Meet the final table of the WPT Prime Montreal – World Poker Tour

The first of two international televised final tables of the WPT Montreal festival is set, as Brad Owen presents his second career broadcast final table in the WPT Prime Montreal championship.

Owen, a WPT Global Ambassador, enters the WPT Prime Montreal final table second in chips as he looks to capture the first live major title of his career. The 36-year-old professional who has built a huge following in poker through his YouTube vlogs is well placed to achieve such a run when play resumes on Tuesday afternoon.

He will start the final table in second place, just behind chip leader Dan Stavila. Stavila is one of three US-based pros vying for the WPT Prime Montreal title, alongside Owen and one of the most interesting stories in this tournament, Steven Marin. Marin is an 18-year-old from Philadelphia looking to become one of the youngest champions to win a WPT marquee event.

On the other side of the equation are three Canadians, including two Ottawa-based players, Jikai Zhang and Marc Lavergne, as well as a popular local player, Adam Cader.

They will all be back at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, May 21 for a chance to win the top prize of $139,840 CAD, which includes a $10,400 seat to the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas in December. The action will be filmed for future television broadcast and will also be broadcast live with a 30-minute delay on YouTube, Twitch and various other WPT platforms.

Here’s what each of the six finalists will be competing for:

1. CA$139,840
2. CA$87,208
3. CA$64,328
4. CA$48,246
5. CA$36,550
6. CA$27,778

As the final six players prepare under the spotlight of a WPT Prime final table, let’s learn a little more about each of them.

Dan Stavila – 15,150,000 (121 BB)

Age: 25
Hometown: Chisinau, Moldova
Currently resides: Las Vegas, Nevada
Lifetime live tournament winnings: $204,951
Biggest lifetime cash: $28,400, 506th, 2022 WSOP Main Event

Dan Stavila enters Tuesday’s WPT Prime Montreal final table with the most chips, one of two players (along with Owen) with more than 100 big blinds in what will be an incredibly deepstack start to the day.

Like all but one of the six players who reached the final table, Stavila had to battle from the bottom half of the chip count at the start of Day 2 of this tournament, and over the last two. days managed to ride a wave that took him to the brink of a WPT Prime title.

“It’s truly amazing,” said Stavila, “So grateful to be here. And today was just phenomenal, one of those perfect days that you can only imagine. The exception is, you know, rolling aces against the guy to my left, but that one’s on me.

Although he helped reload former short stack Adam Cader’s stack, Stavila still has plenty of ammunition to play with and he likes his chances to escape with a victory.

“I just want to enjoy the moment,” Stavila said. “Over the next few days, get some rest and come back on Tuesday ready to bring the trophy back to the United States.”

Number of tokens at the end of the day:
Day 1: 193,000 (106/160)
Day 2: 1,865,000 (9/32)

Brad Owen – 13,050,000 (104 BB)

Age: 36
Hometown: Santa Rosa, California
Currently resides: Las Vegas, Nevada
Lifetime live tournament winnings: $817,931
Biggest lifetime cash: $152,266, 7th, 2023 WPT $50,000 Alpha8 at Wynn Las Vegas
Other notable scores: 4th WPT Gardens Poker Championship 2023 for $125,000; 3rd in the 2023 WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas $10,000 No Limit Hold’em (8-Max) for $107,800; 35th WPT World Championship 2022 at Wynn Las Vegas for $99,600; 88th WPT World Championship 2023 at Wynn Las Vegas for $53,500

Brad Owen has the most lifetime live cashes, biggest single result and highest profile among the six final table players at WPT Prime Montreal. As a global ambassador for the WPT, Owen has moved beyond the cash games that made him one of the world’s most prominent poker vloggers and has also found success in the tournament world.

A year ago this month, Owen played in his first career televised final table at the HyperX Arena in Las Vegas and ultimately finished fourth at the WPT Gardens Poker Championship. He is now returning to the terrestrial poker airwaves for the second time with a clear direction.

“I feel really good and I just came into this tournament very focused,” Owen said. “I ran well, I feel like I’m playing my best poker and I have one goal in mind: to win this match.”

This past year was by far the most successful of Owen’s tournament career. In addition to his final table at WPT Gardens, Owen cashed in two of the three biggest cashes of his career in side events at the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas and, for the second year in a row, placed among the Top 100 players from the WPT World Championship itself.

Number of tokens at the end of the day:
Day 1: 287,000 (75/160)
Day 2: 2,225,000 (6/32)

Jikai Zhang – 10,525,000 (84 BB)

Age: 25
Native country: China
Currently resides: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Lifetime live tournament winnings: $19,361
Biggest cash ever: $11,038, 7th, 2024 WSOP International Circuit Montreal $300 Colossus

Among the Canadian residents vying for the WPT Prime Montreal title, Jikai Zhang has the strongest starting position. Zhang, who was born in China, attended the University of Ottawa and only began recording live tournament winnings in the last two months – all of which came on Playground.

Zhang is guaranteed the biggest tournament result of his career to date, regardless of his result, and if he can pull off the victory, he will have his first chance to record a cash in the United States in December in Las Vegas.

Number of tokens at the end of the day:
Day 1: 193,000 (106/160)
Day 2: 1,865,000 (9/32)

Adam Cader – 7,000,000 (56 BB)

Age: 35
Hometown: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Currently resides: Saint-Lambert, Quebec, Canada
Lifetime live tournament winnings: $174,737
Biggest cash ever: $37,766, 2nd, 2024 WSOP International Circuit Calgary $1,000 No Limit Hold’em
Other notable scores: 21, WPT Montreal 2018 for $23,287

Adam Cader started the official WPT Prime Montreal final table bubble with just five big blinds, but doubled up three times (including the aforementioned clash against Stavila in which Cader made three aces). The 35-year-old Montrealer received by far the most support from the rail during the playdown phase at the end of Day 3, and he will likely get more once the final table resumes.

The vast majority of Cader’s results also came at Playground, although his career-best result came from a second-place finish at a WSOP International Circuit event in Calgary in January. He had a deep run at the 2018 edition of WPT Montreal before falling to 21st place, and he will look to set a new career best on Tuesday, which he would do with a third place or better finish.

Number of tokens at the end of the day:
Day 1: 262,000 (80/160)
Day 2: 1,550,000 (12/32)

Marc Lavergne – 3,750,000 (30 BB)

Age: 39
Hometown: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Lifetime live tournament winnings: $160,946
Biggest lifetime cash: $52,486, 1st Playground 13th Anniversary Series Main Event 2023
Other notable scores: 1st 2023 Playground $500 CAD No Limit Hold’em for $25,955

As is the case for the two other Canadian players present at the final table of WPT Prime Montreal, the best results that Marc Lavergne has posted in his career were obtained at Playground. Unlike the other two players, however, Lavergne has recorded two victories in this property and hopes to find a third in this event.

Lavergne’s day job in his hometown of Ottawa is owning his own moving company, but he’s hoping a big result at this event could help bolster his bankroll as he continues his poker career professionally . He qualified for WPT Prime Montreal on WPT Global for just $55.

Number of tokens at the end of the day:
Day 1: 242,000 (88/160)
Day 2: 1,645,000 (32/11)

Steven Marin – 2,000,000 (16 BB)

Age: 18
Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Lifetime live tournament winnings: $33,121
Biggest cash ever: $15,066, 1st 2024 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown $1,100 5-Card Pot Limit Omaha
Other notable scores: 1st 2024 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown $600 Pot Limit 5-Card Omaha for $14,500

Steven Marin enters the WPT Prime Montreal final table as the smallest stack, but if he’s able to return, he’ll likely have at least a few spots reserved in the WPT record books. The 18-year-old from Philadelphia traveled to Montreal for the second major live series of his career, and he’ll come away with the kind of result you don’t see from many players his age in this era of poker.

During his first series, Marin went to another WPT festival that allows players as young as 18 to participate – the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown in Hollywood, Florida – and Marin proved himself by winning two trophies in 5 maps. PLO side events over the course of a month.

Number of tokens at the end of the day:
Day 1: 82,000 (154/160)
Day 2: 1,545,000 (13/32)