2025 Pure Poker Tour Series #2 – Event #3: $670 NLH

Day 1a is now complete, and Alan Zhu bagged the big stack at the end of the night. He’d been playing the big stack for most of the day and bagged up more than 200k more than Taran Parmar in second. Alexander Richmond, Matthew Ouellette, and Trevor Patrick round out the top five. Weston Pring also managed to find a bag, and not even the smallest one, despite not playing a hand since the end of Level 12.

Trecor Patrick found a double when he got his money in on the flop against Lynne Stephenson. The board read 8♠Q♠3♥ and Stephenson was contemplating a call.

She finally slid in the chips only to find herself in bad shape with king-queen against ace-queen. The ace kicker held and Patrick gout the double.

In the following hand, Garry Sandhu was the unfortunate bubble to Day 2, though I missed the action while recording the Patrick double. The bags are now out — stay tuned for a look at the final 12 stacks from Day 1a.

They are on the bubble to the bags now, and the clock is paused with 31:03 remaining in Level 15. They’ll take 2 minutes off the clock for each hand played until the next elimination.

They got to this point after Eric Wasylenko got his money in with ace-queen against the ace-king for Taran Parmar. Parmar held for the win to bring the game to 13 left.

The field is now down to 14 players left, 2 off the bags, after Mike Malm hit the rail in 15th tonight. Weston Pring has been away from his seat having dinner since the last break and his stack has been blinding down. He’s still sitting with about 100k however, so it looks at least possible that he could find a bag without playing a hand in the final three levels tonight.

Lynne Stephenson raised under the gun to 11k, then snap-called when John Donnelly raised the button to 30k. Stephenson checked the J♠7♣2♦ flop, then folded when Donnelly shoved a bit less than 100k.

Alexander Richmond limped in from the hijack before Kris Steinbach raised the button to 14k. Mike Malm repopped it to 45k from the big blind and Richmond folded right away. Steinbach was in the tank for a while before folding.

Malm showed 2♣ to the table, but he also revealed the A♣ to me, then gave me permission to report it. Meanwhile, the field is down to 15 after Chris Butler ended his run in 16th.

Alan Zhu is playing close to 500k now after taking another hand with aggressive play. Matthew Ouellette raised it up preflop to 8k from the cutoff, and Zhu called from the button.

The flop was K♥9♠10♠ and Ouellette bet 5,500. Zhu came overtop to 26.5k and Ouellette sent his cards to the muck.

They are just 4 eliminations away from the end of the night now after Keith Sarnoski and Pav Braich hit the rail in 18th and 17th, respectively.

John Donnelly raised to 7,500 from the hijack and cutoff Ivan Magulak called to see a flop of [invalid notations]. Both players checked to the K♦ turn where Donnelly fired 7,500, Magulak called and the river was K♣ leaving the board showing kings and queens with the diamond flush as well.

Donnelly checked, then called a bet of 17k. Magulak had a counterfeited pair of tens, but Donnelly’s pocket sixes won it with the worst boat possible.

Meanwhile, the game is now down to 18 left on the final two tables after Varan Sidhu ended his day in 19th place. They are now 6 players off the bags.

The final 18 players with seats are listed below.

They are now 8 off the bags coming out with the field now at 20 remaining. Alan Zhu is still leading with 400k, but Lynne Stephenson is closing the gap with 320k. See below for the final 20 stacks in 1a — the bags will come out when the field hits 12.

They are now 10 players off the bags as the field is now at 22 remaining. Lynne Stephenson just picked up a huge pot on Table 1. Kris Steinbach opened under the gun to 6k and Stephenson called from his left. Table big stack Alan Zhu three-bet to 26k and it folded back to Steinbach.

Both he and Stephenson called to 2♥7♠4♠ on the flop. It checked to Zhu who fired 21k and both players called to see 2♠ on the turn. Steinbach checked and Stephenson shoved a stack that looked a bit bigger than the pot. Both Zhu and Steinbach tank folded, but Steiner said he had an overpair with a spade.

John Donnelly just found a double through Brandyn Lovell. All the money went in preflop with Donnelly on K♣Q♣ against the pocket jacks for Lovell. Donnelly spiked a king on the flop and held for the win, leaving Lovell on fumes and sending Donnelly’s stack to over 100k.

The field is down to 24 now, leaving them 12 off the bags as Level 12 kicks off. They’ll take another break following this level, and play will continue tonight until they are down to 12 players left.

Alan Zhu opened to 4,500 from the hijack and he got calls from Ryan Comely and Eric Wasylenko in the blinds. It checked to Zhu on the K♠K♣3♣ flop and he fired 4,500. Only Wasy called to the 9♣ turn, where both players checked it to the 6♣ river.

Wasy fired a bet of 6k and Zhu took a few seconds to think it over before sliding out the call. His pocket sevens with the 7♣ were good against the A♥5♦ bluff from Wasy. Zhu is still playing a huge stack while Wasy is on about 100k.

Ryan Comely ended his run shortly after this hand to bring the field down to 25 after Michael Bernstein was the first player out from the final three tables.

They are down to the final three tables now with just under 30 minutes to play in Level 11. Jo Teliani was the bubble to the final three tables.

Table 1

Table 2

Table 3

Alan Zhu has the big stack right now with more than 300k in front of him. Glenn Baker, on the same table, was 2nd at the dinner break, with John Donnelly and Lynne Stephenson rounding out the big stacks.

They are down to 28 players left with just over 10 minutes to play in Level 10 with the end-of-day target at 12 players.

Entries are now closed for Day 1a of Event #3, and the final field for the day ended just shy of 100 entire,s with prizes a bit more than $55k. There are 34 players left in the field, meaning it looks like there were two entries during the dinner break.

With 97 entries, the day should end with 12 players remaining later tonight, and the action will continue until they hit that number, regardless of how long it takes.

The prizes are just shy of $55k with 95 entries on the board. Below is a look at the 32 players still in play when dinner started though it looks like there’s been one more entry since then.

Alexander Richmond opened to 2,700 from the button, and was called by both players in the blinds. They all checked the 7♠10♦9♦ flop but Brandym Lovell led for 3,50 from the small blind on the 4♠ turn.

Big blind Toller Conrad called while initial raiser Richmond sent his hand to the muck. Lovell fired 7k on the A♥ river and forced a fold from Conrad to take down a decent pot without showdown.

It was a fun atmosphere when Jo Teliani raised the cutoff to 2,500, then faced a three-bet from button Rob Limpert. “Did you just 3-bet me with ace-queen?” she asked with a smile.

Limpert didn’t answer, and she called to see a flop of 2♠4♥Q♠. She checked the flop, then faced a bet of 10k from Limpert. After a bit of time thinking, she found a fold, showing a four for middle pair in the process. Limpert showed ace-nine for ace-high but took the pot.

The 1a field is up to 90 entries now with 37 players left alive at the moment. Michael Malm just chipped up a bit when he raised the middle to 2,500 and got a call from big blind Eric Wasylenko. They both checked the 3♥3♦4♣ flop, but Wasy check-folded to a bet of 2k on the 4♠ turn. Kris Steinbach is also in action at the same table.

There are just under 20 minutes to play in Level 8 with entries still open for a bit less than 2 hours.

The Pearl showroom is pretty full today with two tournaments ongoing and most tables with players around them. Most of the tables near the stage are playing Day 1a Event #3, while the outer tables are battling in the PLO Deepstack Hyper tonight.

The opening flight for Event #3 is at $50k in prizes now, with 88 entries on board for today so far. There are more than 10 minutes left in Level 7 and two more levels to play before the dinner break so it still looks on pace to crack 100 entries for the opening flight.

Meanwhile, you can follow the Event #4 action from Alek Gillies at https://www.poker.pro/live-reporting/2025-pure-poker-tour-series-2-event-4-300-plo-deepstack-hyper/.

Rob Limpert looks to be the big stack in the room after 6 levels of play. See below for a look at what appear to be the top five stacks in the game right now.

The 1a players are on their second break of the day now with the field at 83 entries for prizes of just over $47k. That puts them 5 entries away from $50k in prizes with three more levels, plus the dinner break, to enter the game. 100 total entries still looks within sight, but $50k+ looks to be a lock at this point.

The field is up to 76 entries now with about 25 minutes to play in Level 6. There will be another break following this level, and they’ll return for three more levels of poker before dinner and the end of entries.

Bill Thomason just picked up some chips in a hand against Ivan Magulak. I picked up the action with the board reading Q♦9♥Q♣4♦. Both players checked to the J♠ when Magulak check-folded to a bet of 2,500 from Thomson.

Meanwhile, on another table, Muchael St. Pierre-Porter found a squeeze spot from the small blind. Alan Zhu opened under the gun to 1,400 and Garry Sandhu called from the cutoff before Michael St. Pierre-Porter shoved about 45k from the small blind. Zhu folded after a few seconds in the tank, and Sandhu followed suit, saying “If he called, I call, 100%.”

The hand pushed St. Pierre-Porter back up over 50k while Sandhu’s seat was empty a couple of hands later.

With about 15 minutes to play in Level 5 the prizes for Day 1a are already over $40k with 71 entries on the board so far. They’ll take another break following Level 6, but entries are still open through the dinner break following Level 9, so a final field size nearing 100 looks within reach today. If they make it to 100 entries, that would put the 1a prizes at $57k, while 88 entries are required to put $50k into the prize pool from the opening flight.

The players are just back from their first break of Day 1a and the action is now in Level 4. Michael Malm looked to be a big stack at the break with more than 100k in front of him, while Hongwei Liu and Michael St. Pierre-Porter both have about 65k in front of them, and Ivan Magulak, who cashed the Seniors game last night, looks to be playing about 50k right now.

While I was looking at the chips. Kyle Dery, who is sitting a couple of seats left of St. Pierre-Porter, joked that St. Pierre-Porter’s chips wouldn’t be there for very long. I’ll check back at the table in a few minutes to see how Dery’s prediction skills are today. Dery is coming off a solid multiple-cash run at the most recent series at Deerfoot Inn & Casino in Calgary.

There are now 6 tables of action with the field at 46 entries and 40 players remaining. Each table has a couple of empty seats to accommodate new players, and they’ll open more tables as it becomes necessary. Bash Ramahi and the winner of last night’s Seniors game, John Donnelly, are among the recent entries.

The numbers are growing for Day 1a with 38 entries on the board about halfway through Level 2. Among the more recent entries I’ve spotted sitting down are Ed Zurawell, Weston Pring, Ryan Comely, Bill Thomson, Karin Schulenburg, “Cowboy” Rib Giles, and Johnny Dalphond.

The action for Day 1a of Event #3 is about to begin with 18 players in the game for the start of Level 1. Entries are open for about 9 levels with the esk set to shut down at about 8:15 tonight. Day 1 action plays down to 12.5% of the starting field on each day, ensuring that all Day 2 players are in the money.

Main Event winner Ryan Cairns is among the players in their seats to start the day, along with Rob Lothian, Rob Limpert, Lynne Syephenson, Brian “BA” Anderson, Shawn Taghavi, Reg Hampton, and Michael Malm.

The opening multi-day event kicks off on Friday, May 16 at 1 PM. Day 1 of Event #3 has 9 levels of late/re-entry, putting the final chance to enter at about 8:15 following the dinner break after Level 9. The Day 1 flights will play until 12.5% of the starting field remains, putting all Day 2 players in the money on Sunday.

Players get 25k in chips for their $670 and will play 40-minute levels throughout the day. Levels remain 40 minutes long on Day 2 of this one, with heads-up play dropping to 20 minutes.

This game should be the main reporting focus on Friday, though I expect Alek to be in for the evening PLO Hyper side event to provide full coverage from cards-in-the-air to winner’s photos.

Day 1a is now complete, and Alan Zhu bagged the big stack at the end of the night. He’d been playing the big stack for most of the day and bagged up more than 200k more than Taran Parmar in second. Alexander Richmond, Matthew Ouellette, and Trevor Patrick round out the top five. Weston Pring also managed to find a bag, and not even the smallest one, despite not playing a hand since the end of Level 12.

Trecor Patrick found a double when he got his money in on the flop against Lynne Stephenson. The board read 8♠Q♠3♥ and Stephenson was contemplating a call.

She finally slid in the chips only to find herself in bad shape with king-queen against ace-queen. The ace kicker held and Patrick gout the double.

In the following hand, Garry Sandhu was the unfortunate bubble to Day 2, though I missed the action while recording the Patrick double. The bags are now out — stay tuned for a look at the final 12 stacks from Day 1a.

They are on the bubble to the bags now, and the clock is paused with 31:03 remaining in Level 15. They’ll take 2 minutes off the clock for each hand played until the next elimination.

They got to this point after Eric Wasylenko got his money in with ace-queen against the ace-king for Taran Parmar. Parmar held for the win to bring the game to 13 left.

The field is now down to 14 players left, 2 off the bags, after Mike Malm hit the rail in 15th tonight. Weston Pring has been away from his seat having dinner since the last break and his stack has been blinding down. He’s still sitting with about 100k however, so it looks at least possible that he could find a bag without playing a hand in the final three levels tonight.

Lynne Stephenson raised under the gun to 11k, then snap-called when John Donnelly raised the button to 30k. Stephenson checked the J♠7♣2♦ flop, then folded when Donnelly shoved a bit less than 100k.

Alexander Richmond limped in from the hijack before Kris Steinbach raised the button to 14k. Mike Malm repopped it to 45k from the big blind and Richmond folded right away. Steinbach was in the tank for a while before folding.

Malm showed 2♣ to the table, but he also revealed the A♣ to me, then gave me permission to report it. Meanwhile, the field is down to 15 after Chris Butler ended his run in 16th.

Alan Zhu is playing close to 500k now after taking another hand with aggressive play. Matthew Ouellette raised it up preflop to 8k from the cutoff, and Zhu called from the button.

The flop was K♥9♠10♠ and Ouellette bet 5,500. Zhu came overtop to 26.5k and Ouellette sent his cards to the muck.

They are just 4 eliminations away from the end of the night now after Keith Sarnoski and Pav Braich hit the rail in 18th and 17th, respectively.

John Donnelly raised to 7,500 from the hijack and cutoff Ivan Magulak called to see a flop of [invalid notations]. Both players checked to the K♦ turn where Donnelly fired 7,500, Magulak called and the river was K♣ leaving the board showing kings and queens with the diamond flush as well.

Donnelly checked, then called a bet of 17k. Magulak had a counterfeited pair of tens, but Donnelly’s pocket sixes won it with the worst boat possible.

Meanwhile, the game is now down to 18 left on the final two tables after Varan Sidhu ended his day in 19th place. They are now 6 players off the bags.

The final 18 players with seats are listed below.

They are now 8 off the bags coming out with the field now at 20 remaining. Alan Zhu is still leading with 400k, but Lynne Stephenson is closing the gap with 320k. See below for the final 20 stacks in 1a — the bags will come out when the field hits 12.

They are now 10 players off the bags as the field is now at 22 remaining. Lynne Stephenson just picked up a huge pot on Table 1. Kris Steinbach opened under the gun to 6k and Stephenson called from his left. Table big stack Alan Zhu three-bet to 26k and it folded back to Steinbach.

Both he and Stephenson called to 2♥7♠4♠ on the flop. It checked to Zhu who fired 21k and both players called to see 2♠ on the turn. Steinbach checked and Stephenson shoved a stack that looked a bit bigger than the pot. Both Zhu and Steinbach tank folded, but Steiner said he had an overpair with a spade.

John Donnelly just found a double through Brandyn Lovell. All the money went in preflop with Donnelly on K♣Q♣ against the pocket jacks for Lovell. Donnelly spiked a king on the flop and held for the win, leaving Lovell on fumes and sending Donnelly’s stack to over 100k.

The field is down to 24 now, leaving them 12 off the bags as Level 12 kicks off. They’ll take another break following this level, and play will continue tonight until they are down to 12 players left.

Alan Zhu opened to 4,500 from the hijack and he got calls from Ryan Comely and Eric Wasylenko in the blinds. It checked to Zhu on the K♠K♣3♣ flop and he fired 4,500. Only Wasy called to the 9♣ turn, where both players checked it to the 6♣ river.

Wasy fired a bet of 6k and Zhu took a few seconds to think it over before sliding out the call. His pocket sevens with the 7♣ were good against the A♥5♦ bluff from Wasy. Zhu is still playing a huge stack while Wasy is on about 100k.

Ryan Comely ended his run shortly after this hand to bring the field down to 25 after Michael Bernstein was the first player out from the final three tables.

They are down to the final three tables now with just under 30 minutes to play in Level 11. Jo Teliani was the bubble to the final three tables.

Table 1

Table 2

Table 3

Alan Zhu has the big stack right now with more than 300k in front of him. Glenn Baker, on the same table, was 2nd at the dinner break, with John Donnelly and Lynne Stephenson rounding out the big stacks.

They are down to 28 players left with just over 10 minutes to play in Level 10 with the end-of-day target at 12 players.

Entries are now closed for Day 1a of Event #3, and the final field for the day ended just shy of 100 entire,s with prizes a bit more than $55k. There are 34 players left in the field, meaning it looks like there were two entries during the dinner break.

With 97 entries, the day should end with 12 players remaining later tonight, and the action will continue until they hit that number, regardless of how long it takes.

The prizes are just shy of $55k with 95 entries on the board. Below is a look at the 32 players still in play when dinner started though it looks like there’s been one more entry since then.

Alexander Richmond opened to 2,700 from the button, and was called by both players in the blinds. They all checked the 7♠10♦9♦ flop but Brandym Lovell led for 3,50 from the small blind on the 4♠ turn.

Big blind Toller Conrad called while initial raiser Richmond sent his hand to the muck. Lovell fired 7k on the A♥ river and forced a fold from Conrad to take down a decent pot without showdown.

It was a fun atmosphere when Jo Teliani raised the cutoff to 2,500, then faced a three-bet from button Rob Limpert. “Did you just 3-bet me with ace-queen?” she asked with a smile.

Limpert didn’t answer, and she called to see a flop of 2♠4♥Q♠. She checked the flop, then faced a bet of 10k from Limpert. After a bit of time thinking, she found a fold, showing a four for middle pair in the process. Limpert showed ace-nine for ace-high but took the pot.

The 1a field is up to 90 entries now with 37 players left alive at the moment. Michael Malm just chipped up a bit when he raised the middle to 2,500 and got a call from big blind Eric Wasylenko. They both checked the 3♥3♦4♣ flop, but Wasy check-folded to a bet of 2k on the 4♠ turn. Kris Steinbach is also in action at the same table.

There are just under 20 minutes to play in Level 8 with entries still open for a bit less than 2 hours.

The Pearl showroom is pretty full today with two tournaments ongoing and most tables with players around them. Most of the tables near the stage are playing Day 1a Event #3, while the outer tables are battling in the PLO Deepstack Hyper tonight.

The opening flight for Event #3 is at $50k in prizes now, with 88 entries on board for today so far. There are more than 10 minutes left in Level 7 and two more levels to play before the dinner break so it still looks on pace to crack 100 entries for the opening flight.

Meanwhile, you can follow the Event #4 action from Alek Gillies at https://www.poker.pro/live-reporting/2025-pure-poker-tour-series-2-event-4-300-plo-deepstack-hyper/.

Rob Limpert looks to be the big stack in the room after 6 levels of play. See below for a look at what appear to be the top five stacks in the game right now.

The 1a players are on their second break of the day now with the field at 83 entries for prizes of just over $47k. That puts them 5 entries away from $50k in prizes with three more levels, plus the dinner break, to enter the game. 100 total entries still looks within sight, but $50k+ looks to be a lock at this point.

The field is up to 76 entries now with about 25 minutes to play in Level 6. There will be another break following this level, and they’ll return for three more levels of poker before dinner and the end of entries.

Bill Thomason just picked up some chips in a hand against Ivan Magulak. I picked up the action with the board reading Q♦9♥Q♣4♦. Both players checked to the J♠ when Magulak check-folded to a bet of 2,500 from Thomson.

Meanwhile, on another table, Muchael St. Pierre-Porter found a squeeze spot from the small blind. Alan Zhu opened under the gun to 1,400 and Garry Sandhu called from the cutoff before Michael St. Pierre-Porter shoved about 45k from the small blind. Zhu folded after a few seconds in the tank, and Sandhu followed suit, saying “If he called, I call, 100%.”

The hand pushed St. Pierre-Porter back up over 50k while Sandhu’s seat was empty a couple of hands later.

With about 15 minutes to play in Level 5 the prizes for Day 1a are already over $40k with 71 entries on the board so far. They’ll take another break following Level 6, but entries are still open through the dinner break following Level 9, so a final field size nearing 100 looks within reach today. If they make it to 100 entries, that would put the 1a prizes at $57k, while 88 entries are required to put $50k into the prize pool from the opening flight.

The players are just back from their first break of Day 1a and the action is now in Level 4. Michael Malm looked to be a big stack at the break with more than 100k in front of him, while Hongwei Liu and Michael St. Pierre-Porter both have about 65k in front of them, and Ivan Magulak, who cashed the Seniors game last night, looks to be playing about 50k right now.

While I was looking at the chips. Kyle Dery, who is sitting a couple of seats left of St. Pierre-Porter, joked that St. Pierre-Porter’s chips wouldn’t be there for very long. I’ll check back at the table in a few minutes to see how Dery’s prediction skills are today. Dery is coming off a solid multiple-cash run at the most recent series at Deerfoot Inn & Casino in Calgary.

There are now 6 tables of action with the field at 46 entries and 40 players remaining. Each table has a couple of empty seats to accommodate new players, and they’ll open more tables as it becomes necessary. Bash Ramahi and the winner of last night’s Seniors game, John Donnelly, are among the recent entries.

The numbers are growing for Day 1a with 38 entries on the board about halfway through Level 2. Among the more recent entries I’ve spotted sitting down are Ed Zurawell, Weston Pring, Ryan Comely, Bill Thomson, Karin Schulenburg, “Cowboy” Rib Giles, and Johnny Dalphond.

The action for Day 1a of Event #3 is about to begin with 18 players in the game for the start of Level 1. Entries are open for about 9 levels with the esk set to shut down at about 8:15 tonight. Day 1 action plays down to 12.5% of the starting field on each day, ensuring that all Day 2 players are in the money.

Main Event winner Ryan Cairns is among the players in their seats to start the day, along with Rob Lothian, Rob Limpert, Lynne Syephenson, Brian “BA” Anderson, Shawn Taghavi, Reg Hampton, and Michael Malm.

The opening multi-day event kicks off on Friday, May 16 at 1 PM. Day 1 of Event #3 has 9 levels of late/re-entry, putting the final chance to enter at about 8:15 following the dinner break after Level 9. The Day 1 flights will play until 12.5% of the starting field remains, putting all Day 2 players in the money on Sunday.

Players get 25k in chips for their $670 and will play 40-minute levels throughout the day. Levels remain 40 minutes long on Day 2 of this one, with heads-up play dropping to 20 minutes.

This game should be the main reporting focus on Friday, though I expect Alek to be in for the evening PLO Hyper side event to provide full coverage from cards-in-the-air to winner’s photos.