The opening day of the first-ever October edition of the World Series of Poker Circuit Calgary is now complete, and it was a big one. Across the two events on the opening-day schedule, there were a combined 554 entries for more than $210k in prizes awarded.
The opening day schedule was pretty familiar to WSOP-C Calgary veterans. The day kicked off with the Big 30 Stack and concluded with the NLH/PLO Mix game.
The first event of the day saw 371 entries for the Big 30 Stack by the time entries closed. That was a bit off from January’s numbers, but ahead of both the May and August 2024 numbers for this event. By the time the desk closed on the Oct 2025 edition, there was more than $122k in the prize pool.
The side game on Wednesday night was the NLH/PLO Mix. As a combined game, it tends to see lower field numbers than straight hold ’em events, with the opening-day field for this one topping out at 183 entries for prizes just shy of $95k.
Josh Molnar Wins First Ring in Big 30 Stack
- Event #1: $400 Big 30 Stack NLH ($330 + $70)
- Date: Oct 1, 11 AM
- Entries: 371
- Prizes: $122,430
- Winner: Josh Molnar ($26,288)
The opening event of the series was a pretty big one, boding well for the numbers in total for this brand new October series. The game got 371 entries for more than $122k in prizes, and it played down pretty quickly, going through the 371-player field in just shy of 14 hours. The final hands played out shortly before 2 AM.
For most of the game, Mohsen Shafizadeh was the chip leader, and he continued that into the final table. He stayed on top of the counts until they got three-handed, when winner Josh Molnar turned it up and jumped into a lead he only gave up once during heads-up play.
The heads-up action started with Molnar in a big lead over runner-up Jacob Parent. Molnar appeared to be looking for a quick win, but he doubled Parent up early after calling off with ace-three against picket fives.
Parent quickly doubled again, taking the lead with another pair against a wheel ace for Molnar. Molnar got some back when he picked off a bluff from Parent, then doubled to a huge lead when he flopped the wheel with four-deuce after limped preflop action.
Molnar won the game soon after, but he had to come from behind to get there. The final money went in with Molnar on ace-ten, but facing a dominating ace-queen from Parent. Molnar spiked his ten on the flop, however, and held for his first Circuit ring.
Top Ten Results from Big 30 Stack
Note that the full prizes for this game can be found at the Live Reporting pages under the Payouts tab.
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Josh Molnar | $26,288 |
| 2 | Jacob Parent | $17,549 |
| 3 | Mohsen Shafizadeh | $11,972 |
| 4 | Jonathan Kozel | $8,339 |
| 5 | Lee Clark | $5,934 |
| 6 | Joseph Cosco | $4,315 |
| 7 | Allen Shen | $3,208 |
| 8 | Jeremy Skinner | $2,440 |
| 9 | Greg Vanderford | $1,900 |
| 10 | Shawn Buchanan | $1,515 |
Praba Siva Owns the 2025 Half & Half Rings
- Event #2: $600 NLH/PLO ($515 + $85)
- Date: Oct 1, 4 PM
- Entries: 183
- Prizes: $94,245
- Winner: Praba Siva ($22,404)
The side game on the opening day was the NLH/PLO Mix. This is a game that requires a solid understanding of both two-card and four-card poker, and often contains some of the toughest names in the local field. Wednesday’s game was no exception, with the final table including Colten Yamagishi, Dylan Payne, Kurtis Ruhl, Deven Lane, Scott Stuve, and runner-up Andy Truong, while multiple-time winner of this event, Julius Roque, Skyler York, Teo Sanchez, Nicholas Lee, PLO bracelet & ring winner Jerry Li, Ramaz Haymour, Michael Baldwin, Viet Do, Mike Smith, Jordan Banfield, and Debi Loomer also picked up cash from this game.
The early levels of the game ran very quickly, with players in the money barely five hours after the game began. Once they hit the money, however, things started slowing down, and once they got nine-handed at the final table, play ground to a halt. It took almost three full levels to lose Yamagishi in 9th place, but once that dam burst, they were down to 4 players within the same level, and the game was over shortly after.
Siva held the lead through most of the day, though he and Scott Stuve traded big stacks on the final table, and when they got down to 4-ways, Deven Lane jumped into the lead for a bit as well after he doubled with a straight over Siva’s aces while drawing huge to a wrap.
Shortly after, Lane’s aces held against Siva’s double-suited ace-queen, and he took over the chip lead. That didn’t last long, however, as Siva quickly doubled back through him after they both flopped trip sevens, but Siva ran out to a boat for the win.
Lane hit the rail for fourth place shortly after, followed by Stuve in 3rd place. That set up the heads-up between Truong and Siva, with Siva eyeing his second NLH/PLO ring in as many series. It played down pretty quickly, with a few small hands, until the big confrontation when Truong woke up with aces, but Siva cracked them with a spade flush to take it down for the second time in a row.
The final hands in this one played out just before 6 AM.
Top Ten Results for NLH/PLO Mix
Note that the full prizes for this game can be found at the Live Reporting pages under the Payouts tab.
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Praba Siva | $22,404 |
| 2 | Andy Truong | $14,883 |
| 3 | Scott Stuve | $10,156 |
| 4 | Deven Lane | $7,122 |
| 5 | Dylan Payne | $5,136 |
| 6 | Clint Clarkson | $3,812 |
| 7 |  Ning “King” Wang | $2,914 |
| 8 | Kurtis Ruhl | $2,297 |
| 9 | Colten Yamagishi | $1,869 |
| 10 | Debi Loomer | $1,570 |
