they have a total of 18 minutes to make all their decisions. If a player runs out of time, he will be put in the so-called 'hot seat'. He then has 4 seconds to act for every decision, if he fails to act, he will automatically fold or check his option.
Winning a heat gives the players team three points for the Global Poker League conference standings. So there is a total of nine points for grabs in every match.
Top of the League Clash
The first match is a clash between the numbers one and two in the standing of the Americas conference. There is only a three point difference between the two teams.
If Olivier Busquet can score a 2-1 win today, the two teams will be tied at the top of the table. If Busquet wins 3-0, the LA Sunset will take over the top spot. Any other score keeps the Montreal Nationals in first place after today's matches.
GPL Americas Conference League Standings
| Place | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montreal Nationals | 147 |
| 2 | LA Sunset | 144 |
| 3 | Sao Paulo Metropolitans | 120 |
| 3 | New York Rounders | 120 |
| 5 | San Francisco Rush | 107 |
| 6 | Las Vegas Moneymakers | 97 |
Play is Underway
The first heat of this first match just started. Time to enjoy all the heads-up action!
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
50,000 | |
|
|
50,000 |
Busquet Takes First Pots
Most of the early pots have gone the way of Olivier Busquet. In one of the last hands, he bluffed Marc-Andre Ladouceur off bottom pair.
Busquet opened with 
to 1,600 in the 300/600-level and Ladouceur, holding 
made the call. Both checked the 
-flop and 
-turn.
After the 
fell on the river, Busquet fired out a bet of 2,500 and took it down.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
65,000 | 15,000 |
|
|
35,000 | -15,000 |
No Big Pots Yet
We haven't seen any big pots yet, but with the blinds going up pretty fast, we will see some action pretty soon.
Blinds are 500/1,000 already, so Marc-Andre Ladouceur has only 30 big blinds left.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
68,400 | 3,400 |
|
|
31,600 | -3,400 |
Ladouceur in Trouble
After losing another sizeable pot, Marc-Andre Ladouceur is really in trouble now. With blinds at 800/1,600 he only has ten big blinds left.
Olivier Busquet took his chips by betting 2,500 in a 5,000-pot on a 
-board. He was holding 
for trips. Ladouceur had 
for to pair and made the cal.
The 
came on the river and Busquet bet out again, this time for 5,600. Ladouceur made the call and is on life support now.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
84,000 | 15,600 |
|
|
16,000 | -15,600 |
Double for Ladouceur
Marc-Andre Ladouceur was down to only 10,000 chips, but just found his much needed double up.
Olivier Busquet shoved all-in with 
and Ladouceur called with his 
. The board ran out 
and the queen on the turn saved Ladouceur.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
80,000 | -4,000 |
|
|
20,000 | 4,000 |