The final table is set for the first Super High Roller event of the year, but perhaps a bigger story of the opening days of the 2015 EPT PokerStars Caribbean Adventure is the turnout for one of PokerStars’ regional tours, the Latin America Poker Tour (LAPT) that is holding a Main Event during the proceedings in the Bahamas.
$100,000 PCA Super High Roller
After two days of battle on the felt at Paradise Island in the Bahamas, Sorel Mizzi will lead the final seven players at the final table.
A record 66 entries among 50 players built a prize pool of slightly more than $6 million, with many of the usual suspects amongst those on the tables. Although such names as 2014 consensus Player of the Year Daniel Colman, Erik Seidel, Ole Schemion, Olivier Busquet and Jason Mercier would all be out of the competition before the money bubble was even within sight, the final two tables of the tournament still provided a great deal of action between the survivors.
Mizzi would make his move in the tournament by getting a big double up through Jason Koon. After calling a 250K three-bet from Koon (small blind) out of the cutoff, the twosome would go to a flop of Q-9-5. Koon kept the pressure on Mizzi, plopping another big bet on the table, but Mizzi responded by putting his final chips in the pot. Koon made the call and tabled pocket Kings, but Mizzi had caught him on the flop with his pocket Queens for a set. After a King failed to appear on the turn or river, Mizzi rocketed up to 2.59 million chips and Kook was left with scraps (he would be eliminated a few hands later by Mizzi).
Mizzi used his newfound ammunition to bring the field into the money. David Peters made a raise out of the small blind and Mizzi fired an all-in bet out of the big blind to put Peters to a decision for his tournament life. Peters made the call and was in front with his pocket tens over Mizzi’s Q-7, but a Queen on the flop and the turn vanquished Peters to the rail in tenth place ($0).
With nine players remaining, Mizzi ruled the roost but the action continued. Jake Schindler, the champion of the $25,000 High Roller tournament at the PCA last year, was felled by Roger Sippi to set the official final table, but the remaining players decided to play until the completion of the level. Before the night was complete, the 2013 PCA Super High Roller champion, Scott Seiver, was sent to the rail by Steve O’Dwyer after O’Dwyer’s A-Q off suit was able to withstand the challenge of Seiver’s K♥ 7♣ on an A♣ K♣ J♣ 10♥ J♦ board to leave seven men with a shot at the title on Thursday.
1. Sorel Mizzi, 4.8 million
2. Roger Sippi, 3.255 million
3. Steve O’Dwyer, 2.925 million
4. Bryn Kenney, 2.41 million
5. Christoph Vogelsang, 1.54 million
6. Andrew Robl, 1.37 million
7. Sam Greenwood, 705,000
8. Scott Seiver, $243,280
9. Jake Schindler, $185,660
10. David Peters, $0
Today’s victor will earn the first Super High Roller championship of 2015 along with a nice payday of $1,872,580.
LAPT Bahamas $3000 Main Event – Day One
Although officials were a bit worried that there wouldn’t be a great turnout for the tournament, the LAPT Bahamas Main Event exceeded their expectations in drawing a field of 736 entries.
The re-entry event drew a nice 532 unique players (which the LAPT officials would have been happy with alone), but the additional 204 reentries added a nice cherry to the top of the sundae. All totaled, the 736 entries built a prize pool of $1,945,248, with the eventual champion (determined on Friday) set to take home a sizeable $367,928 first place prize.
With the event being held during the PCA, it was natural that this LAPT Main Event would be special. Many players from the Team PokerStars Pro stable jumped into the tournament, including former World Champion Jonathan Duhamel, defending PCA Main Event champion Dominik Panka, Eugene Katchalov, Liv Boeree and Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier, but they would not survive the first day.
After the chips were bagged and tagged, Mukul Pahuja emerged as the Day 1 leader of the LAPT Bahamas, sitting atop a stack of 244,400 in chips. That puts him in front of such players as Mustapha Kanit (228,500) and Marvin Rettenmaier (197,600), among others, who have a great shot at getting a piece of the LAPT prize pool.
With action beginning today in the $10,000 PCA Main Event, these gentlemen and many others will have to postpone getting into “The Big One” until at least Friday (and, should their fortunes allow, might have to multi-table the play on Friday). Although it’s only a few days into the schedule, the 2015 EPT PokerStars Caribbean Adventure is continuing to prove its status as one of the biggest stops on the tournament poker circuit.
