CA$10,300 Main Event
Day 5 Completed
2019 partypoker LIVE MILLIONS North America
CA$10,300 Main Event
Day: 5
Francois Billard Wins the CA$10,300 Main Event at the 2019 partypoker LIVE MILLIONS North America
Level 41
: 3,000,000/6,000,000, 6,000,000 ante
It was a long and grueling final day to the 2019 partypoker LIVE MILLIONS North America CA$10,300 Main Event but a winner has finally been crowned. It took over 14 hours from start to finish but Francois Billard outlasted a 521-entry field to claim the title and the first-place prize of CA$961,400.
After making a three-way deal with Kevin Rabichow and Joni Jouhkimainen, Billard eliminated both of his final opponents for his first major title in his hometown at Playground Poker Club. Billard carried a massive lead into heads-up play but Rabichow hung tough on the short stack and nearly brought it back to even. However, just as Rabichow got a sniff of the lead, Billard was able to close things out.
Billard quickly took over a massive chip lead at the beginning of the day and he was clearly the most aggressive player since having the majority of the chips. "Maybe I pushed the action a little too much at times so I don't know if it was the right strategy but it worked out in the end."
In the last hand of the night, Billard turned two pair against Rabichow's pair and open-ended straight draw. All of the chips got in the middle on the turn and Rabichow bricked the river. The noise in the room was the loudest all night as the French-Canadian supporters broke out in cheers. "I'm a little bit exhausted but excited as well. All my friends are here so I'm excited to go have a small drink at wherever is open right now."
It will be Billard's largest career cash to date as he closes in on the $3 million lifetime mark. When asked if he has any plans with the money, Billard was hoping for a little vacation. "A beach house maybe, I don't know. Where are we going?!" he shouted to his rail.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (CAD) | Prize(USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Francois Billard | Canada | $961,400 | $715,414 |
| 2nd | Kevin Rabichow | United States | $578,990 | $430,848 |
| 3rd | Joni Jouhkimainen | Finland | $583,310 | $434,063 |
| 4th | Alexandros Kolonias | Greece | $370,000 | $275,331 |
| 5th | Paul Fontan | Spain | $300,000 | $223,241 |
| 6th | Danick Landriault | Canada | $250,000 | $186,035 |
| 7th | Ben Heath | United Kingdom | $200,000 | $148,828 |
| 8th | Ruben Perceval | Canada | $150,000 | $111,621 |
| 9th | Armin Rezaei | Austria | $100,000 | $74,414 |
Only six players returned to the felt for the final day of competition but with so many blinds in play and 90-minute levels, it was a bound to be a war of nutrition. Danick Landriault began the day as the short stack and he was looking for a spot to quickly double up. Unfortunately for him, he flopped middle pair against Rabichow's top pair and all of the chips got in the middle on the turn. Landriault wasn't able to improve and he exited in sixth place.
The final five players battled for over six hours with Billard holding a comfortable chip lead throughout. The other four took turns on the short stack but each managed to find key double ups time and time again. It was a Rabichow double up that left Paul Fontan with just a few big blinds and he eventually bowed out in fifth place.
Alexandros Kolonias used his passive play style to ladder up through a couple of eliminations. Eventually, the blinds caught up to him and Kolonias called off a river bet from Rabichow. Kolonias had two pair, tens and nines, but Rabichow rivered queens and tens to bring the final table down to three players.
After taking a 40-minute dinner break, the three players returned to discuss a deal. After about 30 minutes of working out the numbers, they finally agreed to ICM chop after leaving CA$212,370 to play for. Billard was the current chipleader and he earned himself CA$749,030. Jouhkimainen locked up CA$583,310 while Rabichow pocketed CA$578,990.
While most of the prizepool had already been divided up, three-handed play still continued for over two hours. Billard continued to build up a stack while the Finnish partypoker pro saw his stack dwindle. Jouhkimainen eventually picked up two suited cards he decided to go with from the small blind but Billard woke up with a big ace in the big blind. Despite picking up plenty of outs on the turn, Jouhkimainen bricked off and was forced to settle for third place.
That left Billard and Rabichow to play heads-up for over CA$210,000 with Billard holding a healthy chip lead. He was able to wrap things up in about an hour as he hoisted the MILLIONS LIVE trophy high in the air.
That wraps up all of the coverage for the 2019 partypoker LIVE MILLIONS North America in Montreal, Canada. The PokerNews live reporting team will now be heading to Las Vegas for the 2019 World Series of Poker and you can follow all of the coverage right here.
Kevin Rabichow Eliminated in 2nd Place (CA$578,990)
Level 41
: 3,000,000/6,000,000, 6,000,000 ante
Hand #344: Kevin Rabichow opened to 12 million on the button and Francois Billard elected to push in a three-bet of 42 million. Rabichow called and the dealer fanned out 
on the flop.
Billard threw in a 26 million bet, Rabichow called and the turn came down a 
. Billard moved all in for more than enough to cover Rabichow's remaining 168 million stack.
Rabichow thought for a moment but in the end, he called his remaining chips all in. The crowd started to cheer as a champion may be crowned at the end of this hand.
Rabichow tabled 
for a pair of tens with a straight draw and Billard turned over 
for two pair. The 
landed as the river card and the crowd went wild as the local Canadian took down the pot, eliminating Rabichow out in second for a respectable CA$578,990.
Francois Billard is the 2019 partypoker LIVE MILLIONS North America CA$10,300 Main Event, taking home CA$961,400 for his first place finish. A full recap of the day will be posted shortly.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
521,000,000 | 236,000,000 |
|
Busted |
Hands #337-343: Back and Forth for Billard and Rabichow
Level 41
: 3,000,000/6,000,000, 6,000,000 ante
Hand #337: Francois Billard raised to 12 million on the button and Kevin Rabichow defends his big blind. The 
board checked through to the river where Billard tabled his 
to collect the pot.
Hand #338: Francois Billard received a walk in the big blind.
Hand #339: Francois Billard raised to 12 million and Kevin Rabichow three-bet to 35 million. Billard called, and the 
board checked through to the river.
Rabichow tabled his , but it would be Billard's 
that would earn him the pot.
Hand #340: Kevin Rabichow raised to 12 million on the button and Francois Billard called. The flop landed 
and both players checked as the 
landed on the turn. Billard bet 16 million, and Rabichow folded.
Hand #341: Kevin Rabichow received a walk in the big blind.
Hand #342: Kevin Rabichow raised to 12 million before Francois Billard three-bet to 40 million. Rabichow shoved all in for 193 million and Billard folded.
Hand #343: Kevin Rabichow received a walk in the big blind.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
285,000,000 | 19,000,000 |
|
|
236,000,000 | -19,000,000 |
Hand #332-336: Rabichow Evens Playing Field
Level 41
: 3,000,000/6,000,000, 6,000,000 ante
Hand #332: Kevin Rabichow raised to 12 million on the button, Francois Billard three-bet to 40 million and Rabichow quickly released.
Hand #333: Billard opened to 12 million on the button and Rabichow folded.
Hand #334: Rabichow limped the button, Billard checked his option and the flop came down 
. Billard checked to Rabichow who pushed in 8 million. Billard check-called and an 
fell as a turn card. Billard checked, Rabichow pushed in 10 million and Billard check-called. The hit the felt as a river card and Billard checked. Rabichow bet 70 million, Billard folded and Rabichow scooped in the pot.
Hand #335: Billard opened to 12 million, Rabichow three-bet to 40 million and Billard called. The flop came down 
, Rabichow bet 37 million. Billard called and the dealer flipped over a 
as a turn card. Rabichow moved all in for 117 million and Billard folded, shipping the pot to Rabichow.
Hand #336: Rabichow opened to 12 million, Billard defended his big and the flop fell 
. Both players checked, a came on the turn. Billard bet 7 million, Rabichow called and the came on the river. Billard bet 24 million and Rabichow instanly folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
266,000,000 | -67,000,000 |
|
|
255,000,000 | 67,000,000 |
Hands #327-331: Rabichow Gains Some Ground
Level 41
: 3,000,000/6,000,000, 6,000,000 ante
Hand #327: Kevin Rabichow received a walk in the big blind.
Hand #328: Francois Billard received a walk in the big blind.
Hand #329: Francois Billard raised to 12 million on the button and Kevin Rabichow called in the big blind. The flop landed and both players checked to see the 
on the turn as both players checked once more.
The river fell the and both players checked. Rabichow tabled his 
and Billard mucked.
Hand #330: Kevin Rabichow limped the button and Francos Billard raised the big blind to 20 million. Rabichow called, and the flop landed 
.
Billard bet out 10 million and Rabichow called as the 
fell on the turn and both players checked. The river landed the and Billard checked. Rabichow bet 50 million and Billard folded.
Hand #331: Francois Billard raised to 12 million on the button Kevin Rabichow moved all in for 176 million. Billard folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
333,000,000 | -60,000,000 |
|
|
188,000,000 | 60,000,000 |
Hand #322-326: Rabichow Not Backing Down
Level 41
: 3,000,000/6,000,000, 6,000,000 ante
Hand #322: Francois Billard received a walk in the big blind.
Hand #323: Billard opened to 12 million, Kevin Rabichow moved all in for 84 million and Billard called, players turned over their hands.
Rabichow:
Billard: 
The dealer spread out on the flop and Rabichow's ace-high was still ahead. A 
peeled off on the turn and the river a , changing nothing as Rabichow held on for a double.
Hand #324: Rabichow opened to 12 million from the button, Billard three-bet to 40 million and Rabichow called. The flop came down , Billard bet 25 million and Rabichow folded, shipping some chips back to Billard.
Hand #325: Billard opened to 12 million on the button, Rabichow called and 
spread out on the flop. Rabichow checked to Billard, he bet 7 million and Rabichow folded.
Hand #326 Rabichow opened to 12 million from the button and won the blinds and ante.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
393,000,000 | -38,000,000 |
|
|
128,000,000 | 38,000,000 |
Level: 41
Blinds: 3,000,000/6,000,000
Ante: 6,000,000
Hands #317-321: Rabichow Falling Behind
Level 40
: 2,500,000/5,000,000, 5,000,000 ante
Hand #317: Francois Billard limped in on the button and Kevin Rabichow checked his option. The flop came and both players checked to the 
on the turn and the on the river. Rabichow tossed in a bet of 20 million and Billard quickly folded.
Hand #318: Rabichow folded his button.
Hand #319: Billard shipped all in on the button and Rabichow folded his big blind.
The blinds were increased to 3,000,000/6,000,000
Hand #320: Rabichow just called on the button and Billard checked his option. The flop came and Billard check-called a bet of 6 million from Rabichow. The turn brought the and Billard folded to a bet of 16 million from Rabichow this time.
Hand #321: Billard raised to 12 million on the button and Rabichow called from the big blind. The flop fell 
and Rabichow check-called a bet of 6 million from Billard.
The turn was the and Rabichow checked once more. Billard threw in a bet of 20 million and Rabichow mucked his cards.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
431,000,000 | 11,500,000 |
|
|
90,000,000 | -11,500,000 |
Hands #312-316: Billard Climbing; Now Over 400 Million
Level 40
: 2,500,000/5,000,000, 5,000,000 ante
Hand #312: Francois Billard received a walk in the big blind.
Hand #313: Francois Billard limped and Kevin Rabichow checked. The flop landed and a bet of 5 million from Billard took the pot down.
Hand #314: Francois Billard received a walk in the big blind.
Hand #315: Francois Billard raised to 10 million and Kevin Rabichow called. The flop landed and Rabichow checked to Billard who bet 6 million. Rabichow called, and the turn fell the .
Both players checked as the 
completed the board on the river. Both players checked, and Billard tabled his to collect the pot over Rabichow's .
Hand #316: Kevin Rabichow raised to 10 million and won the big blind and ante.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
419,500,000 | 21,000,000 |
|
|
101,500,000 | -20,000,000 |