The World Series of Poker Circuit Playground Main Event has wrapped up after five thrilling days in the bustling Playground. The massive field of 1,503 players was ultimately conquered by James Pillon, who triumphed after nearly nine hours of intense action on the final day.
“I finally won one of these,” Pillon said afterwards. “I play here a lot and have been close so many times. If I lost this one, I don’t know what I would’ve done.”
Pillon’s poker resume is filled with final tables—eleven in total—but until today, a first-place finish had eluded him. His closest call came in January with a second-place finish in a high roller event at Playground. With results dating back to 2018, Pillon is a regular on the circuit, primarily playing in Canada with occasional trips to Vegas and Florida.
Entering the final day as the chip leader, Pillon was asked about his strategy.
“I just didn’t want to give away any chips. Just play steady and smart. That’s pretty much it,” he explained. And that’s exactly what he did. Pillon stayed among the big stacks throughout the day, and despite some challenges from other players, he remained in striking distance, never falling too far behind.
This first-place prize of $333,240 more than quadruples his previous best cash of $75,000. He celebrated the victory with a few people from his rail, marking a day of personal milestones.
In addition to winning the event, Pillon also hit his first career royal flush earlier in the day.
WSOPC Playground Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize (CAD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Pillon | Windsor, ON | $333,240 |
| 2 | Lucas Constable | Peterborough, ON | $266,580 |
| 3 | Jishant Sapra | Scarborough, ON | $170,000 |
| 4 | Di Zhang | North York, ON | $125,000 |
| 5 | Arnaud Bonhomme-Lemieux | Quebec, QC | $95,000 |
| 6 | George Caragiorgas | Sainte-Dorothe, QC | $75,000 |
| 7 | Fabrizio Bruno | Lacal, QC | $60,000 |
| 8 | George Lagos | Stouffville, ON | $45,000 |
| 9 | Tommy Nguyen | Mississauga, ON | $31,000 |
Action of the Day
The final day began with 20 players remaining which steadily went down to the final table. From there Tommy Nguyen and George Lagos were the first two to depart.
Fabrizio Bruno was next to go in seventh after he had taken the chip lead in the early part of the day. George Caragiorgas followed him as he was able to ride a short stack most of the day to a nice ladder up to sixth place.
Arnaud Bonhomme-Lemieux made headlines early in the day after he won a bombastic three-way all in with aces over queens and jacks to take a big chip lead at that point. He remained among the top stacks in the final table until things got short-haded where he began to lose some pots and eventually lose a chunky one to be cut down to a short stack.
Di Zhang was eliminated in fourth place as he was able to recover from that big three-way all in. He lost that battle but won the war as he actually ended up besting Bonhomme-Lemieux’s finish by one spot.
Jishant Sapra became a force at the final table and took a big chip lead at one point. But during four-handed play, fortune would turn on him as he lost two straight key all-ins, both to Lucas Constable which knocked Sapra down to the short stack of three-handed play where he would eventually bow out.
Heads-up play began between Pillon and Constable, with the holding a slight chip lead. Constable took control quickly, though, as he won several hands to put him out in front. He had a lead as significant as 41 million chips to 19 million before he made an incorrect call with ace-high to hand the reigns back over to Pillon. The eventual champion capitalized from there by taking the title the very next hand with top two pair when Constable’s combo draw missed.