After a respite from the game for the holiday season, poker’s top players and ambitious amateurs will be escaping whatever winter climes they find themselves in to journey to the Bahamas for the first major tournament poker event of 2013.
The Tenth Annual PokerStars Caribbean Adventure kicks off tomorrow at the Atlantis Resort in Paradise Island, the Bahamas, and they will be celebrating their milestone anniversary in style. The first day of the tournament will be a big one as those with deep enough pockets will be squaring off in the $100,000 Super High Roller event. This tournament will offer rebuys throughout the Day One proceedings tomorrow and it is expected that the prize pool will, at the minimum, approach last year’s $3.1 million total. In that event last year, Viktor ‘Isildur1’ Blom was able to emerge with his first ever major tournament victory in defeating runner-up Dan Shak and thirty other players for the crown.
On Monday, the $10,000 Main Event will kick off its action and, as PokerStars has been running satellites for the event since the close of last year’s tournament, it is expected to have its typically large field. 1072 players showed up for the festivities in 2012, with Canada’s Xuan Liu making history by becoming the first ever female player to make the PCA Main Event final table. She would eventually finish in fourth place while John Dibella went on to defeat Faraz Jaka and Kyle Julius to take the title and the $1.775 million payday.
One player who won’t be making the trip to the Bahamas for the first time in three years is former PCA champion Galen Hall. Hall, who took the championship in 2011 and has made the PCA his own personal playground (he was fourth in the Super High Roller last year and made a deep drive in defending his Main Event championship before bowing out in 64th place), stated on his Facebook account that he is “too busy” with work and preparing for his final two quarters of college. Even without Hall, the field for the Main Event should be one of the most challenging fields we will see over the entirety of 2013.
Greg Mueller commented over Twitter that he is on his way to the PCA, chirping, “Bye Vegas and your horrible vices! Off to sunny Bahamas with Shawn Buchanan.” David “Doc” Sands is looking to continue what was a great 2012 with the PCA, Tweeting, “Made it to Atlantis, weather is perfect and (fiancée) Erica Moutinho looks amazing in her swimming suit!” Jason Mercier stated over Twitter, “Wearing my bad luck shirt en route to the Bahamas. Won’t be wearing it once I arrive, though,” as he also set up basketball dates for the PCA with Dan Kelly, Vanessa Selbst and Olivier Busquet.
When poker’s elite aren’t basking in the sun or shooting hoops, there will be plenty of action on the tables to take up their time. With this being the tenth running of the PCA, there are a host of tournaments that will be played out. On Monday, the Canada Cup will be contested as well as what seems to be the first appearance of Open Face Chinese Poker on a tournament schedule. That event, a $2000 buy in, promises to be a favorite of the top professionals who have flocked to the game like moths to a flame.
On Wednesday, Pot Limit Omaha will be one of the featured side events as a $5000 Eight Handed tournament will be held. The World Cup of Poker (an invitational event like the Canada Cup) will have its first day of play on Friday, while the $25,000 High Roller tournament begins on Saturday, the same day the Main Event will play down to its Sunday (January 13) final table.
Although they probably enjoyed their break from the tournament poker grind, it is time to get back into the game! The 2013 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure promises to deliver the first big tournament poker news of the year with its variety of tournaments and it should be the talk of the poker world as we begin a New Year.
