Mike Watson Out in Front After Day 1 of $100,000 PCA Super High Roller
The first high roller of PokerStars Caribbean Adventure kicked off in style with Day 1 of $100,000 PCA Super High Roller, an event that has, as expected, drawn plenty of big names and produced plenty of big hands. Leading the way is Canada's Mike Watson, who bagged a stack of 830,000 ahead of Latvia's Aleksejs Ponakovs (763,000) and fellow Canadian Timothy Adams (659,000).
The first and only starting flight attracted 45 runners, though that number is sure to climb with late registration open up to the beginning of Day 2 at 12:30 p.m. local time. There were 34 players who found bags on Day 1, including Patrik Antonius, Dan Smith, David Peters, Joao Vieira, Isaac Haxton, Mikita Badziakouski, Stephen Chidwick, Chris Brewer and Sam Greenwood.
The controversial Bryn Kenney also made his way into the Day 1 field and managed to bag a stack of 241,000. Kenney was accused last year of running an online cheating ring (an allegation that he has repeatedly denied), but the second all-time money leader hasn't let that stop him from firing in some of the biggest poker events across the world.
Speaking of all-time money leaders, the pink-haired Justin Bonomo bagged a stack of 132,000 in the High Roller Event as he looks to add to his $59 million in Hendon Mob-reported earnings.
$100,000 PCA Super High Roller Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
| RANK | PLAYER | COUNTRY | CHIP COUNT | BIG BLINDS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Watson | Canada | 830,000 | 138 | |
| 2 | Aleksejs Ponakovs | Latvia | 763,000 | 127 | |
| 3 | Timothy Adams | Canada | 659,000 | 110 | |
| 4 | Chris Brewer | United States | 622,000 | 104 | |
| 5 | Byron Kaverman | Canada | 613,000 | 102 | |
| 6 | Ignacio Moron | Mexico | 572,000 | 95 | |
| 7 | Nick Petrangelo | United States | 550,000 | 92 | |
| 8 | Adrian Mateos | Spain | 545,000 | 91 | |
| 9 | Seth Davies | United States | 472,000 | 79 | |
| 10 | Jean-Noel Thorel | France | 460,000 | 77 |
Plenty of Coolers Make Up Day 1
Kicking off the PCA return in true fashion, there were several massive pots and gutwrenching coolers during the eight hours of play on Day 1.
In just the first level of play, Ponakovs doubled up through Christoph Vogelsang in a two-pair versus full house confrontation that Vogelsang short before busting shortly after. For his part, Ponakovs also busted early on Day 1 but both players fired second bullets and made the most of them.
Petrangelo wounded Daniel Dvoress in the same level in a boat over boat cooler that left Dvoress riding fumes before he busted and bought back in.
A few hours later, Michael Addamo fell to Jean-Noel Thorel when his top set couldn't improve against the Frenchman's flopped flush. Like many of those who fell before him, the Australian crusher bought back in and ended the day with 209,000.
Day 2 action will pick up on Jan. 23 at 12:30 p.m. on Level 9 with blinds of 3,000/6,000/6,000. The event is scheduled for three days and will play to a winner on Jan. 24, who will add heaps to his lifetime earnings.
The PokerNews live reporting team is on-site here in the sunny Bahamas and will be back tomorrow to cover all the action in $100,000 PCA Super High Roller.