The 2024 WPT Montreal festival will be played from May 9-22 at the Playground Poker Club in Canada and will feature 14 events with different entries for all bankrolls and the most popular formats. The festival will have all the usual ingredients of the World Poker Tour in one stop: the prestigious Championship, the new Prime, the popular WPT500 and a Meet Up Game (MUG) with renowned players and personalities.
“We’re buzzing with excitement as WPT Montreal returns to Playground! It’s more than just a tournament; it’s where history is made,” said Phil Sabbah, Playground CEO. “Since our landmark inaugural event in 2012, Playground has been the backdrop for groundbreaking moments in poker, including crowning the first female champion in a WPT open event and witnessing the legendary Mike Sexton secure his first WPT Championship. Every time we come together, magic happens, and I can’t wait to see what unfolds this May.”
These are the dates of the series’ premier events:
- WPT500: From May 9-13
- WPT Prime: From May 12-17. Final Table: May 21
- Meet Up Game: May 14 at 12 PM
- WPT Championship: From May 16-22. Guaranteed Prize Pool: CAD$ 2,000,000
The @WPT heads to Canada this May @PlaygroundPoker! 🇨🇦
Join us for our 14-day @WPT Montreal Festival, which features a $590 CAD #WPT500 $500k GTD, $1,150 CAD @WPTPrime Championship $1M GTD, $3,500 CAD @WPT Championship $2M GTD and more! 🏆
More Info: https://t.co/dZ8uFLF64X pic.twitter.com/kaFemLueBU
— World Poker Tour (@WPT) April 8, 2024
The 2024 WPT Montreal Championship
The tournament that will welcome a new member into the WPT Champions Club will begin on Thursday, May 16 with three initial days and will have a guaranteed prize pool of C$2,000,000. The six finalists will be known on Monday, May 20 and on Wednesday, May 22, the final table will be played out, to be broadcast on Live Stream.
Schedule:
- Day 1A: Thursday, May 16 at 11 AM (10 levels are played)
- Day 1B: Friday, May 17 at 11 AM (10 levels are played)
- Day 1C: Saturday, May 18 at 11 AM (10 levels are played)
- Day 2: Sunday, May 19 at 11 AM (10 levels are played)
- Day 3: Monday, May 20 at (play until final table of 6 players)
- Day 4: Wednesday, May 22 at 4 PM (final table with Live Streaming)
Structure:
- Buy-In: CAD$3,500
- Starting Stack: 50K
- Blind levels: 60 minutes
- First Level: 100/200 with 200 Big Blind Ante
- Guaranteed Prize Pool: CAD$2,000,000
- Late Registration: 10 levels
The 2024 WPT Montreal Festival
The festival will begin on May 9 and will feature 14 events with tickets ranging from C$300 to C$10,500 for the High Roller. The first tournament will be the traditional WPT500, which will have six initial days and a guaranteed prize pool of C$500,000. Milestone qualifying satellites will also be held for the Prime and Championship events.
These will be all the festival events:
| Day | Time | Event | Buy-In | Guaranteed | Stack | Levels |
| May 9-13 | 11 AM | #1 WPT500 | C$590 | C$500,000 | 30K | 40 min. |
| May 12-17 | 11 AM | #2 WPT Prime | C$1,150 | C$1,000,000 | 40K | 40 min. |
| May 12 | 4 PM | #3 NLH Bounty | C$400 | – | 20K | 30 min. |
| May 13 | 4 PM | #4 NLH | C$300 | – | 20K | 25 min. |
| May 16-22 | 11 AM | #5 WPT Championship | C$3,500 | C$2,000,000 | 50K | 60 min. |
| May 18 | 6 PM | #6 Pot Limit Omaha | C$600 | – | 30K | 30 min. |
| May 19-20 | 12 PM | #7 High Roller | C$10,500 | – | 40K | 40 min. |
| May 19 | 4 PM | #8 NLH Turbo | C$600 | – | 30K | 20 min. |
| May 20 | 12 PM | #9 Mystery Bounty | C$1,000 | – | 30K | 40 min. |
| May 20 | 6 PM | #10 NLH 50/50 Bounty | C$600 | – | 30K | 30 min. |
| May 21 | 11 AM | #11 Bounty Multiplier | C$600 | – | 30K | 30 min. |
| May 21 | 6 PM | #12 NLH 8-Max | C$400 | – | 20K | 30 min. |
| May 22 | 11 AM | #13 NLH | C$300 | – | 20K | 25 min. |
| May 22 | 6 PM | #14 Mystery Bounty | C$400 | – | 20K | 30 min. |
You can see the complete schedule with all events in the Player’s Guide.
The 2024 WPT Montreal Meet Up Game
Cash game lovers should mark May 14th on their calendars, as a special Meet Up Game will begin at 12 PM with $1/$3 and $2/$5 tables. Attendees will be able to share a table with WPT Ambassador Brad Owen, WPT Executive Tournament Director Matt Savage, WPT Commentators Tony Dunst and Vince Van Patten, WPT Global Ambassadors Jon Van Fleet and Xuan Liu, and friends of WPT Global Conrad Simpson, and Nikki Limo.
“I am super excited to get out to Playground for another MUG,” said Brad Owen. “We hosted one there last fall with WPT Global and had a great turnout. I also look forward to jumping back into the WPT tournament scene with the Prime and Championship events.”
“Establishing a Meet-Up game at Playground during WPT Montreal was a natural fit in planning the festival,” said WPT CEO Adam Pliska. “And we are going all-out for this one. The MUG experience will be enhanced with a roster of notable names and plenty of WPT Global prizes and merchandise.”
Past Editions of WPT Montreal
The first edition of the WPT Montreal took place back in 2012 and was the stop’s most-attended event to date, with 1,173 entries. The winner of that tournament was Jonathan Roy for $779K, with popular poker pro Jeff Gross taking third for $317K.
In 2016, legendary WPT commentator Mike Sexton left the microphone to play the tournament and ended up being the champion, winning his first and only WPT title and a prize of $317K. Of course, Mike is sadly no longer with us, but his legacy lives on with the World Poker Tour trophy that bears his name.
The last edition was in 2019 and was the stop’s second-largest event with 1,109 entries. Renowned players such as Kristen Foxen, Mike Watson, Joseph Cheong, Martin Jacobson, Kelly Minkin and Mike Leah made it to the final table. But the title got claimed by Geoff Hum, who achieved his biggest live cash: $380K.
Below is a chart listing all previous winners of the WPT Montreal:
| Year | Buy-In | Entries | Prize Pool | Champion | Prize |
| 2012 | C$3.3K | 1,173 | $3.4M | Jonathan Roy 🇨🇦 | $779K |
| 2014 | C$3.5K | 732 | $2.1M | Jonathan Jaffe 🇺🇸 | $409K |
| 2015 | C$3.5K | 697 | $1.7M | Jared Mahoney 🇺🇸 | $341K |
| 2016 | C$3.5K | 648 | $1.6M | Mike Sexton 🇺🇸 | $317K |
| 2017 | C$3.5K | 606 | $1.6M | Maxime Heroux 🇨🇦 | $317K |
| 2018 | C$5.3K | 792 | $3.6M | Patrick Serda 🇨🇦 | $652K |
| 2019 | C$3.3K | 1,109 | $2.5M | Geoff Hum 🇨🇦 | $380K |
How many entries will there be this year? Which player will emerge as champion?
Cardplayer Lifestyle founder Robbie Strazynski will be on site to provide in-person coverage! If you see him, be sure to say hello and grab yourself a patch!
