2026 WSOPC Calgary Jan – Event #8: $1,000 NLH

It was a swingy heads-up battle between Sebastian Crema and James Lahey. Crema had a big lead to start the two-way battle, but James Lahey wasn’t going down easy. Crema looked like he was about to put on the ring when he got his chips in with queen nine, racing against Lahey’s fours, and spiked a nine on the flop.

It wasn’t over, though. Lahey flopped three to a straight, then went runner-runner wheel to survive. That still left Crema in the lead, but that changed shortly after. Crema was still in a bit of a lead, but a big cooler where he woke up with ace-jack and four-bet shoved, only to run into ace-king.

Crema nearly flushed Lahey out of the game, finding three clubs by the turn to go with his jack of clubs, but the river bricked for Crema and gave Lahey a pair of kings for the win. That sent Lahey to a huge lead, and the final hand came very quickly.

Crema shoved queen-ten, but the hot running Lahey woke up with ace-king again and snapped it off. The board was clean for the ace-king, and it was all over.

This was Lahey’s first live win, and first ring, as well as his biggest lifetime score, though he was close to a ring once before. In Jan 2024, he got heads-up in the closing Big 30 Stack game, but had to settle for second that time around. This time, he took that extra step up to the top rung of the ladder.

Sebastian Crema raised to 400k before James Lahey made it 2 million to go, almost half his stack. Crema tanked for a minute before shoving, and Lahey called it off.

Lahey had ace-king against ace-jack, but it looked like Crema might flush him out of the tournament with the 9♣5♦10♣5♣K♠ board, as he had the jack of clubs, but the offsuit king on the river saved him, and doubled him to more than 10 million.

Sebastian Crema shoved the button, and James Lahey called to put himself at risk. He had a pair of fours, but he was racing against Crema’s Q♦9♠.

It looked like the game might be over when Crema flopped his nine, but when the 2♥9♥3♥A♠5♣ board was complete, Lahey straightened up with the river wheel to double and stay alive. He had 2.25 million, so he’s now close to 5 million, and they are closer to even, though Crema still has a lead.

Sebastian Crema has a big lead heads up. He has about 9.5 million to 3.7 million for James Lahey as the battle for the ring on stage in the Chrome Room.

They are heads up in the Two-Day $1k now after Scott Carragher ended his run in 3rd place tonight. Sebastian Crema and James Lahey are now battling for the ring.

Sebastian Crema has the lead now with more than 7 million, while James Lahey is on 3.7 million to 2.6 million for Scott Carragher.

Scott Carragher raised to 250k from the button, and James Lahey called from the small blind. They both checked the 7♠5♥K♥ flop, and Lahey led the [invalid notations] river, where they both checked it. Lahey showed king-five of spades for two pair and Carragher mucked his hand. Lahey still has the lead, with Carragher in second, but pretty close to 3rd place Sebastian Crema.

I missed the final action while updating Event #11, but Christian Wallmuth was left short after a recent hand against Sebastian Crema, and the start-of-day chip leader hit the rail for 4th place recently.

Sebastian Crema raised under the gun to 240k, and Christian Wallmuth called from the big blind. They both checked the 6♣7♦3♥ flop.

Wallmuth led for 300k on the 10♦ turn, and Crema called to the A♥ river. Wallmuth checked, then folded to Crema’s bet of 1 million.

After limped action preflop, the flop came 7♦7♠5♣. Both small blind Scott Carragher and big blind James Lahey checked to the J♦ turn.

Carragher check-called for 125k to see K♣ on the river. Carragher checked again, then tanked for a bit after Lahey put out 380k. He finally tossed in the call.

“You’re good,” Lahey said, showing nine-deuce of hearts. Carragher showed 6♥5♦ for flopped bottom pait and took it down.

James Martin opened the cutoff to 200k, and James Lahey called from the button. Martin shoved all-in on the 6♥K♠K♣ flop, but he ran into it.

Lahey quickly called, showing ace-king against ace-eight. To add insult to injury, Lahey turned quad kings for the win.

They are down to five left in the $1k now after Andy Truong hit the rail for 6th. He shoved king-queen, but ran into ace-eight. Despite flopping two pair, he couldn’t crack the Broadway straight to the ace, and collected $13,100 for 6th place tonight.

They are down to 6 left in the Two-Day $1k now after Angelo Jopek recently hit the rail. I missed the action while I getting some dinner. The average stack now with 6 players left is 27 big blinds.

Andrew MacDonald busted from the final table shortly after the dinner break, but I missed the action as I was updating Day 1a payouts from the Monster Stack.

Dinner is now over, and the final 8 players are back in action to finish out the Two-Day $1k.

It’s a battle between Angelo Jopek and James Lahey for the chip lead, with players on the dinner break following Level 24. They’ll be back to finish it out in just over 30 minutes.

There was a double knockout on the bubble to set up the 9-handed final table tonight, then Aiden Klingbeil ended his day earlt from the final nine to leave 8 players battling for the $1k ring.

Nw Brunswick’s Trent Hopper was the most recent casualty from the final two tables of the $1k. That leaves them on the final table bubble, with the 10-handed FT set to start after the next elimination.

Kyle Rosnos was the most recent elimination from the $1k as they near the final table. They are now on the soft bubble to the final 10 players.

Under the gun moved all in for 350,000, and Andy Truong made the call. Both players revealed their holdings.

Under the Gun: 8♥8♠
Andy Truong: A♥K♠

The board ran out 4♣J♥K♦7♠10♥ for Truong to take the pot.

Andy Truong: 1,830,000

Robert Mosher moved all in from the small blind for 165,000, and Andrew Macdonald rejammed. The remaining players folded, and both players revealed their holdings.

Robert Mosher: A♥9♣
Andrew Macdonald: A♦A♣

Macdonald’s Aces held as the board ran out 7♣7♦4♣3♦4♦.

Andrew Macdonald: 555,000

Middle Position moved all in for 155,000, and Aidan Klingbeil made the call. Both players revealed their holdings.

Middle Position: A♣8♥
Aidan Klingbeil: 5♠5♥

The board ran out J♥4♦10♠Q♦3♥ for Kligbeil to take the pot.

Aidan Klingbeil: 890,000

Yucheng Zhang moved all in for 78,000 and middle position made the call. Both players revealed their holdings.

Yucheng Zhang: A♥K♣
Middle Position: Q♠

The board ran out J♠A♦2♦6♥10♥ for Zhang to find the double.

Yucheng Zhang: 186,000

Action was caught after the flop of 7♦5♣3♠, and Willie Scott moved all in for 140,000. Anne Ngo made the call, and both players revealed their holdings.

Willie Scott: A♥A♦
Anne Ngo: 3♣3♦

The board ran out 9♦6♠ for Ngo to take the pot.

Anne Ngo: 3,600,000

Event #8: $1,000 NLH Day 2 ($875 + $125)

Day 2 of the $1k is now set with Christian Wallmuth leading the way. He is one of three players with more than 500k going into the final day of play, with Kyle Rosnes & Robert Mosher also stacking half a million or more.

Day 2 action kicks off at 2 PM, and they’ll play to a winner before they shut down for the night, with the action playing out in the Chrome room. All 64 returning players are in the money, guaranteed at least $2,016, with nearly $80k up top for the win.

Blinds remain at 40 minutes for the rest of the game, and the average stack to start Day 2 will be 34 big blinds.

Day 2 Seats & Stacks

Christian Walmuth is the chip leader for Day 2 of the $1k. There are 64 players left in the game, and everyone is guaranteed at least $2,016 on Tuesday.

Walmuth has 527k, with Kyle Rosnes and Robert Mosher also playing more than 500k. Jimmy Lee and Jerry Li round out the top five counts.

Top Stacks for Day 2

Full Stacks & Seats for Day 2 of the $1k

There was a triple-knockout to put the $1k in the money, meaning that 3 players chopped the first min-cash spot tonight. One more player busted before the bags came out, leaving 64 players returning for Day 2, with everyone in the money.

Place	Player	Prize
65	Jullie Poirier	$2,016
66	Murray Kristof	$672
67	Hiroaki Harada	$672
68	Chris Duffy	$672

Just under 25 minutes remain in the official Day 1 levels, and the field is still 5 off the money. It’s unclear at this point whether they’ll hit the bubble before the end of Day 1 or not, as the action seems to have slowed as they appraoch the money bubble.

Just over 5 minutes are left in Level 14, with the final level of the night to follow. The field is now 6 off the money, and 5 off the hand-for-hand bubble play. The bubble play should start sometime early in Level 15, and if they are still hand-for-hand when the end of Level 15 comes, they’ll stay at the felt until the bubble bursts.

Conversely, if they get to the end of Level 15 before the bubble, which seems unlikely but isn’t impossible, they’ll bag up outside the money.

Just over 30 minutes are left in Level 14, and the field is now 12 off the money with 78 players left. There is still more than an hour left in Day 1, so it’s looks pretty certain that they’ll at least be into the bubble play by the time Level 15 ends, but most likely, they’ll come back to Day 2 in the money.

Just under 30 minutes remain in Level 13 with the field down to 91 players. It looks like Hayden Dahl is the current chip leader with more than 400k in front of him, which should be accurate as of the start of Level 13.

There are a bit less than 2 hours remaining in Day 1 play before the bags come out, so it’s looking more likely that they’ll be in the money when they bag.

It’s looking more likely that the $1k will bag up in the money tonight, as the field is down to 95 players before the end of Level 12. There are still three levels to play in Day 1 after the break following this level, and fewer than 30 players to lose to hit the 66 paid spots.It seems likely that they’ll hit the bubble play sometime in Level 14 or early 15 with the current pace.

They are down to 110 players left in the $1k, with about 25 minutes remaining in Level 12. They’ll take their final break of Day 1 following this level, then return for the final three levels of play in Day 1.

With 110 players left, it’s a bit of a crapshoot as to whether they’ll hit the money before the end of the day. There are 66 paid spots, so they need to lose more than 40 players before they are in the money, but either way, they should be at least close to the money spots by the time they bag up tonight.

The full payouts are now posted under the Payouts tab, with first place tomorrow expected to win just shy of $80k.

Middle position opened to 5,000, and late position called. Christopher Alcindor three-bet to 16,000, and late position moved all in for around 40,000. Alcindor made the call, and both players revealed their holdings.

Late Position: A♦J♣
Christopher Alcindor: A♥Q♠

The board ran out 7♥7♠Q♣5♠9♣ for Alcindor to find the elimination.

Chrisopher Alcindor: 117,500

Event #8: $1,000 NLH Day 1 ($875 + $125)

The Two-Day $1k is among the most popular events on the schedule, and it gets going on Monday at 11 AM. Players get 30k to start and will play 40-minute levels throughout the game.

Entries are open for 9 Levels of poker, with the desk closing after the dinner break following Level 9. That should be at about 6:15 PM. After that, there are 6 more levels of play in Day 1 before the remaining players bag up for Tuesday’s Day 2.

In October last year, it was Kye Ho who took this one down. He made it through 364 entries for his share of nearly $320k in prizes, taking down the ring heads-up over Trevor Otterson.

Christian Walmuth is the chip leader for Day 2 of the $1k. There are 64 players left in the game, and everyone is guaranteed at least $2,016 on Tuesday.

Walmuth has 527k, with Kyle Rosnes and Robert Mosher also playing more than 500k. Jimmy Lee and Jerry Li round out the top five counts.

Top Stacks for Day 2

Full Stacks & Seats for Day 2 of the $1k

There was a triple-knockout to put the $1k in the money, meaning that 3 players chopped the first min-cash spot tonight. One more player busted before the bags came out, leaving 64 players returning for Day 2, with everyone in the money.

Place	Player	Prize
65	Jullie Poirier	$2,016
66	Murray Kristof	$672
67	Hiroaki Harada	$672
68	Chris Duffy	$672

Just under 25 minutes remain in the official Day 1 levels, and the field is still 5 off the money. It’s unclear at this point whether they’ll hit the bubble before the end of Day 1 or not, as the action seems to have slowed as they appraoch the money bubble.

Just over 5 minutes are left in Level 14, with the final level of the night to follow. The field is now 6 off the money, and 5 off the hand-for-hand bubble play. The bubble play should start sometime early in Level 15, and if they are still hand-for-hand when the end of Level 15 comes, they’ll stay at the felt until the bubble bursts.

Conversely, if they get to the end of Level 15 before the bubble, which seems unlikely but isn’t impossible, they’ll bag up outside the money.

Just over 30 minutes are left in Level 14, and the field is now 12 off the money with 78 players left. There is still more than an hour left in Day 1, so it’s looks pretty certain that they’ll at least be into the bubble play by the time Level 15 ends, but most likely, they’ll come back to Day 2 in the money.

Just under 30 minutes remain in Level 13 with the field down to 91 players. It looks like Hayden Dahl is the current chip leader with more than 400k in front of him, which should be accurate as of the start of Level 13.

There are a bit less than 2 hours remaining in Day 1 play before the bags come out, so it’s looking more likely that they’ll be in the money when they bag.

It’s looking more likely that the $1k will bag up in the money tonight, as the field is down to 95 players before the end of Level 12. There are still three levels to play in Day 1 after the break following this level, and fewer than 30 players to lose to hit the 66 paid spots.It seems likely that they’ll hit the bubble play sometime in Level 14 or early 15 with the current pace.

They are down to 110 players left in the $1k, with about 25 minutes remaining in Level 12. They’ll take their final break of Day 1 following this level, then return for the final three levels of play in Day 1.

With 110 players left, it’s a bit of a crapshoot as to whether they’ll hit the money before the end of the day. There are 66 paid spots, so they need to lose more than 40 players before they are in the money, but either way, they should be at least close to the money spots by the time they bag up tonight.

The full payouts are now posted under the Payouts tab, with first place tomorrow expected to win just shy of $80k.

Middle position opened to 5,000, and late position called. Christopher Alcindor three-bet to 16,000, and late position moved all in for around 40,000. Alcindor made the call, and both players revealed their holdings.

Late Position: A♦J♣
Christopher Alcindor: A♥Q♠

The board ran out 7♥7♠Q♣5♠9♣ for Alcindor to find the elimination.

Chrisopher Alcindor: 117,500

Event #8: $1,000 NLH Day 1 ($875 + $125)

The Two-Day $1k is among the most popular events on the schedule, and it gets going on Monday at 11 AM. Players get 30k to start and will play 40-minute levels throughout the game.

Entries are open for 9 Levels of poker, with the desk closing after the dinner break following Level 9. That should be at about 6:15 PM. After that, there are 6 more levels of play in Day 1 before the remaining players bag up for Tuesday’s Day 2.

In October last year, it was Kye Ho who took this one down. He made it through 364 entries for his share of nearly $320k in prizes, taking down the ring heads-up over Trevor Otterson.

It was a swingy heads-up battle between Sebastian Crema and James Lahey. Crema had a big lead to start the two-way battle, but James Lahey wasn’t going down easy. Crema looked like he was about to put on the ring when he got his chips in with queen nine, racing against Lahey’s fours, and spiked a nine on the flop.

It wasn’t over, though. Lahey flopped three to a straight, then went runner-runner wheel to survive. That still left Crema in the lead, but that changed shortly after. Crema was still in a bit of a lead, but a big cooler where he woke up with ace-jack and four-bet shoved, only to run into ace-king.

Crema nearly flushed Lahey out of the game, finding three clubs by the turn to go with his jack of clubs, but the river bricked for Crema and gave Lahey a pair of kings for the win. That sent Lahey to a huge lead, and the final hand came very quickly.

Crema shoved queen-ten, but the hot running Lahey woke up with ace-king again and snapped it off. The board was clean for the ace-king, and it was all over.

This was Lahey’s first live win, and first ring, as well as his biggest lifetime score, though he was close to a ring once before. In Jan 2024, he got heads-up in the closing Big 30 Stack game, but had to settle for second that time around. This time, he took that extra step up to the top rung of the ladder.

Sebastian Crema raised to 400k before James Lahey made it 2 million to go, almost half his stack. Crema tanked for a minute before shoving, and Lahey called it off.

Lahey had ace-king against ace-jack, but it looked like Crema might flush him out of the tournament with the 9♣5♦10♣5♣K♠ board, as he had the jack of clubs, but the offsuit king on the river saved him, and doubled him to more than 10 million.

Sebastian Crema shoved the button, and James Lahey called to put himself at risk. He had a pair of fours, but he was racing against Crema’s Q♦9♠.

It looked like the game might be over when Crema flopped his nine, but when the 2♥9♥3♥A♠5♣ board was complete, Lahey straightened up with the river wheel to double and stay alive. He had 2.25 million, so he’s now close to 5 million, and they are closer to even, though Crema still has a lead.

Sebastian Crema has a big lead heads up. He has about 9.5 million to 3.7 million for James Lahey as the battle for the ring on stage in the Chrome Room.

They are heads up in the Two-Day $1k now after Scott Carragher ended his run in 3rd place tonight. Sebastian Crema and James Lahey are now battling for the ring.

Sebastian Crema has the lead now with more than 7 million, while James Lahey is on 3.7 million to 2.6 million for Scott Carragher.

Scott Carragher raised to 250k from the button, and James Lahey called from the small blind. They both checked the 7♠5♥K♥ flop, and Lahey led the [invalid notations] river, where they both checked it. Lahey showed king-five of spades for two pair and Carragher mucked his hand. Lahey still has the lead, with Carragher in second, but pretty close to 3rd place Sebastian Crema.

I missed the final action while updating Event #11, but Christian Wallmuth was left short after a recent hand against Sebastian Crema, and the start-of-day chip leader hit the rail for 4th place recently.

Sebastian Crema raised under the gun to 240k, and Christian Wallmuth called from the big blind. They both checked the 6♣7♦3♥ flop.

Wallmuth led for 300k on the 10♦ turn, and Crema called to the A♥ river. Wallmuth checked, then folded to Crema’s bet of 1 million.

After limped action preflop, the flop came 7♦7♠5♣. Both small blind Scott Carragher and big blind James Lahey checked to the J♦ turn.

Carragher check-called for 125k to see K♣ on the river. Carragher checked again, then tanked for a bit after Lahey put out 380k. He finally tossed in the call.

“You’re good,” Lahey said, showing nine-deuce of hearts. Carragher showed 6♥5♦ for flopped bottom pait and took it down.

James Martin opened the cutoff to 200k, and James Lahey called from the button. Martin shoved all-in on the 6♥K♠K♣ flop, but he ran into it.

Lahey quickly called, showing ace-king against ace-eight. To add insult to injury, Lahey turned quad kings for the win.

They are down to five left in the $1k now after Andy Truong hit the rail for 6th. He shoved king-queen, but ran into ace-eight. Despite flopping two pair, he couldn’t crack the Broadway straight to the ace, and collected $13,100 for 6th place tonight.

They are down to 6 left in the Two-Day $1k now after Angelo Jopek recently hit the rail. I missed the action while I getting some dinner. The average stack now with 6 players left is 27 big blinds.

Andrew MacDonald busted from the final table shortly after the dinner break, but I missed the action as I was updating Day 1a payouts from the Monster Stack.

Dinner is now over, and the final 8 players are back in action to finish out the Two-Day $1k.

It’s a battle between Angelo Jopek and James Lahey for the chip lead, with players on the dinner break following Level 24. They’ll be back to finish it out in just over 30 minutes.

There was a double knockout on the bubble to set up the 9-handed final table tonight, then Aiden Klingbeil ended his day earlt from the final nine to leave 8 players battling for the $1k ring.

Nw Brunswick’s Trent Hopper was the most recent casualty from the final two tables of the $1k. That leaves them on the final table bubble, with the 10-handed FT set to start after the next elimination.

Kyle Rosnos was the most recent elimination from the $1k as they near the final table. They are now on the soft bubble to the final 10 players.

Under the gun moved all in for 350,000, and Andy Truong made the call. Both players revealed their holdings.

Under the Gun: 8♥8♠
Andy Truong: A♥K♠

The board ran out 4♣J♥K♦7♠10♥ for Truong to take the pot.

Andy Truong: 1,830,000

Robert Mosher moved all in from the small blind for 165,000, and Andrew Macdonald rejammed. The remaining players folded, and both players revealed their holdings.

Robert Mosher: A♥9♣
Andrew Macdonald: A♦A♣

Macdonald’s Aces held as the board ran out 7♣7♦4♣3♦4♦.

Andrew Macdonald: 555,000

Middle Position moved all in for 155,000, and Aidan Klingbeil made the call. Both players revealed their holdings.

Middle Position: A♣8♥
Aidan Klingbeil: 5♠5♥

The board ran out J♥4♦10♠Q♦3♥ for Kligbeil to take the pot.

Aidan Klingbeil: 890,000

Yucheng Zhang moved all in for 78,000 and middle position made the call. Both players revealed their holdings.

Yucheng Zhang: A♥K♣
Middle Position: Q♠

The board ran out J♠A♦2♦6♥10♥ for Zhang to find the double.

Yucheng Zhang: 186,000

Action was caught after the flop of 7♦5♣3♠, and Willie Scott moved all in for 140,000. Anne Ngo made the call, and both players revealed their holdings.

Willie Scott: A♥A♦
Anne Ngo: 3♣3♦

The board ran out 9♦6♠ for Ngo to take the pot.

Anne Ngo: 3,600,000

Event #8: $1,000 NLH Day 2 ($875 + $125)

Day 2 of the $1k is now set with Christian Wallmuth leading the way. He is one of three players with more than 500k going into the final day of play, with Kyle Rosnes & Robert Mosher also stacking half a million or more.

Day 2 action kicks off at 2 PM, and they’ll play to a winner before they shut down for the night, with the action playing out in the Chrome room. All 64 returning players are in the money, guaranteed at least $2,016, with nearly $80k up top for the win.

Blinds remain at 40 minutes for the rest of the game, and the average stack to start Day 2 will be 34 big blinds.

Day 2 Seats & Stacks