2025 Pure Poker Tour Series #2 – Event #7: $780 NLH 6-Max

Ali Razzaq has dozens of final table appearances on his poker resume, but outright wins have been harder to come by for him. Coming into the 6-Max event, he had three previous wins, including a PPT trophy from Feb 2023.

After tonight, he’s added a second PPT trophy to his collection in a come-from-behind win over Sebastian Crema heads up. Razzaq ran well when he needed to on the final table tonight, finding a few great spots. In one particular case, he woke up with pocket queens after Keith Sarnoski shoved pocket tens. Razzaq held to get the game three-handed.

He then got the game heads up when he flopped two pair against a set of nines for Michael St Pierre-Porter, but then turned a bigger boat to get heads up against Crema/

It wasn’t all rungood, though. He seemed dialed into when to back away and when to ramp up the pressure. In one example during heads up, he equalled out the stacks with a river shove that put Crema in the blender. Crema eventually folded his hand to send a big pot to Razzaq. shortly after, Razzaq boated the river on a flushy board to take another big pot and leave Crema short.

In the final hand, Crema flopped open-ended and a heart draw and the money went in. Razzaq was on the best hand with a pocket pair of sevens, but Crema had boatloads of outs. He bricked the runout, however, and Razzaq’s sevens held for his Second PPT win. Tonight’s $16,215 will slot into 5th place on his all-time cash list and should push his lifetime earnings over $275k.

Sebastian Crema had the chip lead for most of the day, but heads-up poker is a swingy beast, and Ali Razzaq was both running hot and dialed into the play. Crema came to heads-up with the chip lead, but a big hand where Razzaq forced a river fold left them even.

The following hand saw Razzaq boat up on the river for another big pot to take the lead. In the final hand, Crema flopped straight and flush draws and the money went in with Razzaq on a pair of sevens. Crema bricked his outs and the pocket sevens held to give Razzaq the win.

Sebastian Crema raised to 65k ad Ali Razzq called to see a flop of K♦4♠6♣. Razzaq check-called for 35k to the 3♠ turn.

He checked again, but raised to 540k after Crema bet 180k. Crema called and the J♠ hit the river. Razzaq shoved and Crema hit the tank hard. He muttered to himself for a few minutes before finally finding a fold.

“Close?” Asked Razzaq as he collected the pot.

“Really big hand,” muttered Crema. That left the two players very close to even.

Inthe final hand before the break, Michael St Pierre-Porter was sent to the cage on yet another massive cooler. It all went in preflop with St Pierre-Porter on nines against the king-jack overs for Ali Razzaq. St Pierre-Porter found a set of nines on the flop while Razzaq hit two pair.

Then the turn came another jack and Razzaq improved to the best boat, sending St Pierre-Porter to the rail in the process.

Sebastian Crema is now heads up with the lead (2.1 million) against Ali Razzaq (1.3 million) with action set to resume in about 7 minutes.

Sebastian Crema raised the button to 40k and Ali Razzaq called from the big blind. He check-called for 30k on the 3♣A♠8♠ flop, then for 100k on the J♥ turn. He checked again on the 7♣ river, then called a big bet of 280k.

“I got really lucky,” Crema said, rolling over pocket sevens for the river set while Razzaq mucked his hand. There’s another break coming up in about 10 minutes and I’ll get full counts then, but Crema is still the runaway leader.

It’s been a day for coolers. Ali Razzaq opened under the gun to 40k, then snap-called when Keith Sarnoski shoved the big blind. Razzaq had the biggest stack and pocket queens against pocket tens for Sarnoski. The board missed both pairs, leaving the queens best and Sarnoski heading to the cage for 4th-place money.

In the previous hand, Cameron Stewart was near felted when both he and Michael St Pierre-Porter flopped a king. Stewart had the jest kicker with an ace against the deuce for St Pierre-Porter, but St Pierre-Porter found running diamonds for a huge win.

That left Stewart on fumes, and he was forced all in from the big blind in the next hand. Keith Sarnoski and Sebastian Crema both came along to try to knock him out, but Sarnoski got out of the way when Crema bet the king-high flop.

Crema had the king, but Stewart was drawing to backdoor straight outs on the flop. He turned that around to the front door, but then bricked the river for Crema’s king to hold and send him home in 5th place tonight.

Sebastian Crema is running away with it now as he is playing more than half the chips in play. He has about 1.8 million in front of him with only about 3.5 million in play.

He just picked up some chips after a preflop button raise to 30k. Cameron Stewart called from the big blind, then check-called for 25k on the 7♠6♦8♠ flop. They both checked the 2♥ turn and Stewart check-folded to a bet of 190k on the J♣ river.

“Would you have called a shove?” Stewart asked after the hand.

“That time, ya,” replied Crema as he was stacking the chips.

Sebastian Crema raised under the gun to 30k and Ali Razzaq called from the big blind. They both checked the J♦7♣J♠ flop, and Razzaq check-called for 30k on the 7♦ turn.

The river J♥ was where it all went crazy. Razzaq bet 30k on the boated board before Crema pumped it up to 190k. Razzaq though for a few seconds before sliding in the call, but his pocket tens were behind the pocket kings for Crema, as both players had a bigger boat than the one on the board.

Sebastian Crema raised to 24k under the gun, and Ali Razzaq called from the big blind. Razzaq check-called for 18k on the Q♣5♠3♦ flop and they both checked the 7♥ turn.

Razzaq fired 15k on the [invalid notations]8d[/pcn[ river, then called when Crema pumped it up to 65k. He mucked when Crema showed two red jacks for second pair.

They are down to five now after Sean Sztyler ended his day in 6th place. He lost a pot recently to Ali Razzaq that left him short, and he raised to 40k with ace-queen. Michael St Pierre-Porter shoved with pocket fours and Sztyler called if off with less.

The board bricked for the overs, while St Pierre-Porter rivered a straight to hold and take it down.

Ali Razzaq raised to 25k under the gun ans Sean Sztyler called from the big blind. They both checked the 2♦K♠K♥ flop, and Sztyler check-raised the 7♣ turn from 15k to 50k.

Razzaq called to the A♦ river, where both players checked. Sztyler showed 9♣7♠ for the turned pair, but Razzaq’s A♣J♠ hit the river for the win.

Sebastian Crema is over 1 million and the clear chip leader at the break with Ali Razzaq in second.

Shawen Taghavi raised to 25k under the gun and Sebastian Crema called from the cutoff. It all kicked off on the 6♥Q♥9♥ flop when Taghanvi bet 30k, Crema raised to 65k, Taghavi shoved and Crema snapped it off with more.

Taghavi had overs and the heart draw with A♣K♥ against the flop set of sixes for Crema. 5♦K♦ on the runout wasn’t enough to save Taghavi and he was the first off the final table today.

Sebastian Crema raised early to 20k and Sean Sztyler came along from the big blind to a flop of K♣5♦2♦. Sztyler checked dark, then raised to 30k when Crema fired 13k.

Sztyler bet 101k on the 10♣ turn and Crema called to the Q♥ river. Both players checked it. Sztyler announced ace high, but his kicker was no good against the [AdQd[/pcn] for Crema, who hit the river with a pair, but had been drawing diamonds since the flop.

Cameron Stewart raised the middle to 17k and got calls from Sean Sztyler and Ali Razzaq in the blinds. They all checked the 10♣9♣K♥ flop, and, when it checked to Stewart on the 5♣ turn he fired 26k. Sztyler called while Razzaq bowed out.

The 2♥ river brought a check-call for 55k from Sztyler, but he mucked his hand when Stewart showed K♦5♠ for the turned two pair.

Weston Pring bubbled the seven-handed final table tonight after he flopped top-top but Sean Sztyler flopped a set of threes. The money went in on the turn with Pring dead, and he was out in 8th place.

They are now setting the 7-handed final table.

They are down to 8 remaining now after Rob Lothian couldn’t win a race. He got it in with ace-king against pocket tens for Sean Sztyler. The board ran clean for the pair and Lothian was the short stack, so he was out in 9th place.

It started as a limped pot, three ways, before the flop. All three players checked the A♦4♣Q♣ flop and Pring fired 12k on the 8♣ river. Rob Lothian got out of the way from the big blind, but button Sean Sztyler raised it ip to 35k. Pring was having none of it, however, and reclicked to 110k, forcing the fold from Sztyler. He showed ace-eight for the turned two pair, saying “I didn’t want to let you get there with clubs.”

Meanwhile, on the other table, Michael St Pierre-Porter doubled through Sebastian Crema when he won a race with overs, hitting his ace against the pair for Crema.

It was blind on bldin when Sean Sztyler completed and Weston Prong checked his option. The flop was 9♦A♦7♦ and both players checked it to the A♥ turn.

Sztyler bet 10.5k, but then mucked when Pring raised to 30k. “Have an ace once,” Pring said with a smile, showing two diamonds in his hand when he collected the pot. Shawn Taghavi also commented on the monochrome flops the table has been seeing recently.

Cameron Stewart raised the button to 12k and Michael St Pierre-Porter called from the big blind. St Pierre-Porter checked the J♣K♠3♥ flop, but raised to 40k when Stewart fired 15k. Stewart got out of the way, and St Pierre-Porter is back up to about 400k after losing some early today.

Sebastian Crema still looks to be the leader as he’s playing over a million now, while the hand left Stewart on about 300k. I’ll get full counts at the next break in about 90 minutes.

They are down to nine left now after Guneet Singh couldn’t win a race. He got it in with tens against ace-king for Sean Sztyler. It looked like the board would run clean for Singh to double, but the king on the river drowned him for 10th place.

The first casualty of the day came from the flopped cooler. On a seven-high flop, Jason Heang and Rob Lothian got it in with both players on the seven. Heang was kicked by a king, while Lothian was on top-top with the ace. The board paired Lothian’s ace and Heang was out in 11th place today.

The action is now underway with the final few minutes of Level 15. Sebastian Crema is the big leader at the moment with Michael St Pierre-Porter way behind in second place.

Day 2 of the 6-Max is just moments away. The final 11 players will be in their seats in about 15 minutes to battle it out for the 6-Max trophy.

They’ll start the day with 16:15 remaining in Level 15 and, while there would typically be a break scheduled at the end of Level 15, they’ll play through that to take the first break of Day 2 at the end of Level 18.

Day 2 of the 6-Max is now set with 11 players returning in the money. Sebastian Crema is the huge leader with almost 850k while second-place Michael St Pierre-Porter has less than 500k going into Day 2.

The Day 2 action kicks off at 1 pm on Tuesday and they’ll play to a winner before they finish. See below for a look at the final 11 players with seats and stacks.

Day 2 Players by Stack

Day 2 Players by Seat

Sebastian Crema is the big stack by a mile at the end of the first day of play in the 6-Max. All 11 players are in the money and Crema has almost twice the chips of second-place Michael St Pierre-Porter. Below is a look at the seat assignments and counts for all returning players.

The 6-Max Day 1 has now come to an end after Michael St Pierre-Porter sent Naz Sadovnik home on the bubble. St Pierre-Porter had ace-jack and flopped trip jacks, but slow-played it with a check. Sadovnik hit his nine on the turn and bet, with St Pierre-Porter smooth-calling to the river. Sadovnik bet again, and St Pierre-Porter shoved. Sadovnik called but his ten-nine was no good against the trips for St Pierre-Porter.

Stay tuned for the final 11 chip counts coming shortly.

Cameron Stewart raised to 10k from the cutoff, and both blinds came along to the 9♦Q♦6♠ flop. All three players checked through to the Q♥ turn. Small blind Naz Sadovnik checked before big blind Michael St Pierre-Porter fired 15k.

Stewart got out of the way, but Sadovnik called. The river 2♦ completed the flush on board, and St Pierre-Porter checked behind. He showed Q♣8♣ while Sadovnik mucked his hand.

A few hands prior, Sadovnik doubled through St Pierre-Porter when he shoved blind on blind with nine-ten and got called by poket eights. He spiked two tens on the flop and St Pierre-Porter had to count out the double.

They are down to 12 players left on the final two tables now, and the action is hand-for-hand until the next elimination. After that, all players will be in the money, but they’ll bag up their chips to return for the money phase tomorrow.

They are down to 13 in the 6-Max now, two players away from the end of the night. There are less than 5 minutes to play in Level 14, and it seems likely they’ll get down to 11 sometime in Level 15.

They are now three away from the bags with 14 players left in the 6-Max game. With 20 minutes left in Level 14, it looks like there won’t be another break tonight.

Weston Pring raised the button to 10k, and Rob Lothian called from the big blind. He checked the 4♦Q♥2♥ flop, but shoved when Pring bet 12k. Pring quickly mucked his cards while Lothian showed a king-high flush draw as he collected the pot.

They are now down to 16 remaining, 5 off the end of the night.

They are down to the final three tables now with 18 players left. That puts them 7 off the bags and the money, but there will still be one more table break at 12 players whent he bags come out.

There are about 5 minutes to play in Level 13, so its still looking like today will likely end sometime in Level 15 or early Level 16.

Here is a look at how the final 20 players stack up. Sebastian Crema, who was at the final table of Event #3 yesterday, is leading the way right now with the field now 9 players away from the end of the night.

The players are about to head out for another break in about 1 minute, and there are 21 players left in the game. That puts them 10 eliminations away from the bags coming out tonight with all bags in the money.

I’ll grab a round of chip counts at the break for the remaining players.

Level 12 has just begun with the field now down to 24 remaining on the final four tables. They’ll take another break following this level and I’ll grab another round of chip counts while they are away from the tables.

They are now 13 eliminations off the bags coming out, so it seems likely that day 1 will end sometime before the break following Level 15.

The 6-Max field is down to 27 remaining now, with action on 5 tables. They’ll play down to 11 players tonight, after which the bags will come out and the final 11 will return to finish it out on Tuesday with everyone in the money.

The prizes are in and the field is confirmed at 86 entries for prizes of $57,190. The winner tomorrow is set to pocket a bit more than $16k, and 11 players will bag chips tonight and get paid tomorrow.

Entries are now closed for the 6-Max with 86 entries on the board for the final total. That’s still unofficial, but if it holds it will mean 11 players bagging chips later tonight. There were three new entries on the break, and those are not reflected in the list below, but here’s a look at the 32 stacks that were in play as they went on dinner.

The dinner break is just moment away with the field currently at 83 entries. Registration remains open through the dinner break and is set to close in a bit more than 30 minutes. There will be at least 11 bags at the end of the night, but that may go to 12 if there’s a run on entries during dinner.

The prize pool is now over $50k with 79 entries on the board. Level 9 has just begun, and this is the final level of entry. The players will go for a 30-minute dinner break following this level, and when they return for Level 10 around 8 PM, entries for the 6-Max will be closed. At the current numbers, it looks like 10 players will bag at the end of the night, but it’s likely they get a few entries to push that to 11 at least.

The field is just 3 entries shy of $50k in prizes with 73 entries on the board. There are still about 90 minutes to enter this game so it’s likely well see the field end up between 80 & 90 by the end of the dinner break.

There are now about 15 minutes remaining in Level 8, with one more level to play following this one before the dinner break.

They are just a few entries away from $45k in prizes now with about 15 minutes to play in Level 7. Entries are open through the start of Level 10, which is a bit more than 2 hours away now. It’s looking like a field of 70+ is easily in the cards for this one, and it might hit 80. Weston Pring and Ron Lauzon are among the recent entries I’ve spotted.

It’s worth noting that St Pierre-Porter took down the Big Bounty last night, and Jimmy Lee and Tony Ma were there with him in the money at the final table of that one.

Chris Hak raised the cutoff to 1,500 and Tony Ma (who was at the final table of last night’s Big Bounty game) called from the big blind. Ma check-called for 1,300 on the A♥4♦4♠ flop and they both checked the J♠ river.

Ma fired 1,500 on the 6♦ river, and, after a bit of tank time, Hak tossed in the call. Ma showed K♥9♦ while Hak had A♣2♦.

“I was considering the raise,” Hak said as he collected the pot, as if to apologize for his time in the tank.

“All good,” replied Ma with a smile.

The field is up to 54 entries now with about 25 minutes to play in Level 6. That puts the current prizes just shy of $36k and climbing. 60+ entries now looks like a lock with 70+ easily in the cards, but the pace of (re)entries after the upcoming break will be the determining factor.

The field is now up to 49 entries for the 6-Max with 39 players still at the felt. There are just a few minutes left in Level 5, with the next break scheduled following Level 6. After that, there are three more levels of entry, plus the dinner break, before the registration desk closes for this one.

Day 1 action will proceed until they get to 12.5% of the starting field, at which point the remaining players will bag their chips to return for Day 2 on Tuesday with everyone in the money.

The 6-Max is typically a field where a lot of regulars come out, and today is no exception. Among the players I’ve spotted in the action today are Francis Fan. Jo Teliani, Shawn Taghavi, Brian “BA” Anderson, DJ Sharma, Michael “Berny” Bernstein, Rob Lothian, Eric Wasylenko, Johnny Dalphond, Ali Razzaq, Nadav Bitton, Tony Ma, Quentin Siffledeen, Sebastian Crema, Michael St Pierre-Porter, Tony Comely, Kim Graham, Jason Heang, Nu Teliani, Murray Duval, Ryan Comely, and Mike Malm.

There are about 10 minutes to play in Level 4 and the field is up to 44 entries with 35 players still alive at the felt. Entries are still open for more than 4 hours, so it’s looking like a final field of 60-70 is a reasonable bet.

It’s a bit of a slow start for the 6-Max today with 33 entries on the board about 5 minutes from the first break. Entries are still open for more than 5 hours, so it’s likely we’ll see 60+ entries by the time it closes, but I had thought we might see 100 and that’s looking less likely with the current pace.

Monday’s big game is the ever-popular 6-Max game. It starts at 1 pm with 40k in chips. Players will play 40-minute levels throughout the event (20 minutes during heads up).

Entries for this one are open for 9 levels, putting the final entry at about 8:15 pm. Day 1 plays until they are in the money with 12.5% remaining, at which point, they’ll bag up for Tuesday’s final day.

This should be my main focus on Mon & Tue and I’ll be following it down to a winner Tuesday evening.

Sebastian Crema is the big stack by a mile at the end of the first day of play in the 6-Max. All 11 players are in the money and Crema has almost twice the chips of second-place Michael St Pierre-Porter. Below is a look at the seat assignments and counts for all returning players.

The 6-Max Day 1 has now come to an end after Michael St Pierre-Porter sent Naz Sadovnik home on the bubble. St Pierre-Porter had ace-jack and flopped trip jacks, but slow-played it with a check. Sadovnik hit his nine on the turn and bet, with St Pierre-Porter smooth-calling to the river. Sadovnik bet again, and St Pierre-Porter shoved. Sadovnik called but his ten-nine was no good against the trips for St Pierre-Porter.

Stay tuned for the final 11 chip counts coming shortly.

Cameron Stewart raised to 10k from the cutoff, and both blinds came along to the 9♦Q♦6♠ flop. All three players checked through to the Q♥ turn. Small blind Naz Sadovnik checked before big blind Michael St Pierre-Porter fired 15k.

Stewart got out of the way, but Sadovnik called. The river 2♦ completed the flush on board, and St Pierre-Porter checked behind. He showed Q♣8♣ while Sadovnik mucked his hand.

A few hands prior, Sadovnik doubled through St Pierre-Porter when he shoved blind on blind with nine-ten and got called by poket eights. He spiked two tens on the flop and St Pierre-Porter had to count out the double.

They are down to 12 players left on the final two tables now, and the action is hand-for-hand until the next elimination. After that, all players will be in the money, but they’ll bag up their chips to return for the money phase tomorrow.

They are down to 13 in the 6-Max now, two players away from the end of the night. There are less than 5 minutes to play in Level 14, and it seems likely they’ll get down to 11 sometime in Level 15.

They are now three away from the bags with 14 players left in the 6-Max game. With 20 minutes left in Level 14, it looks like there won’t be another break tonight.

Weston Pring raised the button to 10k, and Rob Lothian called from the big blind. He checked the 4♦Q♥2♥ flop, but shoved when Pring bet 12k. Pring quickly mucked his cards while Lothian showed a king-high flush draw as he collected the pot.

They are now down to 16 remaining, 5 off the end of the night.

They are down to the final three tables now with 18 players left. That puts them 7 off the bags and the money, but there will still be one more table break at 12 players whent he bags come out.

There are about 5 minutes to play in Level 13, so its still looking like today will likely end sometime in Level 15 or early Level 16.

Here is a look at how the final 20 players stack up. Sebastian Crema, who was at the final table of Event #3 yesterday, is leading the way right now with the field now 9 players away from the end of the night.

The players are about to head out for another break in about 1 minute, and there are 21 players left in the game. That puts them 10 eliminations away from the bags coming out tonight with all bags in the money.

I’ll grab a round of chip counts at the break for the remaining players.

Level 12 has just begun with the field now down to 24 remaining on the final four tables. They’ll take another break following this level and I’ll grab another round of chip counts while they are away from the tables.

They are now 13 eliminations off the bags coming out, so it seems likely that day 1 will end sometime before the break following Level 15.

The 6-Max field is down to 27 remaining now, with action on 5 tables. They’ll play down to 11 players tonight, after which the bags will come out and the final 11 will return to finish it out on Tuesday with everyone in the money.

The prizes are in and the field is confirmed at 86 entries for prizes of $57,190. The winner tomorrow is set to pocket a bit more than $16k, and 11 players will bag chips tonight and get paid tomorrow.

Entries are now closed for the 6-Max with 86 entries on the board for the final total. That’s still unofficial, but if it holds it will mean 11 players bagging chips later tonight. There were three new entries on the break, and those are not reflected in the list below, but here’s a look at the 32 stacks that were in play as they went on dinner.

The dinner break is just moment away with the field currently at 83 entries. Registration remains open through the dinner break and is set to close in a bit more than 30 minutes. There will be at least 11 bags at the end of the night, but that may go to 12 if there’s a run on entries during dinner.

The prize pool is now over $50k with 79 entries on the board. Level 9 has just begun, and this is the final level of entry. The players will go for a 30-minute dinner break following this level, and when they return for Level 10 around 8 PM, entries for the 6-Max will be closed. At the current numbers, it looks like 10 players will bag at the end of the night, but it’s likely they get a few entries to push that to 11 at least.

The field is just 3 entries shy of $50k in prizes with 73 entries on the board. There are still about 90 minutes to enter this game so it’s likely well see the field end up between 80 & 90 by the end of the dinner break.

There are now about 15 minutes remaining in Level 8, with one more level to play following this one before the dinner break.

They are just a few entries away from $45k in prizes now with about 15 minutes to play in Level 7. Entries are open through the start of Level 10, which is a bit more than 2 hours away now. It’s looking like a field of 70+ is easily in the cards for this one, and it might hit 80. Weston Pring and Ron Lauzon are among the recent entries I’ve spotted.

It’s worth noting that St Pierre-Porter took down the Big Bounty last night, and Jimmy Lee and Tony Ma were there with him in the money at the final table of that one.

Chris Hak raised the cutoff to 1,500 and Tony Ma (who was at the final table of last night’s Big Bounty game) called from the big blind. Ma check-called for 1,300 on the A♥4♦4♠ flop and they both checked the J♠ river.

Ma fired 1,500 on the 6♦ river, and, after a bit of tank time, Hak tossed in the call. Ma showed K♥9♦ while Hak had A♣2♦.

“I was considering the raise,” Hak said as he collected the pot, as if to apologize for his time in the tank.

“All good,” replied Ma with a smile.

The field is up to 54 entries now with about 25 minutes to play in Level 6. That puts the current prizes just shy of $36k and climbing. 60+ entries now looks like a lock with 70+ easily in the cards, but the pace of (re)entries after the upcoming break will be the determining factor.

The field is now up to 49 entries for the 6-Max with 39 players still at the felt. There are just a few minutes left in Level 5, with the next break scheduled following Level 6. After that, there are three more levels of entry, plus the dinner break, before the registration desk closes for this one.

Day 1 action will proceed until they get to 12.5% of the starting field, at which point the remaining players will bag their chips to return for Day 2 on Tuesday with everyone in the money.

The 6-Max is typically a field where a lot of regulars come out, and today is no exception. Among the players I’ve spotted in the action today are Francis Fan. Jo Teliani, Shawn Taghavi, Brian “BA” Anderson, DJ Sharma, Michael “Berny” Bernstein, Rob Lothian, Eric Wasylenko, Johnny Dalphond, Ali Razzaq, Nadav Bitton, Tony Ma, Quentin Siffledeen, Sebastian Crema, Michael St Pierre-Porter, Tony Comely, Kim Graham, Jason Heang, Nu Teliani, Murray Duval, Ryan Comely, and Mike Malm.

There are about 10 minutes to play in Level 4 and the field is up to 44 entries with 35 players still alive at the felt. Entries are still open for more than 4 hours, so it’s looking like a final field of 60-70 is a reasonable bet.

It’s a bit of a slow start for the 6-Max today with 33 entries on the board about 5 minutes from the first break. Entries are still open for more than 5 hours, so it’s likely we’ll see 60+ entries by the time it closes, but I had thought we might see 100 and that’s looking less likely with the current pace.

Monday’s big game is the ever-popular 6-Max game. It starts at 1 pm with 40k in chips. Players will play 40-minute levels throughout the event (20 minutes during heads up).

Entries for this one are open for 9 levels, putting the final entry at about 8:15 pm. Day 1 plays until they are in the money with 12.5% remaining, at which point, they’ll bag up for Tuesday’s final day.

This should be my main focus on Mon & Tue and I’ll be following it down to a winner Tuesday evening.

Ali Razzaq has dozens of final table appearances on his poker resume, but outright wins have been harder to come by for him. Coming into the 6-Max event, he had three previous wins, including a PPT trophy from Feb 2023.

After tonight, he’s added a second PPT trophy to his collection in a come-from-behind win over Sebastian Crema heads up. Razzaq ran well when he needed to on the final table tonight, finding a few great spots. In one particular case, he woke up with pocket queens after Keith Sarnoski shoved pocket tens. Razzaq held to get the game three-handed.

He then got the game heads up when he flopped two pair against a set of nines for Michael St Pierre-Porter, but then turned a bigger boat to get heads up against Crema/

It wasn’t all rungood, though. He seemed dialed into when to back away and when to ramp up the pressure. In one example during heads up, he equalled out the stacks with a river shove that put Crema in the blender. Crema eventually folded his hand to send a big pot to Razzaq. shortly after, Razzaq boated the river on a flushy board to take another big pot and leave Crema short.

In the final hand, Crema flopped open-ended and a heart draw and the money went in. Razzaq was on the best hand with a pocket pair of sevens, but Crema had boatloads of outs. He bricked the runout, however, and Razzaq’s sevens held for his Second PPT win. Tonight’s $16,215 will slot into 5th place on his all-time cash list and should push his lifetime earnings over $275k.

Sebastian Crema had the chip lead for most of the day, but heads-up poker is a swingy beast, and Ali Razzaq was both running hot and dialed into the play. Crema came to heads-up with the chip lead, but a big hand where Razzaq forced a river fold left them even.

The following hand saw Razzaq boat up on the river for another big pot to take the lead. In the final hand, Crema flopped straight and flush draws and the money went in with Razzaq on a pair of sevens. Crema bricked his outs and the pocket sevens held to give Razzaq the win.

Sebastian Crema raised to 65k ad Ali Razzq called to see a flop of K♦4♠6♣. Razzaq check-called for 35k to the 3♠ turn.

He checked again, but raised to 540k after Crema bet 180k. Crema called and the J♠ hit the river. Razzaq shoved and Crema hit the tank hard. He muttered to himself for a few minutes before finally finding a fold.

“Close?” Asked Razzaq as he collected the pot.

“Really big hand,” muttered Crema. That left the two players very close to even.

Inthe final hand before the break, Michael St Pierre-Porter was sent to the cage on yet another massive cooler. It all went in preflop with St Pierre-Porter on nines against the king-jack overs for Ali Razzaq. St Pierre-Porter found a set of nines on the flop while Razzaq hit two pair.

Then the turn came another jack and Razzaq improved to the best boat, sending St Pierre-Porter to the rail in the process.

Sebastian Crema is now heads up with the lead (2.1 million) against Ali Razzaq (1.3 million) with action set to resume in about 7 minutes.

Sebastian Crema raised the button to 40k and Ali Razzaq called from the big blind. He check-called for 30k on the 3♣A♠8♠ flop, then for 100k on the J♥ turn. He checked again on the 7♣ river, then called a big bet of 280k.

“I got really lucky,” Crema said, rolling over pocket sevens for the river set while Razzaq mucked his hand. There’s another break coming up in about 10 minutes and I’ll get full counts then, but Crema is still the runaway leader.

It’s been a day for coolers. Ali Razzaq opened under the gun to 40k, then snap-called when Keith Sarnoski shoved the big blind. Razzaq had the biggest stack and pocket queens against pocket tens for Sarnoski. The board missed both pairs, leaving the queens best and Sarnoski heading to the cage for 4th-place money.

In the previous hand, Cameron Stewart was near felted when both he and Michael St Pierre-Porter flopped a king. Stewart had the jest kicker with an ace against the deuce for St Pierre-Porter, but St Pierre-Porter found running diamonds for a huge win.

That left Stewart on fumes, and he was forced all in from the big blind in the next hand. Keith Sarnoski and Sebastian Crema both came along to try to knock him out, but Sarnoski got out of the way when Crema bet the king-high flop.

Crema had the king, but Stewart was drawing to backdoor straight outs on the flop. He turned that around to the front door, but then bricked the river for Crema’s king to hold and send him home in 5th place tonight.

Sebastian Crema is running away with it now as he is playing more than half the chips in play. He has about 1.8 million in front of him with only about 3.5 million in play.

He just picked up some chips after a preflop button raise to 30k. Cameron Stewart called from the big blind, then check-called for 25k on the 7♠6♦8♠ flop. They both checked the 2♥ turn and Stewart check-folded to a bet of 190k on the J♣ river.

“Would you have called a shove?” Stewart asked after the hand.

“That time, ya,” replied Crema as he was stacking the chips.

Sebastian Crema raised under the gun to 30k and Ali Razzaq called from the big blind. They both checked the J♦7♣J♠ flop, and Razzaq check-called for 30k on the 7♦ turn.

The river J♥ was where it all went crazy. Razzaq bet 30k on the boated board before Crema pumped it up to 190k. Razzaq though for a few seconds before sliding in the call, but his pocket tens were behind the pocket kings for Crema, as both players had a bigger boat than the one on the board.

Sebastian Crema raised to 24k under the gun, and Ali Razzaq called from the big blind. Razzaq check-called for 18k on the Q♣5♠3♦ flop and they both checked the 7♥ turn.

Razzaq fired 15k on the [invalid notations]8d[/pcn[ river, then called when Crema pumped it up to 65k. He mucked when Crema showed two red jacks for second pair.

They are down to five now after Sean Sztyler ended his day in 6th place. He lost a pot recently to Ali Razzaq that left him short, and he raised to 40k with ace-queen. Michael St Pierre-Porter shoved with pocket fours and Sztyler called if off with less.

The board bricked for the overs, while St Pierre-Porter rivered a straight to hold and take it down.

Ali Razzaq raised to 25k under the gun ans Sean Sztyler called from the big blind. They both checked the 2♦K♠K♥ flop, and Sztyler check-raised the 7♣ turn from 15k to 50k.

Razzaq called to the A♦ river, where both players checked. Sztyler showed 9♣7♠ for the turned pair, but Razzaq’s A♣J♠ hit the river for the win.

Sebastian Crema is over 1 million and the clear chip leader at the break with Ali Razzaq in second.

Shawen Taghavi raised to 25k under the gun and Sebastian Crema called from the cutoff. It all kicked off on the 6♥Q♥9♥ flop when Taghanvi bet 30k, Crema raised to 65k, Taghavi shoved and Crema snapped it off with more.

Taghavi had overs and the heart draw with A♣K♥ against the flop set of sixes for Crema. 5♦K♦ on the runout wasn’t enough to save Taghavi and he was the first off the final table today.

Sebastian Crema raised early to 20k and Sean Sztyler came along from the big blind to a flop of K♣5♦2♦. Sztyler checked dark, then raised to 30k when Crema fired 13k.

Sztyler bet 101k on the 10♣ turn and Crema called to the Q♥ river. Both players checked it. Sztyler announced ace high, but his kicker was no good against the [AdQd[/pcn] for Crema, who hit the river with a pair, but had been drawing diamonds since the flop.

Cameron Stewart raised the middle to 17k and got calls from Sean Sztyler and Ali Razzaq in the blinds. They all checked the 10♣9♣K♥ flop, and, when it checked to Stewart on the 5♣ turn he fired 26k. Sztyler called while Razzaq bowed out.

The 2♥ river brought a check-call for 55k from Sztyler, but he mucked his hand when Stewart showed K♦5♠ for the turned two pair.

Weston Pring bubbled the seven-handed final table tonight after he flopped top-top but Sean Sztyler flopped a set of threes. The money went in on the turn with Pring dead, and he was out in 8th place.

They are now setting the 7-handed final table.

They are down to 8 remaining now after Rob Lothian couldn’t win a race. He got it in with ace-king against pocket tens for Sean Sztyler. The board ran clean for the pair and Lothian was the short stack, so he was out in 9th place.

It started as a limped pot, three ways, before the flop. All three players checked the A♦4♣Q♣ flop and Pring fired 12k on the 8♣ river. Rob Lothian got out of the way from the big blind, but button Sean Sztyler raised it ip to 35k. Pring was having none of it, however, and reclicked to 110k, forcing the fold from Sztyler. He showed ace-eight for the turned two pair, saying “I didn’t want to let you get there with clubs.”

Meanwhile, on the other table, Michael St Pierre-Porter doubled through Sebastian Crema when he won a race with overs, hitting his ace against the pair for Crema.

It was blind on bldin when Sean Sztyler completed and Weston Prong checked his option. The flop was 9♦A♦7♦ and both players checked it to the A♥ turn.

Sztyler bet 10.5k, but then mucked when Pring raised to 30k. “Have an ace once,” Pring said with a smile, showing two diamonds in his hand when he collected the pot. Shawn Taghavi also commented on the monochrome flops the table has been seeing recently.

Cameron Stewart raised the button to 12k and Michael St Pierre-Porter called from the big blind. St Pierre-Porter checked the J♣K♠3♥ flop, but raised to 40k when Stewart fired 15k. Stewart got out of the way, and St Pierre-Porter is back up to about 400k after losing some early today.

Sebastian Crema still looks to be the leader as he’s playing over a million now, while the hand left Stewart on about 300k. I’ll get full counts at the next break in about 90 minutes.

They are down to nine left now after Guneet Singh couldn’t win a race. He got it in with tens against ace-king for Sean Sztyler. It looked like the board would run clean for Singh to double, but the king on the river drowned him for 10th place.

The first casualty of the day came from the flopped cooler. On a seven-high flop, Jason Heang and Rob Lothian got it in with both players on the seven. Heang was kicked by a king, while Lothian was on top-top with the ace. The board paired Lothian’s ace and Heang was out in 11th place today.

The action is now underway with the final few minutes of Level 15. Sebastian Crema is the big leader at the moment with Michael St Pierre-Porter way behind in second place.

Day 2 of the 6-Max is just moments away. The final 11 players will be in their seats in about 15 minutes to battle it out for the 6-Max trophy.

They’ll start the day with 16:15 remaining in Level 15 and, while there would typically be a break scheduled at the end of Level 15, they’ll play through that to take the first break of Day 2 at the end of Level 18.

Day 2 of the 6-Max is now set with 11 players returning in the money. Sebastian Crema is the huge leader with almost 850k while second-place Michael St Pierre-Porter has less than 500k going into Day 2.

The Day 2 action kicks off at 1 pm on Tuesday and they’ll play to a winner before they finish. See below for a look at the final 11 players with seats and stacks.

Day 2 Players by Stack

Day 2 Players by Seat