It’s hard enough to final table the Main Event of a major tournament series, so to not only win one of them, but then also nearly defend your title is an incredibly impressive feat. Add another Main Event final table less than two weeks after that, and we’re talking something truly special.
That’s just part of the resume of a Canadian poker crusher you may not have heard of, but we’re here to introduce you to: James Pillon of Windsor, Ontario.
Pillon has a Hendon Mob resume dating back to 2018, but it was his run that started in August 2024 that has put him firmly on the radar of the Canadian tournament scene.
It was then that he won the WSOP Circuit Main Event at Playground in Montreal, topping a field of 1,503 for a career-best $333,420 CAD, which more than quadrupled his career earnings at the time. After that, he nearly went back-to-back in WSOP Circuit Main Events at the Canadian poker hotbed, as he finished fourth out of 1,414 in the April 2025 edition there for another $108,000 CAD.
Easing off the gas pedal
Pillon’s WSOPC Main Event runs weren't done there, as just two weeks later, he final tabled the Toronto edition, finishing seventh out of 2,139 for $78,133 CAD.
It’s a dizzying trio of results that he credits to easing off the gas pedal a bit after the opening day of the tournament.
“Basically, I figured out how to play Day 2. When I first started playing poker, I think Day 1s, I was super aggressive and I was leading that into Day 2 as well, but I figured it out. I started playing less hands on Day 2, and I think that’s what got me deep to the final tables.”
Pillon’s background in poker has been primarily live tournament-based, with minimal dabbling in either cash games or online play. While he does suggest that he’d like to expand his game more into the online realm, the draw of a live MTT is something that’s kept him focused there for basically his entire career.
“I love the atmosphere of it. I love the rush of it. Being around people is fun.”
'I go by feel'
With his poker development stemming from the live felt, as opposed to online, like many young players today, Pillon can be seen as a throwback-style player who relies on his instincts rather than what he’s learned from a chart.
“I don’t do the GTO and all that, I go by feel. I wouldn’t mind learning that just to learn what the other guys are doing, but I probably wouldn’t put it in my game. My game seems to work for me, but I’d like to know what these other guys are doing.”
You also won’t find Pillon willingly grinding any events that demand a test of endurance that impacts those instincts and reads, such as playing until the sun comes up, as he shared his thoughts on a topic we recently addressed here on PokerOrg Canada.
“My sweet spot is 11 a.m. to midnight. Anything longer than that, you start to lose focus and clarity. Personally, clarity is the most important part of my game, and proper sleep is needed for exactly that, so the super late nights are a huge negative for my game.”
On to Calgary
Next up for the 42-year-old is a journey west to Deerfoot Calgary, where he’ll try to add a third Canadian location for a WSOP Circuit Main Event FT to his resume. It’s a stop he’s had success at before as well, most recently with a fourth-place finish in a $2,200 High Roller in 2023 for $33,231 CAD. After that, he’ll be returning to the venue that he’s thrived at the most, Playground, for the inaugural MSPT series in Montreal.
“Everything seems to work for me at Playground, for whatever reason, I’m not sure. There’s just a different energy here. Everything at Playground is top-notch. The service, the dealers. Other poker rooms in the world, or Canada for that matter, just basically do how they do it here.”
