$300 In, $900,000 Out: How Two GGPoker Qualifiers Stormed the Richest Final Table in Canadian Poker History
$150 In, $900,000 Out: GGPoker Qualifiers Punched Above Their Weight at WSOP Super Circuit Playground, GGPoker qualifiers owned the final table.
Two players. One $150 WSOP Express qualifier. At the WSOP Super Circuit Playground Main Event, GGPoker qualifiers made up just 18 percent of the field and still walked away with two of the nine final table seats.
Jonathan Bussieres and Felipe Baraky each turned a $150 WSOP Express qualifier into a seat at the final table of the largest prize pool in Canadian poker history. Bussieres finished 5th for $500,000, and Baraky finished 6th for $400,000, combining for $900,000 from a $300 total investment. The tournament drew 2,844 entries and built a prize pool of $13,082,400, well over the $10,000,000 guaranteed. Of those entries, 507 came through GGPoker satellites, 18 percent of the field. That 18 percent produced two of the nine final table finishers, a share more than double what the raw numbers would predict.
The Final Table in Full
Here is how the WSOP Super Circuit Playground Main Event final table paid out:
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Mayukh Chakraborty | $1,500,000 |
| 2nd | Benjamin Veenstra | $1,000,000 |
| 3rd | Jack Salter | $750,000 |
| 4th | Chance Kornuth | $600,000 |
| 5th | Jonathan Bussieres (GGPoker Qualifier) | $500,000 |
| 6th | Felipe Baraky (GGPoker Qualifier) | $400,000 |
| 7th | Parth Mansukh | $300,000 |
| 8th | Deven Lane | $200,000 |
| 9th | Robert Renaud | $150,000 |
Two of the nine seats, both from a $150 WSOP Express satellite on GGPoker.
A $150 Buy-In, A Life-Changing Return
The math is worth sitting with. The ROI on a $150 WSOP Express qualifier at this final table was staggering, no matter where a player landed. For Bussieres, who finished fifth, this equated to a 3,333x return, and Baraky finished sixth for a 2,667x return. Two players, one qualifying tier, nearly a million combined dollars from $300 in buy-ins.
GGPoker Qualifiers Took More Than Their Share
The final table was only part of the story. Guoyan Li finished 11th for $120,000 after qualifying through a $60 satellite for an ROI of 1,999x. Adam Calder followed in 12th for $100,000, qualifying through the $10 WSOP Express step for a stunning ROI of 9,999x! Tamar Alkamli rounded out the group in 14th for $85,357.
Combined, GGPoker qualifiers claimed $2,876,857 across the event, factoring in Bussieres’ and Baraky’s final table results. With 507 qualifiers making up 18 percent of the 2,844-entry field, that group’s share of the money finishing near the top of the tournament ran well ahead of its share of entries. GGPoker qualifiers showed up en masse, and they outperformed the field.
In His Own Words
When asked about his experience, Baraky broke out in a smile from ear to ear and exclaimed, “The structure is very good. When there are just a few tables left, they are filming everything. The coverage is the best I’ve seen. It feels very special… I am definitely looking forward to coming back next year.”
Why GGPoker and WSOP Express Produce Results Like This
WSOP Express is GGPoker’s satellite ladder system, built to turn small buy-ins into direct entries at major WSOP events. Players can start as low as $0.50 and climb through a series of steps, or buy in directly at any level, including the $10 tier-3 that sent Calder to Montreal or the $150 tier that sent Bussieres and Baraky to the Super Circuit Playground final table.
The system is not a straight satellite grind. Along the way, players work through multiple tournament styles to earn WSOP Passes that convert into full tournament packages worth up to $30,000, covering entry and travel to a WSOP event of the player’s choice. It is a structure designed to reward skill at every step.
The results at Playground made the case plainly. A $150 buy-in produced two final table finishes in a $5,000 buy-in event with a top prize of $1.5 million. A $60 satellite produced an 11th-place finish worth $120,000. A $10 WSOP Express step produced a $100,000 payday. A field made up of 18 percent GGPoker qualifiers ended up with a disproportionate share of the money that mattered most.
The Next Stop Is Yours
The WSOP Express is running continuously, and the path that took Bussieres and Baraky to the final table of the WSOP Super Circuit Playground Main Event could be your path to WSOP Paradise in the Bahamas this December or to the 2027 Main Event in Las Vegas. Steps start at $0.50, with direct buy-in options available at every level for players who want to skip ahead.
Bussieres and Baraky, along with every GGPoker qualifier, proved the system works at the highest stakes. The next player to turn a small satellite investment into a life-changing final table could be reading this right now. Register on GGPoker today and take your shot.
