The 2019 World Poker Tour Fallsview Poker Classic $5,000 CAD buy-in main event attracted a record field of 602 entries, up from the previous mark of 517 entries last year. This huge field created $2,744,518 CAD ($2,082,991 USD) in total prizepool. After three days of intense action, Canada’s Demo Kiriopoulos emerged as the champion to take home his first WPT title and the $517,424 CAD ($392,059) top prize. This grand win was the largest payday of Kiriopoulos’s live tournament career.
The latest WPT Champions Club member had come close a couple of times to a major win. In 2018, he finished sixth in the partypoker LIVE MILLIONS North America $5,300 CAD main event for $312,407. He was also close to a win at the WSOP 2017 where he finished runner-up in the $1,500 6-Handed NLHE for $242,978. With this win, his live earnings have increased to $1,361,505.
Kiriopoulous entered the final day of this event 14th in chips with 19 players remaining. He stayed alive through early eliminations and then found the right spots to strike. Holding about 800,000 chips, he eliminated Mark Zajdner in 13th place when Zajdner moved all-in pre-flop with K-T and Kiriopoulos called with Kings. Up next, Kiriopoulos did some more business. The short stack Yuri Siniak shoved with pocket Kings. Kiriopoulos called with 10s-9s and proceeded to turn a spade flush to send his opponent to the rail in 10th place and grow his own stack to around 2.2 million chips.
When the 6-handed final table was set, Kiriopolous was fourth with 2.855 million chips, far away from the 9.475 of the chip leader, Andrew Pantling. However, he took the lead with five players remaining, making the nut flush against the straight of Pantling on the As 9h 5d 7d Kd board. Kiriopoulous fired a bet of 1.7 million on the river and Pantling called with his 8-6 against Ad Jd.
Up next, Jake Schwartz got all-in with Qh Jh against Kiriopoulous’ As 8d. Both players paired their highest card but Kiriopoulous’ aces won him the pot. Schwartz went out in fourth-place finisher.
Three-handed play lasted for 47 hands. Andrew Pantling began with the lead, but could not maintain it after losing a few pots to Kiriopoulous. Ultimately, Pantling was out in third place. He got his remaining stack in, but his pocket kings did’t hold up against the pocket deuces of Wing Yeung.
Kiriopoulous entered heads-up with a 2-to-1 chip advantage. His heads-up mate Wing Yeung and he played it out for almost 36 hands. Kiriopoulos completely dominated Yeung, never even giving him a chance. On the final hand, Yeung moved all-in for 2.410 million with Jd-6d against pocket tens of Kiriopoulos. None of the board cards helped Yeung and Kiriopoulos took down the title.
WPT Fallsview Final Table Payouts:
1st: Demo Kiriopoulos – C$517,424*
2nd: Wing Yeung – C$362,853
3rd: Andrew Pantling – C$233,339
4th: Jake Schwartz – C$167,388
5th: James Morgan – C$128,471
6th: Noeung Troeung – C$105,170
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