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Everything to Know About WSOP Circuit Montreal 2025

Everything to Know About WSOP Circuit Montreal 2025

The WSOP Circuit 2024/2025 series is almost done, and the last stop on the international circuit for Canada happens in Montreal in late March as Playground Poker – recently crowned the world’s best poker room at the recent GPI Awards, are putting up 18 rings over 2 and a half weeks of incredible poker!

Quebec’s biggest city will once again play host to the WSOP Circuit from March 24th through April 5th and the schedule of ring events are as follows (all dollar amounts in CAD):

Event NumberEvent NameDates
Event #1$300 COLOSSUS – 2 Days w/ 11 starting flightsMarch 24th to March 30th
Event #2 $400 Monster StackMarch 30th to March 31st
Event #3$400 SeniorsMarch 31st
Event #4$400 Mystery BountyMarch 31st
Event #5$600 NLH 6 MaxMarch 31st
Event #6 $250 Flip N GoMarch 31st to April 1st
Event #7$600 Mega Stack Mystery BountyApril 1st to April 2nd
Event #8$600 PLOApril 1st
Event #9 $400 BountyApril 1st
Event #10$1,000 NLH 8 MaxApril 2nd to April 3rd
Event #11$400 PKOApril 2nd
Event #12$1,700 NLH Main Event w/ 3 Starting FlightsApril 3rd to April 7th
Event #13$300 LadiesApril 4th
Event #14$3,300 Mega Stack High RollerApril 6th to April 7th
Event #15 $400 Monster Stack w/ 2 Starting FlightsApril 6th to April 7th
Event #16$600 Megs StackApril 7th
Event #17$1,000 PKOApril 7th
Event #17$400 Mystery BountyApril 8th

The last series was comprised of 15 ring events and took place in August of 2024.  Here are the winners and statistics from the series (prizes are in CAD):

Ring EventBuy-InEvent NameEntriesCashedPrize Pool1st Place
1$300NLH COLOSSUS2402319$564,470Maxime Jutras – $85,000
2$400Monster Stack707107$150,000Yvan Gravel – $37,350
3$400Seniors12619$30,000Weijie Zhang – $11,460
4$600PLO Monster Stack15824$50,000Stefan Siveski – $!6,560
5$250Flip N Go21621$15,000Duff Charette – $13,000
6$450Mystery Bounty26239$100,000Bharat Shetty – $20,000
7$300Bounty19430$40,000Johan Levyssohn – $10,130
8$1,000NLH26140$100,000Gaetano Di Maria – $46,750
9$1,700NLH ME1503216$1,500,000James Pillon – $333,420
10$300Ladies8914$15,000Sheila Vanderwoude – $5,795
11$3,300High Roller19830$250,000Demo Kirlopoulos – $123,740
12$600NLH 8-Max29044$60,000Frances Denis – $26,570
13$600Mega Stack27241$50,000Grigore Miron Banea – $25,830
14$600PKO16826$70,000Victor Bovet – $15,000
15$250Mystery Bounty19431$35,000Ian Monahoyios – $5,280
  Totals70401001$2,965,000 

2024 WSOP Circuit Montreal Winners

Let’s look back at the 15 ring winners and see what they were up to since their big wins last year!

Ring Event #1 – Maxime Jutras

A regular at Playground, Maxime notched his career biggest win when he captured the COLOSSUS last August, one of his two cashes is last summer’s series.  He got early holiday presents in Vegas as he also cashed three times right before the New Year was rung in but only has a single cash at the World Cup of Cards this year.  Could the return of the WSOP return Maxime to this summer’s tournament of champions?

Ring Event #2 – Yvan Gravel

With 39 recorded cashes to his name since 2013, Yvan has been a regular to Playground, cashing 19 times there and most recently in the World Cup of Cards back in January.  While he only has 2 cashes greater than $5k – this ring and a $220 event back in 2022, could this be the breakout year for Yvan?

Ring Event #3 – Weijie Zhang

A newer name in the poker community in Canada, Weijie has a total of 5 circuit cashes to go with the one ring in his collection, most recently securing two top 15 finishes at the circuit event in Calgary back in January.  With momentum on his side, could Weijie pull the trick again and win another ring in Montreal this spring?

Ring Event #4 – Stefan Siveski

The only American to win a ring last summer, the New York native loves travelling to Playground with 12 cashes at the iconic poker room since 2019 – and probably would have been much higher had it not been for COVID.  While most cashes have been below $1k, he does have 2 $5k cashes from 2023 – could this trip to Montreal be the one for Stefan?

Ring Event #5 – Duff Charette

One of the most decorated players on our list, Duff has $1.89 million in live earnings to his name, including 16 wins!  His biggest wins came in 2016 in Calgary in the Deepstacks Poker Tour $2500 Main Event – that was a $210k USD prize – and in 2021 at the WPT Rock n Roll Open where he won $206k in a $5k Deepstack event.  Duff loves Montreal w/ 34 cashes at Playground – will he add to that in April?

Ring Event #6 – Bharat Shetty

Originally from India, Bharat calls Playground home with 12 recorded cashes, including 2 at last year’s circuit event.  He hasn’t cashed on Hendon Mob since last August – will he return to Montreal is search of his second WSOP ring?

Ring Event #7 – Johan Levyssohn

The New Brunswick native constantly makes the trek along the St. Lawrence River to Playground, with 32 career cashes at Playground.  His most recent trip in January saw his cash in the World Cup of Cards 7 times for over $17k CAD.  He had 3 other cashes at last year’s circuit event – will he top that this spring?

Ring Event #8 – Gaetano Di Maria

Last year’s circuit event was Gaetano’s as he had multiple 5 figure cashes in the series, including the ring in event #8.  With over 50 cashes and approaching a quarter of a million in live winnings, he only has one other win to his credit from 2016 in Vegas.  Will 2025 see him add a third W?

Ring Event #9 – James Pillon

The Windsor, Ontario native has over $500k in lifetime earnings, but last year’s main event was by far his biggest.  16 times he has cashed at Playground but only made it in the money once at last year’s series, although just before he did reach the money 3 times at the WSOP in Vegas.  He’s looking for his second career win – will it be this spring?

Ring Event #10 – Sheila Vanderwoude

First impressions are huge and Sheila’s entry into the Hendon Mob was a good one as her first career recorded cash – and only to date – was last year’s Ladies win.  She’s due – is this her time to pick up her second cash and ring?

Ring Event #11 – Demo Kirlopoulos

Cashing at poker is in Demo’s genes.  With over $2.7 million in lifetime earnings, Demo is a force to be reckon with at any poker game with 6 career scores greater than his ring win at last year’s series, including a 10th place finish at the 2021 WSOP Main Event for $585k.  If he sits at your table, be very aware he’s on the hunt for more hardware!

Ring Event #12 – Frances Denis

Frances went 10 years between recorded cashes, and both occurred at Playground with the first back in March 2014 when he came 4th in a $165 6 Max WPT tournament.  Frances hails from Saint-Louis-Du-Ha-Ha – a great name for a town – and he’ll be laughing if he shows up in 2025 and wins another ring!

Ring Event #13 – Grigore Miron Banea

With 2 cashes to his name, Grigore will be looking to build on his ring win at the 2024 summer series.  A trip to Playground in December added a few hundred to his career earnings, but another ring at this year’s series will be the boost he’s looking for – will he be able to pull the feat again this April?

Ring Event #14 – Victor Bovet

Two cashes at last year’s circuit event in Montreal, Victor has a total of 2 career cashes.  While the other was in the main event, the Quebec native will be looking to add to his career cash when the WSOP Rolls through this April!

Ring Event #15 – Ian Monahoyios

The final ring winner of last summer’s series, the Blainville, Quebec native has cashed tournaments 47 times in his career, with the biggest prize being $100k CAD won in 2023 at Playground during the March Million series in 2023.  Ian has 7 cashes at circuit events in Calgary and 9 in Montreal – 6 of those came in the 2024 series where he won his first ring.  With his career total approaching $200k, look for Ian to take a big step to cresting that number and then some!

What Makes Playground Poker Special

When Playground was named Best Poker Room at the 2024 Global Poker Awards, those that have played there were not surprised.  Its location close to major cities in Canada and the US, as well as convenient access to Pierre-Elliott Trudeau International Airport, its reputation for hosting the best poker games is known to players from all over the world. 

Playground Poker WSOP Circuit Montreal
Playground Poker WSOP Circuit Montreal

The focus has always been on poker there, attracting many of the best poker series in the world including the WSOP Circuit, the WPT, and partypoker over the years.  The cash games are always busy and moving, and there always seems to be a tournament ongoing.  While it may not be Las Vegas, it has everything the poker player could want.  For more details, check out the recent article we did on live poker in Quebec where we highlighted Playground and laid out why it really should be on every poker player’s bucket list to play at least once!