The inaugural Major Series of Poker: The Tour Canadian Poker Championship was held at Playground near Montreal from Oct. 15-19, with 1,057 entries posting the $1,150 CAD buy-in to surpass the $1 million CAD guarantee. Jinrong Zhang emerged victorious in the end, becoming the first player to ever win an MSPT title outside of America. The Canadian player secured $117,150 for the win, his largest score yet.
“This is a really big score for sure, it’s a very hard final table, because I know most of the players that were here. They played really solid, but I tried my best. I did everything I could to find out how to outplay and compete against them,” Zhang told MSPT reporters.
“To all the players, hold onto your dreams. Do what you can do with your game and leave the rest to the poker gods,” he concluded.
Setting The Stage
The top 117 finishers earned a share of the $752,004 USD prize pool, with all of them returning for day 2 for the march down to the final table and a champion.
Zhang was top four in chips when the final table began He soon got on the scoreboard by taking out Pierre Alexandre Lessard in ninth place ($13,206). Rami Hammoud exited next in eighth ($16,138), and Adam Cader followed to the rail in seventh ($21,275).
Zhang took control of the chip lead after busting Carter Swidler out in sixth place ($27,143) and Scott Babbitt in fifth place ($35,216). Kevin Javier secured $46,217 as the fourth-place finisher, leaving just three remaining.
Podium Players Strike Three-Way Deal
A deal was then agreed upon between the podium finishers that left $39,000 up top along with the trophy to play for. Sebastien Proulx earned the second-largest payout of $84,213, but was the first to hit the rail. Zhang sent him packing to take roughly a 2:1 lead into the final showdown with Lyndon Webster.
That script quickly flipped as Webster scored a double up with his A-K finding a king on the flop against the pocket sixes of Zhang. The momentum shifted once again when Zhang doubled as his K-Q made a pair of queens against the A-10 of Webster a few minutes later. The final hand was dealt a little before 1:00 AM local time, when the chips got into the middle between the final two players for a third time.
That hand saw Zhang raise to 1.4 million on the button preflop, and Webster called before the flop fell A♥7♠6♠. Webster checked, Zhang bet 1.3 million, and Webster called before the 4♥ rolled off. Webster checked again and Zhang put him to a decision for his tournament life. He made the call with 8♠7♣, and he was ahead of the 5♦2♣ tabled by Zhang.
The 3♥ on the end filled Zhang’s straight draw, though, bringing the tournament to an end. Webster earned $82,026 thanks to the agreement.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points |
| 1 | Jinrong Zhang | $117,150 | 960 |
| 2 | Sebastien Proulx | $84,213 | 800 |
| 3 | Lyndon Webster | $82,026 | 640 |
| 4 | Kevin Javier | $46,217 | 480 |
| 5 | Scott Babbitt | $35,216 | 400 |
| 6 | Carter Swidler | $27,143 | 320 |
| 7 | Adam Cader | $21,275 | 240 |
| 8 | Rami Hammoud | $16,138 | 160 |
| 9 | Pierre-Alexandre Lessard | $13,206 | 80 |
Photo Credit: MSPT.
