The opening day of action at the second edition of the 2026 Pure Poker Tour at Pure Casino Yellowhead is now in the books, with two trophies already awarded. Opening Day saw action in both the 50+ game as well as the NLH/PLO Mix.
The 50+ game drew 91 entries for prizes of $25,935, while the side game got 95 entries for prizes of $27,075. The Seniors were at the felt until about 1 AM, for ~13 hours of action, and the Mix game was closer to 14 hours, with the action finishing well after 6 AM.
Four-Way Chop Ends the Seniors’ Game
Event #1: $340 Seniors First 50+ ($300 + $40)
- Entries: 91
- Prizes: $25,935
- Winner (1st Place): Saroar Parvez ($6,675 after 4-way deal – Ali Razzaq took the trophy after winning the final flip)
It took more than 13 hours to decide a winner in the Seniors’ game, despite the field coming in at fewer than 100 entries. 91 entries combined to generate a prize pool of almost $26k. That left 10 paid spots at the end of the night, and they played several levels on the bubble before they finally decided the top ten.
Dana Shore was the unfortunate bubble player in the game last night, but even after they burst the bubble, no one was going down gently. They played another ~4 hours in the money before they finally chopped with four players remaining.
Saroar Parvez was the big chip leader when they decided on the deal, so he was able to secure the biggest payout of $6,675, while Rob Lothian, Jody Fayant, and Ali Razzaq all pocketed $4k for their day’s work. At the end of the game, they ran a flip for the trophy, and Razzaq was the player who won that hand, to add yet another trophy to his collection. Defending champion Francis Fan also figured in the endgame, but he wasn’t able to score the repeat win, dropping in 8th place for $985.
Final Results from the Seniors’ Game
| Position | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Saroar Parvez | *$6,675 |
| 2 | Ali Razzaq | *$4,000 |
| 3 | Jody Fayant | *$4,000 |
| 4 | Rob Lothian | *$4,000 |
| 5 | Michael Murphy | $1,995 |
| 6 | Brett Worton | $1,580 |
| 7 | Edward Sorensen | $1,245 |
| 8 | Francis Fan | $985 |
| 9 | Keith Stick | $805 |
| 10 | Brian Wells | $650 |
Ross Wilson Powers Through NLH/PLO Mix
Event #2: $340 NLH/PLO Mixed ($300 + $40)
- Entries: 95
- Prizes: ($27,075)
- Winner (1st Place): Ross Wilson ($7,855)
It took around 14 hours to decide the winner in the NLH/PLO Mix game. The action kicked off at 5 PM in the Pearl Room, and the final hand wasn’t played until well after 6 AM across the casino in the Poker Room.
In the end, it was Ross Wilson with all the chips. He turned up the heat as play approached the bubble, and was playing the chip lead for much of the endgame. They found the money shortly after 2 AM after Ming Ashing bubbled the money spots.
Wilson was second at that point, trailing the eventual runner-up Johnny Dalphond by about 100k. Canadian fastball champ Justin Pennell was the first casualty to get paid, taking 10th place about half an hour after they hit the money. Richard Guillon, Wesley Kruger, Roger Manoll, and Leo Zhang then fell in short order to bring the game to 5 players. Manoll was on the bad end of a horrible cooler earlier in the game when he lost with a boat to a flopped straight flush, but he managed to survive longer than expected.
Andrew Watt followed Zhang out about half an hour later, then they played nearly an hour 4 ways before Leon Doublet sent his chips to Wilson. Dalphond then sent John Donnelly to the rail in 3rd place just after 5 AM to set up heads-up between him and Wilson.
They played heads up for about an hour, with Dalphond on his heels for most of it. He managed to double up and stay alive a few times, but the increasing blinds were eating into his stack quickly, with the final confrontation happening when both players woke up with double-suited connected cards and the money went in preflop.
Wilson smashed the flop for tens full of fours, leaving Dalphond drawing very thin. He was drawing dead on the turn despite turning the open-ended draw.
Wilson is a regular here at the PPT, but this was his first win in live poker. He has a plethora of previous cashes, including 3 second-place finishes, and 4 thirds, along with a bunch of other final table finishes. The win on Thursday will mark his first live win and should push his Hendon Mob earnings over $80k.
Final Results from Event #2: $340 NLH/PLO Mixed
| Position | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ross Wilson | $7,855 |
| 2 | Johnny Dalphond | $5,415 |
| 3 | John Donnelly | $3,520 |
| 4 | Leon Doublet | $2,705 |
| 5 | Andrew Watt | $2,085 |
| 6 | Leo Zhang | $1,650 |
| 7 | Roger Manoll | $1,300 |
| 8 | Wesley Kruger | $1,030 |
| 9 | Richard Guillon | $840 |
| 10 | Justin Pennell | $675 |
