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 Number | Event Name | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Event #1 | $300 COLOSSUS – 2 Days w/ 11 starting flights | March 24th to March 30th |
| Event #2 | $400 Monster Stack | March 30th to March 31st |
| Event #3 | $400 Seniors | March 31st |
| Event #4 | $400 Mystery Bounty | March 31st |
| Event #5 | $600 NLH 6 Max | March 31st |
| Event #6 | $250 Flip N Go | March 31st to April 1st |
| Event #7 | $600 Mega Stack Mystery Bounty | April 1st to April 2nd |
| Event #8 | $600 PLO | April 1st |
| Event #9 | $400 Bounty | April 1st |
| Event #10 | $1,000 NLH 8 Max | April 2nd to April 3rd |
| Event #11 | $400 PKO | April 2nd |
| Event #12 | $1,700 NLH Main Event w/ 3 Starting Flights | April 3rd to April 7th |
| Event #13 | $300 Ladies | April 4th |
| Event #14 | $3,300 Mega Stack High Roller | April 6th to April 7th |
| Event #15 | $400 Monster Stack w/ 2 Starting Flights | April 6th to April 7th |
| Event #16 | $600 Megs Stack | April 7th |
| Event #17 | $1,000 PKO | April 7th |
| Event #17 | $400 Mystery Bounty | April 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 Event | Buy-In | Event Name | Entries | Cashed | Prize Pool | 1st Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300 | NLH COLOSSUS | 2402 | 319 | $564,470 | Maxime Jutras – $85,000 |
| 2 | $400 | Monster Stack | 707 | 107 | $150,000 | Yvan Gravel – $37,350 |
| 3 | $400 | Seniors | 126 | 19 | $30,000 | Weijie Zhang – $11,460 |
| 4 | $600 | PLO Monster Stack | 158 | 24 | $50,000 | Stefan Siveski – $!6,560 |
| 5 | $250 | Flip N Go | 216 | 21 | $15,000 | Duff Charette – $13,000 |
| 6 | $450 | Mystery Bounty | 262 | 39 | $100,000 | Bharat Shetty – $20,000 |
| 7 | $300 | Bounty | 194 | 30 | $40,000 | Johan Levyssohn – $10,130 |
| 8 | $1,000 | NLH | 261 | 40 | $100,000 | Gaetano Di Maria – $46,750 |
| 9 | $1,700 | NLH ME | 1503 | 216 | $1,500,000 | James Pillon – $333,420 |
| 10 | $300 | Ladies | 89 | 14 | $15,000 | Sheila Vanderwoude – $5,795 |
| 11 | $3,300 | High Roller | 198 | 30 | $250,000 | Demo Kirlopoulos – $123,740 |
| 12 | $600 | NLH 8-Max | 290 | 44 | $60,000 | Frances Denis – $26,570 |
| 13 | $600 | Mega Stack | 272 | 41 | $50,000 | Grigore Miron Banea – $25,830 |
| 14 | $600 | PKO | 168 | 26 | $70,000 | Victor Bovet – $15,000 |
| 15 | $250 | Mystery Bounty | 194 | 31 | $35,000 | Ian Monahoyios – $5,280 |
| Totals | 7040 | 1001 | $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.
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!
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