The poker got back to normal Monday at the 2016 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) Main Event as there were no reported incidents of anybody expelling bodily waste at the tables. Instead, it was all business (though who is to say trying to win a pricey prop bet isn’t serious business?) as the field continued to narrow and the money bubble was popped. Ending Day 3 as the chip leader was the same player who began Day 3 as the chip leader: Leonardo Pires.
Pires is dominating right now. With 2.095 million chips, he is the only player above 2 million and one just two that is even in the seven figure range. His closest competitor, Phillip McAllister, has just 1.329 million. Nobody else has eclipsed a million chips going into Day 4. Pires is already guaranteed to win at least $10,840, which would already equal more than a third of his lifetime live tournament earnings. But winning $10,840 would be disastrous considering where Pires stands right now; he has an excellent chance of at least doubling his career winnings this week.
This isn’t exactly brand new territory for Pires, as the bulk of his $30,349 in winnings came from a third place finish in the $4,700 + $300 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller Event at the 2014 Latin America Poker Tour Chile stop, but placing third out of 43 players is much different than leading the final 73 from a field of nearly 1,000. So while Pires does have a little experience going deep in a tourney, the PCA is a much different animal than anything he has been through at the poker tables.
As mentioned, there are currently 73 players remaining in the 2016 PCA Main Event out of a starting 918. Everyone is in the money and has been since Germany’s Knut Karnapp busted out in 136th as the infamous “bubble boy.” Payouts will remain relatively low for a while (not that I, personally, wouldn’t be thrilled to receive a $10,000 check) and will not climb above $50,000 until just 11 players remain. Six-figure payouts will not be reached until the final seven.
The plan for Tuesday is to play down to 16 players, unless tournament organizers announce something different at the beginning of the day. There is a decent chance that we will see eliminations happen quickly at the outset, as there is not a gigantic pay jump for a while (in poker terms) and short stacks may want to take some risks in order to either double-up or just be done with it. Things will likely slow down towards the end of the day when players see a more realistic shot at making it to Day 5 and eventually the final table, not to mention bigger money.
2016 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event – Day 3 Chip Leaders
1. Leonardo Pires – 2,095,000
2. Phillip McAllister – 1,329,000
3. Matt Waxman – 949,000
4. David Eldridge – 859,000
5. Paul Tedeschi – 834,000
6. Fabian Ortiz – 804,000
7. Paul Gooley – 776,000
8. Ivan Barbuto – 748,000
9. Jonathan Jaffe – 740,000
10. Jason Mercier – 704,000
