The annual PokerStars Caribbean Adventure has been the hotbed for poker these past days especially with the inaugural US$ 25,000 PSPC (PokerStars Player Championship) event attracting just about everyone. This event is without question the biggest live tournament in poker history of that buy-in range. A total of 1,039 players attended, some of them having won their ticket in 2018 while the larger pool bought in, to drive the prize pool to an enormous US$ 26,455,500.
The past two days saw the bubble burst and the money flow. Early this morning, the official final table of eight players was established, among them was Asia’s last hope, Philippines pro Marc Rivera.
PSPC Final 8
In the lead is USA’s Scott Baumstein with 10,725,000. This was another strong performance by Baumstein who led at the end of Day 3 when the field crunched down to 38 players. In Day 4, he stayed in the upper ranks until he shipped a monstrous double up against Florian Duta to eventually reach the final 8 at the helm.
Baumstein is one of six players in the final roster that bought in, the other two won their seats. One of them was Filipino player Marc Rivera (Metro Team Pro). Known to be more of a high stakes cash game player, Rivera won his ticket as added value for his triumph at the 2018 APPT Manila – National event.
2018 was a big live tournament year for Rivera who cashed in three events at the WSOP in Las Vegas, then went on to cash in 6 more events held in his home country. With 2019 having just taken flight, it’s already looking to be much more profitable.
At Day 4 of the PSPC, Rivera eliminated Platinum Pass winners Belarus’s Mikita Badziakouski (38th) and New Zealand’s Sosia Jiang (28th), then busted Jake Schwartz (12th) to reach the final 8 running second-in-command with 10,350,000. No matter what place he finishes, Rivera is already certain to pocket his largest-ever live tournament cash. And by the rate he’s going, he has a strong chance of becoming an instant millionaire, possibly even catapulting from 10th to the top of the Philippines All Time Money List.
Another player staying strong throughout was USA’s Farid Jattin running fourth-in-chips. Jattin bagged the lead in Day 2. Have a look below at the final 8 players of the PSPC and the remaining payouts:
Final 8 players
Scott Baumstein – USA – 10,725,000
Marc Rivera – Philippines – 10,350,000 (Platinum Pass winner)
Julien Martini – France – 8,600,000
Farid Jattin – USA – 8,525,000
Ramon Colillas – Spain – 8,300,000 (Platinum Pass winner)
Jason Koonce – USA – 7,125,000
Talal Shakerchi – UK – 5,500,000
Marc Perrault – Canada – 2,275,000
Payouts
1st $5,100,000
2nd $2,974,000
3rd $2,168,000
4th 1,657,000
5th $1,304,000
6th $1,012,000
7th $746,000
8th $509,000
PSPC ITM players: Asian & Notables
Day 3 of the PSPC saw portions of the prize pool claimed. For players that have won their seats, a min-cash of $25,450 was not too shabby. 31 PSPC winners went on to profit among them were Singapore’s Tzai Wei Phua ($39,500 for 108th) and Vietnam’s Thi Xoa Nguyen ($25,450 for 153rd). As for the non-pass winners, some of the notable players were: Sam Greenwood (49th), China’s Yan Li (54th), Mustapha Kanit (56th), Christoph Vogelsang (57th), Ryan Reiss (58th), Jack Salter (78th), Darren Elias (110th), Kane Kalas (118th), Benjamin Spragg (140th), and China’s Tianie Wang (152nd).
Day 4 saw 6 more PSPC winners cash in starting with Jacqueline Burkhart (38th). The day also saw the fall of Marvin Rettenmaier (27th), Kristen Bicknell (11th) – the top female GPI 2018 player, and Florian Duta (9th) to form the final 8.
Thi Xoa Nguyen fold goes viral
One side story worth every bit mileage was Thi Xoa Nguyen’s fold as it neared the bubble. Nguyen is Vietnam’s top female player. She bought into the PSPC and finished in 153rd place for a min-cash of $25,450. Have a look at the video and watch her fold a full house.
Article by Tricia David
Louis Hartwell
Graduated in Media Communication at the University of Lausanne, Louis Hartman is a co-founder of somuchpoker.com. He began his career in Cambodia as freelance journalist. In same time he was making his living by playing poker every night at that time. Intense learner, he read dozens of poker strategy books to improve his skills during many years. With a strong interest about poker "behind the scene" in Asia and his communication skills, Louis launched Somuchpoker in 2014.
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