2023 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure

$100,000 PCA Super High Roller
Day: 2
Event Info

2023 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
j8
Prize
$1,082,230
Event Info
Buy-in
$100,000
Prize Pool
$4,753,980
Entries
49
Level Info
Level
25
Blinds
125,000 / 250,000
Ante
250,000
Players Info - Day 2
Entries
38
Players Left
6

Mike Watson Leads the Final Six Players Into Day 3 of the $100,000 PCA Super High Roller

Level 17 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Mike Watson
Mike Watson

After over 12 hours of poker today, there will be just six players returning to the felt for the third and final day of the $100,000 PCA Super High Roller. They will be chasing down the lion's share of the $4.5 million remaining in the prizepool to kickstart the 2023 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in The Bahamas.

Leading the way is Canadian Mike Watson who entered the day as the chip leader and that is exactly where he finished nine levels later. Watson started Day 2 with 830,000 chips and bagged up 3,015,000 to end things when play was halted. His fellow Canadian Daniel Dvoress bookends the field as the short stack returning for Day 3 with 1,590,000 chips. In the middle and also in the hunt include notables Juan Pardo (2,200,000), Adrian Mateos (2,035,000), Seth Davies (1,870,000), and Isaac Haxton (1,645,000).

Day 3 Seating Assignments and Chip Counts

SeatPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Seth DaviesUnited States1,870,00037
2Isaac HaxtonUnited States1,645,00033
3Mike WatsonCanada3,015,00060
4Adrian MateosSpain2,035,00041
5Daniel DvoressCanada1,590,00032
6Juan PardoSpain2,200,00044

Day 2 Action

The day began with 34 players returning to their seats and four more entries that joined them before the cards got in the air. Sam Grafton, Steve O'Dwyer, and David Yan all used a re-entry while Sean Winter joined for the first time. Unfortunately for them, they were unable to turn a fresh stack of 250,000 chips into any sort of payday.

The first couple levels of the day saw plenty of eliminations and chips being tossed around. While many players jostled for the chip lead throughout the day, the one thing that was consistent was the chip stack of Watson. When the final table of nine eventually amalgamated late into the night, the action became rather stagnant for quite some time. However, another pot that went Watson's way at the demise of Henrik Hecklen brought the field to the money bubble.

Ben Heath was the clear short stack with less than ten big blinds and was facing a raise from Mateos. Heath found a reasonably holding with pocket nines and put his stack in the middle. Unfortunately for him, Mateos had him in trouble with the fish hooks. Heath could not come from behind and was the last player sent home empty-handed.

With the rest of the field guaranteed at least $250,000, the action became more fluent. Timothy Adams was in a comfortable position until he collided with Haxton in a hand then put Adams in the tank for nearly four minutes on the river. Adams eventually folded to survive another hand but that's pretty much all it was. Just moments later, Adams stuck in his last 13 big blinds from the small blind and was called by Seth Davies in the big blind. Neither player caught any piece of the board and Davies' king-high was enough to bring an end to the day.

Timothy Adams was eliminated in 7th place
Timothy Adams was eliminated in 7th place

Although there was some discussion at the end on whether to keep playing tonight and what time to come back for Day 3, it was agreed upon that they would stick to the original schedule. The cards will be back in the air tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. EST with the blinds moving up to 25,000/50,000 and a big blind ante of 50,000. The levels will continue to be 60 minutes in length until just three players remain where they will be cut in half.

The PokerNews live reporting team will be back tomorrow to bring you all of the live updates as the action unfolds en route to crowning a new PCA Super High Roller champion.

Tags: Adrian MateosBen HeathDaniel DvoressDavid YanHenrik HecklenIsaac HaxtonJuan PardoMike WatsonSam GraftonSean WinterSeth DaviesSteve O'DwyerTimothy Adams

Timothy Adams Eliminated in 7th Place ($249,600)

Level 17 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Timothy Adams
Timothy Adams

Timothy Adams open-jammed his short stack of around 525,000 from the small blind and Seth Davies looked him up from the big blind.

Timothy Adams: {j-Hearts}{6-Hearts}
Seth Davies: {k-Spades}{q-Spades}

Adams couldn't get ahead as the board ran out {7-Diamonds}{2-Spades}{10-Diamonds}{3-Clubs}{8-Spades} and he was eliminated in seventh place for $249,600.

The Canadian's elimination marks the end of Day 2 with six players remaining. Stay tuned for a full recap of the day's action.

Player Chips Progress
Seth Davies us
Seth Davies
WPT 1X Winner
1,870,000 570,000
Timothy Adams ca
Timothy Adams
WSOP 1X Winner
Busted

Tags: Seth DaviesTimothy Adams

Heath Eliminated on the PCA Super High Roller Money Bubble

Level 17 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Ben Heath
Ben Heath

Adrian Mateos opened to 80,000 from early position and Ben Heath shipped all in for 270,000 in the small blind. The big blind got out of the way and Mateos instantly called to put Heath at risk.

Ben Heath: {9-Spades}{9-Diamonds}
Adrian Mateos: {j-Hearts}{j-Diamonds}

Heath was faced with an uphill battle and the flop of {k-Diamonds}{q-Diamonds}{7-Hearts} provided no relief. The {2-Spades} on the turn and the {q-Spades} on the river also bricked out, sending Heath home on the money bubble. The final seven players are now guaranteed at least $249,600 but will continue playing until just six players remain.

Ben Heath
Ben Heath
Player Chips Progress
Adrian Mateos es
Adrian Mateos
EPT Main Event Champion
WSOP 4X Winner
EPT 1X Winner
2,250,000 325,000
Ben Heath gb
Ben Heath
WSOP 1X Winner
Busted

Tags: Adrian MateosBen Heath

Hecklen Out, Watson Builds on His Lead

Level 17 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Henrik Hecklen
Henrik Hecklen

With a $250,000 money bubble looming, the action had nearly ground to a halt over the last 20 minutes. However, Henrik Hecklen finally found a spot to get his stack in the middle with {a-Spades}{k-Clubs}. Unfortunately for Hecklen, Mike Watson managed to out-flop him with {q-Clubs}{j-Clubs} when the flop came {q-Diamonds}{10-Spades}{8-Spades}.

Hecklen was unable to improve on the {3-Hearts} turn or the {2-Spades} river and was bounced from the tournament just shy of the money while Watson increased his lead to more than 3,000,000 chips.

Player Chips Progress
Mike Watson ca
Mike Watson
Day 2 Chip Leader
WPT 1X Winner
EPT 2X Winner
3,100,000 700,000
Henrik Hecklen dk
Henrik Hecklen
Busted

Tags: Henrik HecklenMike Watson

Chidwick Eliminated by Pardo

Level 16 : Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
Stephen Chidwick
Stephen Chidwick

Stephen Chidwick was down to just one big blind and managed to double up with {k-Diamonds}{9-Spades} against the {8-Clubs}{4-Clubs} in a blind versus blind confrontation that saw the board run out {q-Hearts}{5-Spades}{3-Clubs}{2-Diamonds}{q-Spades}.

A few hands later, Chidwick open-jammed for about 100,000 from the hijack and Ben Heath three-bet to 170,000 on the button. Juan Pardo then four-bet to 350,000 in the big blind and Heath folded.

Stephen Chidwick: {k-Clubs}{q-Clubs}
Juan Pardo: {a-Spades}{9-Hearts}

The flop landed {3-Diamonds}{j-Spades}{10-Clubs} to give Chidwick additional outs with a gutshot, but unfortunately for the British high stakes crusher the board bricked out {7-Diamonds}{6-Spades} to mark his elimination.

Player Chips Progress
Juan Pardo es
Juan Pardo
1,700,000
Ben Heath gb
Ben Heath
WSOP 1X Winner
800,000 -450,000
Stephen Chidwick gb
Stephen Chidwick
WSOP 1X Winner
Busted

Tags: Ben HeathJuan PardoStephen Chidwick

Heath Sinks Bonomo

Level 15 : Blinds 10,000/25,000, 25,000 ante
Justin Bonomo
Justin Bonomo

Justin Bonomo was out of position in a heads-up pot against Ben Heath on a board of {6-Hearts}{2-Hearts}{k-Clubs}{8-Hearts}{4-Hearts}.

Bonomo bet the majority of his stack with just 5,000 behind and Heath called off as the effective stack. Bonomo tabled {q-Hearts}{5-Hearts} for a queen-high flush, but it was no good against the king-high flush of his opponent with {a-Spades}{k-Hearts}.

The next hand, Heath opened to 65,000 and action folded to Bonomo in the small blind, who called off with his remaining two big blinds.

Justin Bonomo: {k-Diamonds}{10-Clubs}
Ben Heath: {j-Spades}{j-Hearts}

Bonomo couldn't get ahead of Heath's jacks as the board ran out {q-Clubs}{q-Diamonds}{10-Hearts}{8-Spades}{q-Hearts} to mark the all-time money leader's elimination.

Player Chips Progress
Ben Heath gb
Ben Heath
WSOP 1X Winner
1,250,000 695,000
Justin Bonomo us
Justin Bonomo
WSOP 3X Winner
Busted

Tags: Ben HeathJustin Bonomo

Ponakovs Bluffs Mateos

Level 14 : Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante

Aleksejs Ponakovs opened from middle position and Adrian Mateos defended from the big blind.

Mateos checked on the flop of {k-Diamonds}{j-Spades}{8-Diamonds} and Ponakovs bet 55,000. Mateos called. Mateos checked again on the {2-Diamonds} turn and Ponakovs bet 100,000. Mateos again called.

Mateos checked again on the {q-Clubs} river and Ponakovs used a time bank before betting 370,000 with just a few chips behind. Mateos went deep into the tank and burned through four of his time banks.

"Pffff," Mateos said as he ran his fingers through his hair before eventually folding.

"Show," Mateos asked Ponakovs, who proceeded to turn over {a-Diamonds}{9-Clubs} for an ace-high bluff with the nut flush blocker.

Aleksejs Ponakovs
Aleksejs Ponakovs
Player Chips Progress
Adrian Mateos es
Adrian Mateos
EPT Main Event Champion
WSOP 4X Winner
EPT 1X Winner
1,900,000 250,000
Aleksejs Ponakovs lv
Aleksejs Ponakovs
WSOP 2X Winner
750,000 150,000

Tags: Adrian MateosAleksejs Ponakovs

Watson Downs Kisacikoglu

Level 14 : Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Orpen Kisacikoglu
Orpen Kisacikoglu

Orpen Kisacikoglu raised it up from early position and Mike Watson three-bet from the small blind. With the action back on Kisacikoglu, he four-bet shoved all in for around 600,000. Watson quickly called and had Kisacikoglu at risk.

Orpen Kisacikoglu: {k-Diamonds}{q-Diamonds}
Mike Watson: {q-Hearts}{q-Clubs}

The flop of {8-Diamonds}{7-Spades}{2-Clubs} left Watson comfortably in the lead with his pocket queens. The {10-Hearts} on the turn and the {8-Hearts} on the river sent Kisacikoglu to the rail just before the dinner break.

Player Chips Progress
Mike Watson ca
Mike Watson
Day 2 Chip Leader
WPT 1X Winner
EPT 2X Winner
1,655,000 655,000
Orpen Kisacikoglu tr
Orpen Kisacikoglu
WSOP 1X Winner
Busted

Tags: Orpen KisacikogluMike Watson

Kisacikoglu Rivers Queen to Bust Kaverman

Level 14 : Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Byron Kaverman
Byron Kaverman

Byron Kaverman was in the hijack and had committed most of his stack preflop against Orpen Kisacikoglu as the flop landed {k-Diamonds}{3-Clubs}{8-Clubs}.

Kisacikoglu led out for 20,000 on the flop and Kaverman gave it some thought before calling off with less.

"Do you have a king? It feels like a king," he said.

Byron Kaverman: {6-Clubs}{6-Spades}
Orpen Kisacikoglu: {q-Hearts}{j-Clubs}

Kaverman was in front but the board then proceeded to run out {7-Hearts}{q-Spades} to give Kisacikoglu the best hand and for Kaverman to fall on the two-table bubble.

Player Chips Progress
Orpen Kisacikoglu tr
Orpen Kisacikoglu
WSOP 1X Winner
620,000 310,000
Byron Kaverman us
Byron Kaverman
WSOP 1X Winner
Busted

Tags: Byron KavermanOrpen Kisacikoglu

Mateos Doubles Through Ponakovs

Level 13 : Blinds 8,000/16,000, 16,000 ante
Adrian Mateos
Adrian Mateos

Mike Watson opened on the button and Aleksejs Ponakovs three-bet to around 120,000 from the small blind. Adrian Mateos then four-bet jammed for 484,000. Watson folded and Ponakovs quickly called with a bigger stack.

Adrian Mateos: {a-Diamonds}{k-Spades}
Aleksejs Ponakovs: {q-Hearts}{q-Diamonds}

A king in the window on the flop of {6-Spades}{6-Diamonds}{k-Clubs} gave Mateos a big lead and nothing changed as the board finished out {3-Spades}{8-Hearts} to earn him a big double.

Player Chips Progress
Mike Watson ca
Mike Watson
Day 2 Chip Leader
WPT 1X Winner
EPT 2X Winner
1,300,000 95,000
Adrian Mateos es
Adrian Mateos
EPT Main Event Champion
WSOP 4X Winner
EPT 1X Winner
1,000,000 480,000
Aleksejs Ponakovs lv
Aleksejs Ponakovs
WSOP 2X Winner
650,000 -60,000

Tags: Adrian MateosAleksejs PonakovsMike Watson