Jonathan Jaffe Wins partypoker.net WPT Montreal

After a week of poker at the Playground Poker Club a champion emerged tonight from a field of 732 players to claim the title of World Poker Tour champion. Jonathan Jaffe was that winner, and although he didn’t lead wire-to-wire at the final table, his performance as the perennial chip leader during the final three days of this tournament was impressive here in the province of Quebec, Canada.

Jaffe made his second WPT cash a great one. He previously took second place at the WPT Foxwoods World Poker Finals back in Season VII. He finished one spot better tonight and claimed his spot in the WPT Champions Club. Jaffe now holds $2,019,431 in career earnings according to the Hendon Mob poker database.

Here is a look at the seating chart and chip counts at the start of the final table.

Seat 1. Jonathan Jaffe – 7,495,000 (124 bb)
Seat 2. Samuel Chartier – 2,065,000 (34 bb)
Seat 3. Guillaume Nolet – 2,060,000 (34 bb)
Seat 4. Kevin MacPhee – 1,570,000 (26 bb)
Seat 5. Ratharam Sivagnanam – 6,845,000 (114 bb)
Seat 6. Mukul Pahuja – 1,900,000 (31 bb)

The action kicked in quick at the final table and we had the first all-in pot just nine hands into play. Mukul Pahuja doubled up on that hand thru Guillaume Nolet, and that left Nolet crippled. Nolet was all in on the next hand with 94 and he was far behind the AA of Jaffe on a board reading QJJ3Q. Nolet was out in sixth place, and he took home CAD $90,350.

Local pro Samuel Chartier was the next player all in, and he shoved for 2,475,000 with 77 in the hole under the gun. Ratharam Sivagnanam had him covered on the button with QQ, and the board ran out A8399. Chartier was eliminated in fifth place, good for CAD $111,820.

The brisk pace continued when Kevin MacPhee was all in preflop with K10 on the small blind against Jaffe, who held AQ on the button. The board was dealt AQ8A7 and Jaffe won the pot with a full house. MacPhee was eliminated in fourth place, good for CAD $149,340.

There was a slight lull in the action after that, but this table stayed true to its early form and the next player who went all in played his last hand of the tournament. Pahuja was all in preflop for 4.6 million with AQ and Jaffe had him covered holding KK. The board was dealt K7228 and Pahuja was eliminated in third place (CAD $313,318) one year after he took second place in this event.

Play was paused after that to get the television set rearranged for the start of the heads-up final between Jaffe and Sivagnanam. Jaffe held a solid lead at the start of the final match with 16 million, and Sivagnanam had a large gap to bridge with just 5,935,000.

The heads-up match proved to be the toughest one of the tournament. It took longer than the rest of the final table combined, and there multiple lead changes between Jaffe and Sivagnanam. What made the length of the final battle even more peculiar is the fact that there was not a single all-in pot between the final two players until the one that ended the tournament.

Hand 135 saw Sivagnanam limp for 400,000 and Jaffe raised to 1.4 million. Sivagnanam tanked for a minute before moving all in for 5,225,000. Jaffe called with AK and Sivagnanam showed 108. The board was dealt 643JQ and Sivagnanam was eliminated on the hand in second place, good for CAD $313,318. Jaffe won the tournament, earning CAD $463,432, a WPT Champions Trophy, a Playground Poker Club Champions Belt, a pair of gold Monster 24K Headphones, and a Hublot watch. Jaffe will also get his name engraved on the one-and-only WPT Champions Cup, alongside all the previous WPT champions from all 13 seasons.

Final Table Results:

1st: Jonathan Jaffe – CAD $463,432
2nd: Ratharam Sivagnanam – CAD $313,318
3rd: Mukul Pahuja – CAD $201,920
4th: Kevin MacPhee – CAD $149,340
5th: Samuel Chartier – CAD $111,820
6th: Guillaume Nolet – CAD $90,350

That concludes our live coverage from Montreal. The next stop on the World Poker Tour will be the Five Diamond World Poker Classic at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada from December 15-20. Thanks to the Playground Poker Club for hosting another great event, and thanks to Joe Giron for tonight’s amazing photography. You can see more of Joe’s work on his website:www.joegrionphotography.com.