Dan Stavila ran through a field of 1,291 entrants in WPT Prime Montreal to lock up a spot at the televised final table as the chip leader, giving himself a strong shot at having the best stop of his career on the live tournament poker circuit.
After three long days to get there, he’d certainly have an excuse for being a little bit tired or losing some focus when he entered the WPT Montreal Championship Event immediately thereafter. But after two days of play in the $3,500 CAD Main Tour event, Stavila’s positioned himself for a good chance at back-to-back final tables entering Day 3.
It’s the kind of run every poker player dreams of and one that Stavila’s never previously enjoyed in his career to this point.
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“Definitely not in live poker,” said Stavila. “You know, it really feels surreal to just have everything go my way continuously for five days. It’s been amazing.”
The 25-year-old has taken each hand and each opportunity as it’s come to him, but he also appreciates that a single card falling differently at any point along the way could’ve easily brought everything to a swift end. As a matter of fact, he nearly lived a nightmare scenario that every poker player who’s traveled a great distance for an event fears.
“I mean, I actually stood up first hand of the day. I had seven-four from the big blind, got it all in on seven-four-three-deuce board against the ace-five wheel,” said Stavila “I’ve already put the backpack on and the dealer just puts out the four on the river. When you hit those, you’ve got to make it count.”
Stavila has certainly made it count thus far, as he utilizes the skills he built and the work he’s put into his game over the last 10 years. In his teenage years, Stavila was a competitive chess player, and poker came after chess. If he had to trace it all back to a key moment, Stavila feels as though his love of poker was fostered in his home games.
“I’ve always been very competitive growing up,” said Stavila. “The last day of junior high…I got invited to a neighborhood game. $50 cash game. And I really just fell in love really fast.
“I just really love the intricacy, the psychology of the game,” said Stavila. “I’ve always really loved the battle, and being competitive growing up, you always just wanted to put in the work and be better than your competition.”
That desire and competitiveness were ingrained in Stavila from a young age. He was born in Chisinau, Moldova, and emigrated to the United States when his parents got job opportunities in Houston, Texas. In first and second grade, Stavila was one of the older kids in class and felt a strong will to prove himself.
“My dad told me a long time ago, Kobe and LeBron – they work really hard,” said Stavila. “Americans, they also want to be like Kobe and LeBron, but few really have what it takes to really give it your all.”
After a brief window spent in New York, Stavila and his family moved to California where he attended middle school and high school. After graduation, he had little doubt that poker was his future. Having bounced around throughout his life, Stavila had little hesitation traveling the world in pursuit of poker and knowledge, ending up in Costa Rica a few years ago as he rose through the stakes of online poker.
“For me, it was really about battling some of the best players online, playing some higher stakes there. Playing with players that are better than me is what fuels me,” said Stavila.
Stavila eventually moved his home base again as he started to play more live tournaments.
“I decided I was just gonna go to Vegas, and try to play this fun, silly card game,” said Stavila. “It’s been a lot of fun.”
There’s still a lot of poker to be played on Day 3 of WPT Montreal, but the prospect of pulling of a double TV final table grows with every pay jump and elimination. Stavila has succeeded in keeping his emotions in check to this point, and his competitive fire has kept him living in the moment.
For now, he’s taking things as they come and trying not to look far ahead.
“I’m very passionate about the game and, you know, we’ll see where it takes us.”