Day 2 of the World Cup of Cards (WCC) Event # 22: $5,000 NL Hold'em 8-Max is set to resume at 2 p.m. inside Playground Poker Club this afternoon. Day 1 chip leader Pascal Lefrancois takes the top spot entering play with 11 hopefuls in the hunt behind him, all vying for the $76,830 first-place prize.
Backed by a monster pot on the last hand of the night on Day 1, Lefrancois will begin Day 2 with 210,900. Lefrancois' closest competitor is WCC Event #9 winner, Francois Goulet with 148,700. World Series of Poker Main Event November Niner Marc-Etienne McLaughlin, World Poker Tour champion Chanracy Khun, and Samuel Chartier are also in the mix.
Though originally scheduled to play for three days, there is a very good chance a new WCC champion will be crowned sometime this evening. Play will resume on Level 11 with blinds starting at 600/1200 and a 200 ante.
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Jean-Louis Cyr opened preflop, Samuel Chartier shoved all-in, and Cyr made the call.
Chartier:
Cyr:
Chartier was in trouble and would not receive any help from the , busting in 11th place. The remaining 10 players are now on the final table bubble. Just five will make the money.
A preflop blind versus blind battle between Domenic Triumbari and Francois Goulet has spelled the end for the former. Triumbari was all-in and at risk with [askd[ and was racing against Goulet's .
The board ran out . Triumbari had flopped best but the ten on the river crushed his hopes and a final table of nine is set.
Carl Martel opened to 9,000 and received calls from Pierre-Paul Paulin in the cutoff, Jean-Louis Cyr in the small blind, and Marc-Etienne McLaughlin in the big blind.
The four players saw a flop. The first three players checked to Paulin, who fired a bet of 14,500. Action folded to McLaughlin who check-raised to 41,000. Paulin made the call and the fell on the turn.
First to act, McLaughlin slid out a bet worth 50,000, and after some deliberation, Paulin tossed his cards into the muck, relinquishing the chip lead along with it.
On a flop, and two checks in front of him, Pierre-Paul Paulin bet 12,500. Jean-Louis Cyr check-called and Carl Martel check-shoved all-in for 94,000. Paulin made the call, putting Martel at risk.
Martel:
Paulin:
Martel was ahead but Paulin had flopped the world with an open-ended straight flush draw. The on the turn was a safe card for Martel, but the on the river gave Paulin a straight and the pot.
Francois Goulet opened from the cutoff, Jean-Louis Cyr shoved all-in from the big blind for about 100,000, and Goulet snap-called.
Goulet:
Cyr:
Cyr was in big trouble, needing a miracle to stay alive. Unfortunately, he did not receive any help from the board and the remaining six players are now on the direct money bubble.
Chanracy Khun open-shoved preflop and Marc-Etienne McLaughlin snap-called.
Khun:
McLaughlin:
Khun was the player at risk and needed some assistance to keep his tournament alive. The board ran out , and although he picked up a slew of outs on the turn, the river bricked out and McLaughlin was able to fade Khun's draws to put the remaining five players into the money.
Pascal open to 11,000 on the button and Francois Goulet raised to 32,000 from small blind. Lefrancois made the call. The flop came , Goulet bet 24,000, Lefrancois raised all-in, and Goulet called.
Goulet:
Lefrancois:
Lefrancois was caught bluffing and was eliminated when the board completed with the and the .
Marc-Etienne McLaughlin opened to 11,000, Martin Raus three-bet shoved all-in for 96,500, and Pierre-Paul Paulin cold four-bet shoved over the top. McLaughlin folded.
Paulin:
Raus:
Raus had run straight into a monster hand for Paulin and made his way to the payout desk as the board ran out .
A hand after Marc-Etienne McLaughlin hero-called two barrels from Francois Goulet with queen-high and it turning out to be good, leaving Goulet short-stacked, McLaughlin shoved from the small blind and Goulet called in the big blind, putting his tournament life on the line.
McLaughlin:
Goulet:
Goulet was ahead for the time being but needed to hold to stay alive. The board ran out , giving McLaughlin a straight and Goulet was eliminated in third.