The first series on the Pure Poker Tour (PPT) for 2024 got a big start on Thursday, Feb 15 with two events that saw big numbers.
The 2024 season of the PPT is now underway, and it looks like it could be a big one. The first day of play saw two events award trophies and both games got bigger fields than last year’s Feb series here at Casino Edmonton.
Opening day action got going at noon on Thursday, Feb 15 with the Seniors First game, a tradition on the PPT that sees the 50+ game always running as Event #1. To ensure that everyone had a chance to play on the opening day, however, there was an evening side event, the First Chance Turbo for players who can’t make the age cutoff for Seniors.
Feb 15 - Noon
Blinds: 30 Min
Start Stack: 20,000
Entries: 152
Prizes: $43,320
Winner: Ronald Taylor ($11,180)
The first trophy of 2024 on the PPT was, technically speaking, actually the second. The Seniors game was an epic tilt that went close to 16 hours before Ronald Taylor bagged the trophy at about 3:40 am.
It was a great turnout that saw a couple more entries than this game in 2023, with 152 total. That meant they were playing for $43,320 in total with 15 players sharing in the gold.
Taylor didn’t have an easy run of it, facing off against a pretty stacked final table of 50+ regs. He battled Gerald Chung heads up, who has won a few of these Seniors events in the last couple of years, with previous winner Nick Milkovich, Brian Wells, Jeff Forester, and Ed Zurawell also in the final nine players.
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
| 1 | Ronald Taylor | Edmonton | $11,180 |
| 2 | Gerald Chung | Sherwood Park | $6,960 |
| 3 | Darren S | Edmonton | $5,330 |
| 4 | Nick Milkovich | Ryecroft | $4,240 |
| 5 | Greg Duke | Edmonton | $3,380 |
| 6 | Brian Wells | Edmonton | $2,750 |
| 7 | Sheldon Clarke | Edmonton | $2,120 |
| 8 | Jeff Forester | Leduc | $1,490 |
| 9 | Ed Zurawell | Sherwood Park | $950 |
| 10 | Jerry Ozog | Edmonton | $840 |
| 11 | Andy Wong | Fort McMurray | $840 |
| 12 | Arnel Mateo | Edmonton | $840 |
| 13 | Rob Lothian | Sherwood Park | $800 |
| 14 | Russ Sluchinski | Edmonton | $800 |
| 15 | Robert Thacker | Edmonton | $800 |
Event #2: $230 First Chance Turbo ($200 + $30)
Feb 15 - 5 pm
Blinds: 20 Min
Start Stack: 20,000
Entries: 143
Prizes: $27,170
Winner: Marcus Williams ($5,030 - 4-way Deal)
The second trophy of PPT 2024 was actually awarded before the first one, as the Turbo game lived up to it’s name. It started five hours later than the Seniors game, but still ended about an hour earlier than the 50+ crowd.
The turnout for the first open event of the series was massive with 143 entries on the board when registration closed. That was significantly higher than the 94 entries this game got in 2023 and bodes well for the remainder of the series.
In the end, it was Marcus Williams with all the chips. The final four players agreed to a deal that saw everyone secure $4,200 with $830 left over for the winner. Williams had the lead when the deal was struck, and ended up holding on to take it all down.
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
| 1 | Marcus Williams | St. Albert | $7,180 |
| 2 | Krista Meilleur (Tellier) | Leduc | $4,390 |
| 3 | Nadeem Walji | Edmonton | $3,370 |
| 4 | Angela Carroll | Invermere, BC | $2,690 |
| 5 | Trevor York | CAN | $2,140 |
| 6 | Colin Armstrong | Edmonton | $1,750 |
| 7 | Kris Steinbach | Edmonton | $1,350 |
| 8 | Artan Bislimi | CAN | $960 |
| 9 | Francis Fan | Edmonton | $630 |
| 10 | John Letts | AB | $550 |
| 11 | Abhizer Rajkotwala | Vancouver, BC | $550 |
| 12 | Daniel O'Leary | Edmonton | $550 |
| 13 | David Cox | Kamloops, BC | $530 |
| 14 | Julius Roque | Lethbridge | $530 |
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The three remaining players agreed to chop the $830 put aside for the winner and Marcus Williams held a commanding chip lead and ended up with the trophy. All three players got over second place money receiving around $4,500 each.
The four remaining players agreed to chop for $4,200 with $830 and the trophy going to the winner.
Nadeem Walji jammed all in putting Trevor Y all in for his tournament life.
Trevor Y: 
Nadeem Walji: 
The board ran out 
for Walji to take the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trevor Y |  |
0 | 0 |
Below are the remaining players and their corresponding chip stacks
| Player | Chips | Progress | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marcus WIlliams | |
780,000 | 30,000 |
| Trevor Y | |
710,000 | 30,000 |
| Krista Tellier | |
600,000 | 485,000 |
| Angela C | |
560,000 | 440,000 |
| Nadeem Walji | |
185,000 | 20,000 |
Collin Armstrong jammed all in and was called by Krista Tellier. Both players revealed their holdings.
Collin Armstrong: 
Krista Tellier: 
The board ran out 
for Tellier to take the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collin Armstrong | |
0 | 0 |
Marcus Williams raised to 45,000 from under the gun and Trevor Y defended from the big blind.
The flop came 
and both players were quick to check.
While the 
peeled off on the turn, Trevor Y led out for 28,000. Williams raised to 73,000 and was called.
The river was the 
and Trevor Y was quick to check. Williams fired for 150,000 and was called. He revealed {AhQh] to take the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marcus WIlliams | |
810,000 | 708,000 |
| Trevor Y | |
680,000 | 490,000 |
Kris Steinbach found himself all in 
against . He couldn't find help as the board ran out 
for him to be sent out in 7th place.
| Player | Chips | Progress | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faton B | |
0 | 0 |
Francis Fan was Eliminated in 9th place for $630.
David Cox was Eliminated in 13th Place for $530, while Daniel O'leary, Abhizer Rajkotwala, and John Letts were eliminated in 12th, 11th, and 10th to the tune of $550.
| Player | Chips | Progress | |
|---|---|---|---|
| David Cox | |
0 | 0 |
| Daniel O | |
0 | 0 |
| Abhizer Rajkotwala | |
0 | 0 |
| John Letts | |
0 | 0 |
Players are two away from the money and guaranteeing themselves minimum $530.
Below are the remaining players and their corresponding stacks as of the break.
| Player | Chips | Progress | |
|---|---|---|---|
| David Cox | |
260,000 | 0 |
| Daniel O | |
250,000 | 133,000 |
| Collin Armstrong | |
224,000 | 0 |
| Francis Fan | |
206,000 | 164,000 |
| Nadeem Walji | |
205,000 | 0 |
| Trevor Y | |
190,000 | 0 |
| Bitton Nadar | |
140,000 | 0 |
| Ivan Jurisic | |
130,000 | 0 |
| Angela C | |
120,000 | 100,000 |
| Abhizer Rajkotwala | |
120,000 | 0 |
| Resul Dauti | |
117,000 | 0 |
| Krista Tellier | |
115,000 | 0 |
| Kris Steinbach | |
115,000 | 0 |
| Robbie Brar | |
105,000 | 3,000 |
| Mike X | |
105,000 | 0 |
| Marcus WIlliams | |
102,000 | 70,000 |
| John Letts | |
90,000 | 34,000 |
| Julius R | |
90,000 | 0 |
| Bruce Clark | |
80,000 | 0 |
| Faton B | |
66,000 | 0 |
| Karl L | |
41,000 | 50,000 |
The prize pool ahs been confirmed at $27,710. First, second, and third receive $7,180, $4,390, and $3,370 respectively. Fourth to Sixth receive $2,690, $2,140, and $1,750. Seventh to Ninth receive $1,350, $960, and $630. Tenth to Twelveth will earn $550, and the remaining two payout spots will receive $530 for their efforts.
Middle Position raised to 2,000 and four players called. John Letts jammed all in from the big blind for 25,500. Only George Skrzypniak from the cutoff made the call.
John Letts: 
George Skrzypniak:
The board ran out 
for Letts to find the double up.
| Player | Chips | Progress | |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Skrzypniak | |
62,000 | 42,000 |
| John Letts | |
56,000 | 36,000 |
With late registration coming to a close, the official entry count has been capped at 143. Only 69 remain and below are the current big stacks of the field.
| Player | Chips | Progress | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marcus WIlliams | |
172,000 | 152,000 |
| Daniel O | |
117,000 | 97,000 |
| Robbie Brar | |
102,000 | 82,000 |
| Lynne Stephenson | |
96,000 | 76,000 |
| Sharmmark Mohamed | |
93,000 | 73,000 |
| David P | |
93,000 | 26,000 |
| Treenna H | |
92,000 | 72,000 |
| Karl L | |
91,000 | 71,000 |
As the Event kicks off, some early big stacks are beginning to emerge. Andy Wong and Don M share the lead with 73,000 followed closely by David P (67,000). Bitton Nadav is next with 54,000 trailed by Varanpreet Sidhu at 45,000. Rounding out the list are Francis Fan and Dale Campbell with 42,000 each.
| Player | Chips | Progress | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Don M | |
73,000 | 53,000 |
| Andy Wong | |
73,000 | 53,000 |
| David P | |
67,000 | 47,000 |
| Bitton Nadav | |
54,000 | 34,000 |
| Varanpreet Sidhu | |
45,000 | 25,000 |
| Dale Campbell | |
42,000 | 22,000 |
| Francis Fan | |
42,000 | 22,000 |
Angela C raised to 1,000 from middle position. Both the late position player and button made the call.
The flop came 
and Angela was quick to check. The late position player led out for 1,500 and was called by both the other players.
While the turn peeled the both early players were quickly checked. The button fired for 5,000, and Angela jammed all in having both the players behind covered. The button made the call and both players revealed their hands.
Button:
Angela C: 
The river was the 
for Angela to take the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angela C | |
45,000 | 25,000 |
Within an hour of the tournament starting, Event #2 has an immediate boost of players sitting with 76 entries. Almost 3 hours of late registration remain, as this event is sure to be action packed with the quickened pace offered by the turbo format.
Event #2: $230 First Chance Turbo ($200 + $30)
Feb 15 - 5 pm
Blinds: 20 Min
Start Stack: 20,000
Late Entry: 9 Levels (~8:30 pm)
The first open trophy of the 2024 PPT season is up for grabs starting at 5 pm on Thursday. Players in the First Chance Turbo sit down with 20k in chips for 20-minute levels and it will be a one-day game.
Players can enter the game for 9 levels, putting the final chance to enter at 8:30 pm. Alek Gillies will be handling the reporting duties on Thursday while I play the Seniors game, but I expect he'll be covering that one as his main focus, so this may not get attention until the endgame.
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