UB.com has announced that it will once again be the title sponsor of the second annual Poker Pro Canada Classic. The tournament, which will be held at the Four Aces Poker Club in Montreal, Quebec, is scheduled to run from January 27th to January 30th.
Co-sponsored by the leading poker magazine Poker Pro Canada, the Classic will feature a $1,500 + $150 buy-in and, like most major tournaments, will be a No Limit Hold’em event. With more than 300 players expected to register, the prize pool could get up to $500,000 or more.
Poker Pro Canada Editor-In-Chief John “Johnny Quads” Wenzel is understandably excited about the upcoming tournament and commented in a press release, “The first Poker Pro Canada Classic back in April was a huge success, so we couldn’t wait to hold the second edition. Four Aces was a terrific venue and I can’t wait to get back there.”
While the Poker Pro Canada Classic is a freezeout, it is not a freezeout in the traditional sense. There will be three Day 1s and, while there are no intra-day rebuys allowed, anyone who busts out will be permitted to plunk down another buy-in and try again on a subsequent starting day. Play will be stopped each day once the field gets down to 25 players. Seventy-five total players across Days 1A, 1B, and 1C will return on Sunday, January 30th to compete for the championship. Players will start with 20,000 chips and blinds will increase every hour.
As one might expect in a live tournament sponsored by an online poker room, UB.com will be running super satellites to the event during the month of January. Here is the super satellite schedule:
· Sunday, January 2nd at 4:05pm ET: $200 + $15, Three packages guaranteed
· Wednesday, January 5th at 9:00pm ET: $200 + $15, Three packages guaranteed
· Sunday, January 9th at 4:05pm ET: $200 + $15, Three packages guaranteed
· Wednesday, January 12th at 9:00pm ET: $200 + $15, Three packages guaranteed
· Thursday, January 13th at 8:30pm ET: $300 + $20, One package guaranteed
· Sunday, January 16th at 8:30pm ET: $300 + $20, One package guaranteed
Players who find the super satellite buy-ins too rich for their blood will have the opportunity to qualify via lower buy-in satellites on UB.com. More of these qualifiers, which will go as low as $10 + $1, will likely be added as the Poker Pro Canada Classic gets closer.
UB.com will also be holding six special Regional Freerolls open to residents of the Quebec and Ontario provinces of Canada and the states of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. The freerolls will take place on January 2nd, 9th, and 16th at 4:05pm ET and on January 5th, 12th, and 19th at 8:05pm ET. Each freeroll will award a single prize package to the winner.
The 20 total prize packages are valued at $2,500 apiece and include the $1,650 buy-in for the Poker Pro Canada Classic as well $850 for travel expenses.
The inaugural Poker Pro Canada Classic saw 246 players duke it out for a share of the $370,000 prize pool. Team UB.com members Mark “Poker H0” Kroon and “Hollywood” Dave Stann were in attendance, but the title went to local Montreal resident Oliver Baksic, who took home $118,000. Also of note was Canadian Heads-Up champ Benjamin Lablond, who placed third.
The Four Aces Poker Club is located in the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory, just a few minutes south of Downtown Montreal across the Mercier Bridge. In addition to tournaments, the Club spreads low-stakes cash games every day of the week. Free food and beverage are provided to all cash game players.
Who cares about Canada?