Francois Billard Wins 2019 partypoker LIVE MILLIONS North America Main Event For CA$961,400

Francois Billard Cover
  • Profile picture
  • Attreyee Khasnabis May 27, 2019
  • 5 Minutes Read

The six-day long 2019 partypoker LIVE MILLIONS North America CA$10,300 Main Event was hosted at the Playground Poker Club in Quebec, Canada, and attracted 521 entrants across two starting flights. After 14 hours of play on the final day, Canadian pro Francois Billard (cover image) was the last player standing as he clinched his first-ever partypoker LIVE title along with a career-best score of CA$961,400, following a three-way chop.

Billard reached the final table placed fifth in chips among eight players. He steadily built his stack, and by the end of Day 4, he had amassed the second-largest stack on the table. He eliminated Paul Fontan and partypoker Team pro Joni Jouhkimainen, before facing Kevin Rabichow heads-up for the title. When the play was down to three players, the finalists agreed to a three-way deal, leaving the trophy and CA$212,370 to play for. After Billard defeated Robichow, the latter collected CA$578,990 for his runner-up finish.

Talking about his victory, Billard said in the post-event interview, “I’m a little bit exhausted but excited as well. All my friends are here so I’m excited to go have a small drink at wherever is open right now.”

The notable names who managed to cross the money line included Armin Rezaei (9th for CA$100,000), Upeshka De Silva (11th for CA$60,000), Erik Lemarquand (12th for CA$60,000), Senthuran Vijayaratnam (16th for CA$40,000), Bryn Kenney (18th for CA$30,000), Dietrich Fast (23rd for CA$30,000), Will Givens (24th for CA$30,000), and Maurice Hawkins (25th for CA$30,000).

 

Final Table Chip Counts

1. Kevin Rabichow – 111,450,000

2. Paul Fontan – 110,575,000

3. Danick Landriault – 66,450,000

4. Ben Heath – 65,225,000

5. Francois Billard – 61,150,000

6. Alexandros Kolonias – 53,125,000

7. Joni Jouhkimainen – 34,650,000

8. Ruben Perceval – 17,550,000

partypoker LIVE MILLIONS North America Main Event Final Table
partypoker LIVE MILLIONS North America Main Event Final Table

 

Final Table Recap

Ruben Perceval became the first casualty of the final table when his were bested by Kevin Rabichow’s , leading to the former’s eighth-place exit.

About an hour later, Ben Heath shoved all-in with and Alexandros Kolonias called holding . The board brought and the latter rivered a two pair to eliminate Heath in seventh place.

Following Heath’s elimination, the play was paused for the day.

 

Six-Handed Chip Counts

1. Kevin Rabichow – 156,150,000

2. Francois Billard – 126,250,000

3. Paul Fontan – 87,975,000

4. Joni Jouhkimainen – 79,050,000

5. Alexandros Kolonias – 40,550,000

6. Danick Landriault – 33,150,000

 

Final Day Recap

Unsurprisingly, the shortest stack – Danick Landriault was the first player to depart when his ran into Rabichow’s , eliminating the former in sixth place.

On the 154th hand, Paul Fontan‘s run came to an end in fifth place. His were outdone by Francois Billard’s which bettered to a pair of jacks on the flop.

44 hands later, Alexandros Kolonias‘s were pitted against Rabichow’s . The community cards revealed and Rabichow’s pair of queens dismissed Kolonias in fourth place.

Three-handed play continued for almost an hour before the players decided to strike a deal. The tournament director informed them that CA$212,370 must be kept in play and given the stack sizes, Francois Billard locked in the largest share of the kitty with CA$749,030, partypoker Team pro Joni Jouhkimainen bagged CA$583,310, while Kevin Rabichow pocketed CA$578,990.

With the deal done, play continued for over three hours before Joni Jouhkimainen was sent to the rail in third place. His were no match for Billard’s , with the board offering no help to the former.

The heads-up play between Francois Billard (378,500,000) and Kevin Rabichow (142,500,000) began with the former enjoying a commendable lead over Rabichow. While the latter tried hard to overcome the chip gap, in the end, it was a near impossible task to complete.

Kevin Rabichow
Kevin Rabichow

On the 344th hand of the day, Rabishow opened to 12 Million from the button and Billard 3-bet to 42 Million. Rabishow called to see the flop . Billard led out for 26 Million, and Rabichow called. The turn brought , and Billard decided to move all-in. Rabichow tanked for a while but ultimately decided to call, putting his tournament life on the line.

Kevin Rabichow

Francois Billard

The on the river completed the board, and Billard took down the title and top prize of CA$961,400, while Rabichow walked away with CA$578,990 for his runner-up finish.

Francois Billard
Francois Billard

Final Table Results (CAD)

1. Francois Billard – CA$961,400*

2. Kevin Rabichow – CA$578,990*

3. Joni Jouhkimainen – CA$583,310*

4. Alexandros Kolonias – CA$370,000

5. Paul Fontan – CA$300,000

6. Danick Landriault – CA$250,000

7. Ben Heath – CA$200,000

8. Ruben Perceval – CA$150,000

*denotes three-way deal

Content & Images Courtesy: partypoker LIVE and PokerNews

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Top Online Poker Rooms

Top
PokerGuru