Jikai Zhang Outlasts 1,291 Entries In WPT Prime Montreal

Jikai Zhang was the last player standing from a field of 1,291 entries that turned out to Playground Poker Club for the WPT Prime Montreal $1,150 CAD no-limit hold’em main event. The Ottawa, Ontario resident earned $139,840 for the win, which was by far his largest live tournament score yet.

In addition to the title and the money, Zhang also secured 960 Card Player Player of the Year points for the win. This was his first POY-qualified score of the year, but it alone was enough to move him inside the top 250 in the overall standings presented by Global Poker.

This event featured four live starting flights and a single online starting flight. The 1,291 entries made by the end of registration saw the $1,000,000 CAD guarantee surpassed by $291,000 CAD. The top 164 finishers earned a share of that money, with five-figures or more going to the top 12 finishers.

The final day began with just six contenders remaining. Dan Stavila was out in front, with WPT ambassador Brad Owen sitting in second and Zhang in third chip position.

The first two knockouts of the day came in the same hand. Zhang picked up pocket kings in the big blind after Steven Marin (6th – $27,778) shoved with pocket fours and Marc Lavergne (5th – $36,550) re-shoved with A-K. Zhang’s hand held up to see him surge into a virtual tie for the lead heading into four-handed action.

More than 90 hands after that double knockout, Dan Stavila got all-in with A-Q leading the K-10 suited of Zhang. A king-high runout ended Stavila’s run in fourth place ($48,246). Just a few hands later, Adam Cader shoved from the small blind with K-9 and Owen called all-in from the big blind for 9 big blinds with K-3 suited. Neither player improved on an ace-high board and Owen was eliminated in third place ($64,328). This was the fifth-largest score of his tournament career. The popular poker vlogger now has nearly $952,000 in recorded earnings to his name.

Heads-up play began with Zhang holding nearly a 3:1 chip lead. The final two went on to battle for over 50 hands. By the time the final hand arose, Zhang had extended his advantage to more than 5:1. He looked down at AA on the button and raised to 2,000,000 (with blinds of 400,000-800,000 and a big blind ante of 800,000). Cader moved all-in for 9,100,000 total with A10 and Zhang snap called. The board came down KQ6410 to secure the pot and the title for Zhang. Cader earned $87,208 as the runner-up finisher.

Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at the final table:

Photos provided by WPT.

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