Kevin Rivest Triumphs at 2017 Canadian Poker Championships

The 2017 Canadian Poker Championships got underway last Friday at the Playground Poker Club in Kahnawake, with the C$2 million guaranteed tournament attracting a total of 899 players. On Wednesday, it was Kevin Rivest who was then able to overcome his fellow competitors, including Darren Keyes heads-up, to claim the title, and a first place prize of C$400,000 ($328,421).
Consequently, all but $57,423 of Kevin Rivest’s $385,844 in live tournament winnings have now been earned from this one tournament alone, with his previous biggest score also coming this year after finishing 15th at the C$5,300 partypoker Million North America for C$40,000 ($29,126).
The 2017 Canadian Poker Championships saw a number of notable pros enter the event, and amongst those booking a return on their buy-ins was Eric Afriat in 128th ($2,000), Chance Kornuth in 127th ($2,000), Jonathan Duhamel in 115th ($3,000), Joe Tehan in 68th ($5,000), Ari Engel in 39th ($9,000), Kyle Bowker in 21st ($12,000), Sam Phillips in 15th ($14,000), and Ema Zajmovic in 11th ($16,000),
Kevin Rivest then entered the final table in 5th position, but proceeded to eliminate Sean Gomez in 8th, and Patrick Serda in 7th to become the new chip leader. Rivest (K-J) followed up by taking care of Mike Leah (A-9) in 4th, and doing likewise to Joel Giguere in 3rd to usher in heads-up play against Daren Keyes for the title.
At this stage, Rivest was behind in chips, with the two players subsequently agreeing a chop that saw Keyes guaranteed a payday of at least $303,675 and Rivest lock up $280,325, while leaving C$56,000 behind for the ultimate winner.
Not long after, Rivest managed a swift double-up to take the lead, and on the deciding hand Keyes (Qc-Jd) reraised Rivest all-in preflop, with the latter making the call holding Ac-10c. The dealer then laid out a Kc-5h-2c-Ks-5c board, after which Daren Keyes had to be content with a runner-up finish, while Kevin Rivest was crowned this year’s champion.
Final Table Results (CAD):
1: Kevin Rivest $336,325
2: Daren Keyes $303,675
3: Joel Giguere $164,000
4: Mike Leah $110,000
5: Maurizio Lo Russo $75,000
6: Sebastien Labbe $50,000
7: Patrick Serda $35,000
8: Sean Gomez $26,000
The conclusion of the C$2,200 Canadian Poker Championships now brings to a close the second annual World Cup of Cards (WCC), with the huge 36 event series having run from August 13 to September 13.