Francois Billard took down the 2019 partypoker MILLIONS Live North America at the Playground Casino in Montreal, Canada over the weekend. Billard banked $961,400 in Canadian dollars for his victory, or approximately $715K USD. The final six also included Kevin Rabichow, Joni Jouhkimainen, Alexandros Kolonias, Paul Fontan, and Danick Landriault. partypoker pro Joni Jouhkimainen finished in third place.

Ship it to Francois Billard. The French-Canadian nearly won a cool million (in Canuck bucks) by taking down the latest stop on the partypoker LIVE Millions series. The international circuit had their first of two stops in North America this year by returning to the swanky Playground Casino in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
This year's $10,300 CAD buy-in Main Event at the 2019 partypoker LIVE Millions North America attracted 521 players. The created a prize pool worth nearly $5.2M CAD. Only the top 63 places paid out with most of the cheesecake set aside to the champion.
The final nine included Francois Billard, Kevin Rabichow, Joni Jouhkimainen, Alexandros Kolonias, Paul Fontan, Danick Landriault, Ben Heath, Ruben Perceval, and Armin Rezaei. Seven different countries were represented among the final nine including an American, a trio of Canadians, a Finn, a Greek, a Spainaird, a Brit, and an Austrian.
Austria's Armin Rezaei hit the rail first and busted in ninth place, which paid out $100,000 CAD or approximately $74K USD.
Ruben Perceval, one of three players from Canada at the final table, bowed out in eighth place. Perceval took home $150,000 CAD or approximately $111K USD and became the first Canuck to bust out.
The lone Brit at the final table, Ben Heath, hit the bricks in seventh place. Heath banked $200,000 CAD for seventh.
Danick Landriault, one of the three Canadians at the final table, was knocked out in sixth place. Danick Landriault earned a payout of $250,000 CAD for his run. With his bust out, Francois Billard was the last Canuck standing.
Spain's Paul Fontan busted in fifth place, which paid out $300,000 CAD. Alexandros Kolonias from Greece had an epic run that ended in fourth place. Kolonias earned $370,000 CAD, or roughly $275K USD.
With three players remaining, they ended up working out some sort of deal among Joni Jouhkimainen, Kevin Rabichow, and Francois Billard.
Finland's Joni Jouhkimainen, who is also a partypoker sponsored pro, was picked off in third place. He took home more than second place due to the terms of the deal with a score worth $583,310 CAD, or approximatelt $434K USD.
Kevin Rabichow, the lone American at the final table, found himself heads-up for the title against Francois Billard. Rabichow banked $578,990 CAD for a runner-up finish, or more than $420K USD. Not too shabby, eh?
For winning the 2019 partypoker LIVE Millions North America, Francois Billard earned a first-place payout worth $961,400 CAD. If you convert that to Yankee bucks, Billard banked approximately$715K USD.
A total of 63 places paid out. Jason James bubbled the final table in tenth place. Among the familair faces who cashed included... Upeshka De Silva, Josh Kay, Bryn Kenney, Tony Ruberto, Timex, Dietrich Fast, Will Givens, Mo Hawkins, Qi Hu, Maxime Chartrand, Sam Grafton, Lucas Braga, Mike Farrow, Griffin Benger, Marc-Andrew Ladouceur, Philippe D'Auteuil, Joel Miller, Brandon Hall, Harry Ross, Sammy Lefluer, Sergio Aido, Tommy Nguyen, and Andrew Lam.
The partypoker LIVE Millions tour will have an event, Millions Vegas Special Edition, at the Aria Casino in Las Vegas this summer.
2019 partypoker LIVE Millions North America
Buy-in: $10,300 CAD
Entrants: 521
Prize Pool: $5.2 million CAD
Payouts: 63
Final Table Results:
1. Francois Billard (Canada) $961,400 CAD
2. Kevin Rabichow (USA) $578,990 CAD
3. Joni Jouhkimainen (Finland) $583,310 CAD
4. Alexandros Kolonias (Greece) $370,000 CAD
5. Paul Fontan (Spain) $300,000 CAD
6. Danick Landriault (Canada) $250,000 CAD
7. Ben Heath (UK) $200,000 CAD
8. Ruben Perceval (Canada) $150,000 CAD
9. Armin Rezaei(Austria) $100,000 CAD