$10,300 PCA Main Event
Day 1a Completed
2023 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure
$10,300 PCA Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1a
2023 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure
Buy-in
$10,300
Prize Pool
$8,623,300
Entries
889
Level
32
Blinds
100,000 / 200,000
Ante
200,000
Entries
166
Players Left
80
Level 8
: Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
The first of two starting days of the 2023 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) $10,300 Main Event has concluded and a field of 166 entries has been cut by more than half after completing eight levels of play. After a hiatus of three years, the operator returned to The Bahamas and switched locations to the luxurious Baha Mar Resort, which has already been home to large live poker festivals throughout the last few years.
In the flagship Main Event, it was Portugal's Andre Marques who topped the leaderboard with 197,500 in chips after a late surge to surpass Maximilian Silz (182,500). There is a significant chip gap to third-place Alberto Meran (155,900). The overnight top ten also includes some of Brazil's poker finest as Andre Akkari (136,900) and Yuri Dzivielevski (130,900) advanced with top five stacks.
Other familiar faces of the international poker scene such as Chance Kornuth and Steve O'Dwyer enjoyed a successful start as well.
2023 PCA Main Event Day 1a Top 10 Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andre Marques | Portugal | 197,500 | 165 |
| 2 | Maximilian Silz | Germany | 182,200 | 152 |
| 3 | Alberto Meran | Dominican Republic | 155,900 | 130 |
| 4 | Andre Akkari | Brazil | 136,900 | 114 |
| 5 | Yuri Dzivielevski | Brazil | 130,900 | 109 |
| 6 | Chance Kornuth | United States | 127,000 | 106 |
| 7 | James Harvey | United States | 113,100 | 94 |
| 8 | Steve O'Dwyer | Ireland | 104,800 | 87 |
| 9 | Diego Ventura | Peru | 103,300 | 86 |
| 10 | Thomas Muehloecker | Austria | 103,000 | 86 |
Akkari was one of several PokerStars ambassadors to enter the competition and he climbed into the top ten on the leaderboard in the final level of the night. This was in large part due to the elimination of Kitty Kuo, who ran into the pocket aces of Akkari, before the Brazilian further increased his stack before bagging and tagging.
Lose QQ << AA on last 15 mins day 1A https://t.co/QL2xOMFsEb
— kitty kuo (@kittykuopoker)
The only other PokerStars ambassador to advance was Sam Grafton (53,400), while Parker Talbot and Alejandro "Papo MC" Lococo both failed to advance. Veldhuis was among several players to fire two bullets but found no fortune as his dominated pocket pair failed to improve in the final level of the night.
Many other notables joined the rail throughout the eight 60-minute levels including Anthony Zinno, Dario Sammartino, Michael Wang, Alexandros Kolonias, Chris Oliver, Chris Hunichen, Pascal Lefrancois, Dylan Linde, Mustapha Kanit, Mikita Badziakouski, Nicholas Marchington, Pablo Brito Silva, Rodrigo Seiji, Fabiano Kovalski, and Artur Martirosian to name a few.
All those and many more of poker's biggest names are likely to join the action for Day 1b, which is slated to kick off at noon local time on Tuesday, January 24, 2023. A large turnout is expected for the second and final starting day. Whether or not the 865 entries of the 2019 edition will be reached and surpassed remains to be seen. Late registration for the 2023 PCA Main Event closes after the end of level 10 on Day 2 at approximately 3:40 p.m. local time on January 25.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be on the floor throughout this major live poker event and several other marquee events of the 2023 PCA series including the second-ever PokerStars Players No-Limit Hold'em Championship.
Level 8
: Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
197,500
107,500
|
107,500 |
|
||
|
182,200
2,800
|
2,800 |
|
155,900 | |
|
136,900
51,900
|
51,900 |
|
||
|
130,900
5,900
|
5,900 |
|
||
|
127,000
47,000
|
47,000 |
|
||
|
113,100
113,100
|
113,100 |
|
104,800
14,800
|
14,800 |
|
||
|
103,300
45,300
|
45,300 |
|
|
||
|
103,000
8,000
|
8,000 |
|
101,900
21,900
|
21,900 |
|
99,300
15,700
|
15,700 |
|
95,900
900
|
900 |
|
93,700
16,300
|
16,300 |
|
|
||
|
|
93,000
8,000
|
8,000 |
|
88,200
38,200
|
38,200 |
|
||
|
86,700
18,300
|
18,300 |
|
|
86,500
31,500
|
31,500 |
|
85,900
53,900
|
53,900 |
|
84,800
84,800
|
84,800 |
|
|
||
|
82,000
37,000
|
37,000 |
|
|
||
|
81,000
41,000
|
41,000 |
|
80,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
||
|
75,400
9,400
|
9,400 |
|
|
||
|
73,700
73,700
|
73,700 |
|
|
||
Level 8
: Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
Some 80 players out of 166 entries survived Day 1a and assorted chip counts as well as a recap of today's action are to follow.
Dan Smith was not among those to advance as he was eliminated in the final hand of the night.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted | |
|
|
||
|
Busted | |
Level 8
: Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
Kannapong Thanarattrakul opened to 2,200 from under the gun and was called by Fedor Holz and Alberto Meran from the button and the big blind.
Thanarattrakul continued for 2,700 on the 
flop and both players called.
Meran checked once more and Thanarattrakul jammed for 16,400 on the 
turn. Holz called and Meran folded.
Kannapong Thanarattrakul: 
Fedor Holz: 
The 
completed the board and Thanarattrakul's pair of kings stayed best.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
155,900
40,900
|
40,900 |
|
52,600
42,400
|
42,400 |
|
||
|
48,400
1,600
|
1,600 |
Level 8
: Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
Action was caught on the turn with the board reading 
. Alex Kulev bet 2,100 from the big blind before Joao Simao made it 13,200 from the hijack. Kulev called.
Both players checked the river through to showdown. Kulev tabled his 
for a pair of jacks but the pot went to Simao after he turned over his 
, which was good for a set.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
70,000
28,000
|
28,000 |
|
|
||
|
60,000
20,000
|
20,000 |
|
||
Level 8
: Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
The clock has been stopped with 84 players out of 165 entries remaining. Four hands were drawn and that is the magic number for all those with chips at their disposal until they get to bag and tag the chips for the night.
Level 8
: Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
Prior to the 
river, both Clemen Deng and Romain Lewis had invested 3,500 chips each. The final bet by Lewis was then 15,000 and that forced a fold from Deng, as the Frenchman increased his stack without showdown.
One table over, Kitty Kuo was spotted on her way out. Her cards were already mucked by the dealer as her stack and the one of Andre Akkari were counted. On a board of 
, the 
of Akkari were the best hand and his 45,000 also covered Kuo to reduce the field by one.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
85,000
57,000
|
57,000 |
|
|
||
|
62,000
3,000
|
3,000 |
|
|
||
|
28,000
2,000
|
2,000 |
|
Busted | |
Level 8
: Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
The first of two starting days is nearing an end with Maximilian Silz occupying the top spot. He knocked out Kristina Holst in the final level of the night to put some distance between himself and other challengers.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
185,000
5,000
|
5,000 |
|
|
115,000
55,000
|
55,000 |
|
|
110,000
10,000
|
10,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
105,000
40,000
|
40,000 |
|
|
95,000
5,000
|
5,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
90,000 | |
|
|
||
|
|
85,000 | |
|
|
80,000
23,000
|
23,000 |
|
|
||
|
67,000
14,000
|
14,000 |
|
65,000
23,000
|
23,000 |
|
||
Level 8
: Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
James Rose opened to 2,200 from the cutoff and was called by Preben Stokkan and Rayan Chamas from the button and the big blind.
The 
flop checked through to the 
turn. Chamas led out for 2,600 and only Rose called.
Chamas sized up to 15,000 on the river and Rose quickly folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
115,000
20,000
|
20,000 |
|
|
53,000
7,000
|
7,000 |
|
27,000
12,000
|
12,000 |
