Canada Poker Tournament Draws Big Field

The first Poker Pro Canada Classic poker tournament at Four Aces Card Club in Montreal was a huge success, drawing about 250 players from all over Canada and the U.S. - even Europe - to compete for a prize pool of $369,000.

It was the largest poker event ever held in Quebec with a buy-in of more than $1,500.

The tournament was sponsored by online poker site UB.com and was held to celebrate the launch of Poker Pro Canada magazine (PokerProCanada.com), Canada's only publication for real poker players.

When the smoke cleared, local player Oliver "O.B." Baksic took home $96,400 for first place. He defeated another local player, Maxime Villemure, on the final hand when he flopped a flush and slow-played it. Villemure hit a straight on the turn, all the chips went in, and Baksic's flush held up. The final day of the four-day, deep-stack event lasted until 5 a.m. Villemure cashed for $75,000.

Canadian Heads-Up Champion Benjamin LeBlond finished third for $50,000. Buy-in was $1,500+$150.

Paul Leggett, Chief Operating Officer of Tokwiro, owner of UB, said, "As headline sponsor, UB sent 50 players to be part of this launch event, and we are proud to have been part of its tremendous success. Canada is a growing concern for us, and we enjoyed connecting with our players on location, while having the chance to introduce ourselves to more of the local poker playing community in Montreal too.

"Congratulations to Poker Pro Canada for hosting such an awesome event."