- Balcazar claimed of $194,044 for first place.
- A deal was struck three-handed that saw the eventual 3rd place finished walk away with $200k.
- The 1,625 runners helped the event set a new Canadian record for most entrants in a poker tournament with a buyin of over $1k.
The Full Tilt Poker Montreal Festival Main Event saw 32-year old Ontario resident Herni Balcazar best a record field to become its inaugural champion and take home a first place prize of $194,044.
Balcazar swiftly claimed the title after only 3 hands of heads up play, defeating local player Eric Despres who walked with $150k for his efforts.
However, before heads up play began, a three-way deal was made. Balcazar, Despres and eventual 3rd place finisher New York resident and World Poker Tour BestBet Champion, Michael Linster cut a deal that resulted in Linster, he chipleader at the time, actually walking away with the lion’s share of the prize pool, clean $200k.
The festival’s Main Event, which took place at the Playground Poker Club in Montreal, had a $1 million guaranteed prize pool. Thanks to the enthusiasm of the Montreal poker community, the prize pool surpassed that and reached over $1.5m.
“Full Tilt Poker was thrilled to bring a tournament of this calibre to Quebec. As the turn out for the event demonstrates, we have received amazing support from the poker community across the province and country. It was an honour to host a world class poker event for Canadian players to play close to home,” commented Geoff Fardy, Full Tilt Poker Country Manager.
The 1,625 runners helped the event set a new Canadian record for most entrants in a poker tournament with a buyin of over $1k.
For additional information on the results of the the FTP Montreal Festival Main Event, visit the Full Tilt Poker blog.
