World Cup of Cards in Full Swing: Tommy Coulombe Wins All-Stars for Starlight Tournament, And More Winners

The World Cup of Cards (WCOC) is at its half-way point at Playground Poker Club in Kahnawake, Quebec. PokerNews is on site for live coverage and there’s been plenty of action already with several champions crowned. A round-up of what’s happened in recent weeks.

Event #4: Francesco Maltese Wins NL Hold’em Freeze (CAD $3,462)

Francesco Maltese topped a field of 146 to win event number 4; the NL Hold’em Freeze. The win netted him CAD $3,462.

Maltese defeated Andrej Markovinovic heads-up to claim the title. In the final hand, Markovinovic raised all-in preflop and was called by Maltese. Markovinovic had ace-king but was behind Maltese’s pocket sevens. A classic race was underway with Maltese having a slight advantage. That edge proved to be enough as the board ran out queen-high. Markovinovic received $2,550 for his runner-up finish.

The hand of the tournament was one where Tanvir Ahmed fell victim to a cruel beat. Ahmed had turned a full house with king-jack on a board and was all-in against Markovinovic’s ace-king. The last deuce came on the river giving both players quads but Markovinovic’s ace-kicker took the pot.

Francesco MalteseRead the complete coverage of this event over at the PokerNews live reporting pages for the World Cup of CardsEvent #5: Michael Malm Wins Omaha 8 Hi-Lo (CAD $2,870)

Michael Malm navigated a field of 57 to capture the title in event number 5: PL Omaha 8 Hi-Lo. He received the trophy, posed for a winner photo, and took home a top prize of CAD $2,870.

The final table played out wildly. With a fast-paced structure, chips flew across the table with players chopping and scooping pot after pot. Once three-handed, Malm, Ryan Fisher, and Sagar Shetye agreed to a relatively even chop and play loosened up even more.

Originally only the final six would make the money but once the field was on the money bubble, they all agreed to create a seventh prize. Here is how the payouts broke down:

Malm is no stranger to the winner’s circle. With numerous cashes throughout previous festivals held at Playground, Malm also has a World Series of Poker bracelet to his name, winning a $2,500 Eight-Game mix in 2013 for $225,104. With this latest cash, Malm now has over $620,000 in career live-recorded tournament earnings.

Michael MalmRead the complete coverage of this event over at the PokerNews live reporting pages for the World Cup of CardsEvent #6: Tommy Coulombe Wins All-Stars for Starlight Tournament (CAD $15,967)

Tommy Coulombe won the CAD $160 All-Stars for Starlight Tournament, besting a field of 850 players and finally beating Charles La Boissonniere in a heads-up battle.

The tournament raised more than CAD $20,000 for the Starlight Foundation Canada, which helps children and their families deal with illness while in the hospital and life outside the hospital as well.

Play on the final day started with ten players left and Samuel Chapot was ahead of them all. He would eventually finish in third place. The first player eliminated was David Bonneau (10th place $1,340). He was eliminated when he got all in preflop against Nick-Real Seide. Bonneau had jacks and three-bet Seide’s button open. Seide four-bet shoved and Bonneau called. Seide rivered a queen with queen-four and that was the end of the day for Bonneau, who quickly entered Event #8: CAD $330 6-Max No-Limit.

Jacob Lafleur was next to go in ninth place earning $1,750. He came into the day second in chips and would have had a huge lead early in the day if Sagar Shetye didn’t river a chop when he was at risk for a huge pot. Lafleur eventually busted to Chaput when the two were all in preflop. They both had an ace, but the ace-four of Lafleur was no help against the ace-nine of Chaput.

Denis Simard finished in eighth place for CAD $2,320. He had a relatively quiet day and was eliminated when he shoved under the gun with pocket nines and Coulombe called with ace-queen. Coulombe made two pair and that was all she wrote for Simard.

Then Seide was eliminated in seventh place. He took home CAD $3,280 when he shoved just under ten big blinds and Chaput called with eights. Seide was unable to connect with his ace-ten and hit the rail.

Charles-Eric Benoit was eliminated by the other Charles; Charles La Boissonniere. He finished in sixth for CAD $4,560. He doubled up eventual winner Tommy Coulombe and then was eliminated by La Boissonniere when he called off for about four big blinds in the big blind with eight-seven and didn’t improve against king-queen.

Fifth place …

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