Almost 2,000 entries open the Pure Poker Tour 2024 season as Eric Wasylenko takes down his first PPT Main Event title after three straight final tables to close out 2023.
The first shots have been fired in the 2024 PPT season with a strong opening series at Pure Casino Edmonton. Just shy of 2,000 entries were recorded across 14 events, and almost $1 million in prizes were handed out over the 12-day series.
The biggest winner was Eric Wasylenko, and if anyone has been paying attention to the last few Main Events on the PPT, it was really only a matter of time. Wasylenko final tabled the last three PPT Main Events prior to this one, with two-fourths and a runner-up finish to his name.
Other big winners this time around included Thomas Taylor grabbing his first win in Edmonton, Canadian slo-pitch player Justin Pennell grabbing the NLH/PLO title, and a rare twins versus twins battle in the Team event. Ian Pettifer picked up two turbo wins in the series, while Jimmy Lee bagged the High Roller title after getting in at the last minute.
2024 PPT #1 Results Summary
| Event | Name | Entries | Prizes | Winner | 1st Place |
| 1 | $240 Seniors | 152 | $43,320 | Ronald Taylor | $11,180 |
| 2 | $230 Furst Chance Turbo | 143 | $27,170 | Marcus Williams | $7,180 |
| 3 | $670 Mystery Bounty | 213 | $121,410 | Antonio Basile | $15,170 |
| 4 | $250 Tag Team | 54 | $11,286 | Kyle & Ryan Strap | $3,326 |
| 5 | $450 8-Max | 163 | $61,940 | Kyle Hartree | $15,920 |
| 6 | $340 Survivor | 57 | $16,245 | Bradley Fisher | $2,708 |
| 7 | $340 NLH/PLO Mix | 128 | $36,480 | Justin Pennell | $7,480 |
| 8 | $780 6-Max | 89 | $59,185 | Thomas Taylor | $16,965 |
| 9 | $230 Turbo Bounty | 165 | $31,350 | Ian Pettifer | $4,900 |
| 10 | $230 Second Chance Turbo | 102 | $19,380 | Nadav Bitton | $5,200 |
| 11 | $450 PLO | 108 | $41,040 | David (Dongwoo) Ko | $10,870 |
| 12 | $1,100 Main Event | 417 | $392,189 | Eric Wasylenko | $73,049 |
| 13 | $2,000 High Roller | 59 | $100,890 | Jimmy Lee | $32,190 |
| 14 | $230 Last Chance Turbo | 91 | $17,290 | Ian Pettifer | $4,700 |
| Total | 1941 | $979,175 | $210,838 |
PPT Patches for 2024
One of the new additions to the Pure Poker Tour this year are PPT Patches. They were available starting in the third event of the series to anyone who wanted to rep the brand at the tables.
It was about more than just brand awareness though – patched players were also in the running for prizes throughout the series, including event entries and PPT merch. Mo Alemehada was among the first players to don the patch, and he was also the last-longest winner in the Mystery Bounty to win a free Turbo entry for later in the series.
Some Big Stories
One of the biggest early stories in the series came in the Team event. In a rare spot, two teams of identical twins got heads up for the title, and that’s not where the similarities ended. As the heads-up match was playing out, the teams were getting to know each other, and it turns out they live in the same town as well.
Thomas Taylor, second place in the Alberta poker rankings, now has more than $1.6 million in live wins after four cashes, including two final tables and a win for more than $25k in cashes in this series. He took down the 6-Max game for nearly $17k a couple of days after coming 3rd in the 8-Max, then added a PLO and Main cash to the total.
Ian Pettifer showed some turbo chops as well, taking down two of the low-roller 20-minute blind games during the series. In four-card games this series, it was Canadian slo-pitch player Justin Pennell who showed his skills, coming from behind to win the mixed NLH/PLO and following that up with a final table showing in the straight PLO a few days later.
The big winner this time around was Eric Wasylenko from Winnipeg. He’s been sniffing at the Main Event title here on the PPT in his last three outings, with three straight final-table finishes. He fell just short in Calgary with second place in October, and that was bracketed by two fourth-place finishes at Pure Casino Yellowhead in Sept and the season-closing Tournament of Champions.
So it was really only a matter of time before the third-ranked player in Manitoba grabbed himself a PPT Main Event trophy. To be fair, he already owns a couple of the smaller trophies from side events on the tour, but the big trophy and prize eluded him until this week.
The win, his second biggest live score, pushed his lifetime earnings within $10k of $900,000 (USD). His only bigger score came from a win in a 2017 Deepstack Extravaganza event, so this win was his biggest cash on Canadian soil.
About the Pure Poker Tour
The Pure Poker Tour is sponsored by Pure Canadian Gaming, with six stops between Calgary and Edmonton every year. There was more than $4 million to be won in the 2023 season, and it looks like 2024 could be just as big.
There are four full series plus two mini-series per season for around 60 days of PPT poker every year. The tour moves between Pure Casino Edmonton, Pure Casino Calgary, and Pure Casino Yellowhead, which make up three of four Pure Canadian Gaming facilities in Alberta.
While the Pure name is somewhat new, Pure Canadian Gaming has a long history in the Alberta gaming scene going back to the 1970s. The operator has long been a staple of tournament poker in Alberta, hosting many huge events prior to creating its own tour brand in the PPT.
