Three and a half years after the previous PokerStars Players No-Limit Hold’em Championship, a new Player’s Champion has been named. Belarus’ Aliaksandr Shylko took down the 2023 PokerStars Players No-Limit Hold’em Championship for $3,121,838 after reaching an ICM deal with Germany’s Max Menzel (2nd – $2,859,990) and Brazil’s Philipe Pizzari (3rd – $2,524,871) and navigating one of the most memorable final tables in recent memory.

The 26-year-old had the chip lead when the three agreed to play for a remaining $300,000 in prize money and the towering golden trophy before the exits of Pizzari and Menzel, who was the last Platinum Pass winner standing as he attempted to match Ramon Colillas‘ Platinum Pass spin-up in 2019.

All three players were guaranteed to take home their largest-ever live cashes, and the same was true for Nacho Barbero (4th – $1,551,300), Pedro Marques (5th – $1,251,500) and Niclas Thumm (6th – $1,001,200). To take home the seven-figure pieces of the $24,843,000 prize pool, these six players had to get through a field of 1,014 runners that included a mix of the world’s best and part-time hopefuls who won a Platinum Pass into the $25,000 buy-in event.

Shylko, a slender and cheerful Belarusian who has been playing poker professionally for six years, had just over $423,000 in Hendon Mob-reported cashes heading into the event, including a victory in the €2,000 Eureka High Roller in May 2022 for $80,853, just a fraction of his seven-figure score.

“To be honest, I don’t feel that [many] emotions because I wanted to win so much and I was too focused,” Shylko told PokerNews in a winner’s interview. “I was just trying to be as calm as possible … All the guys I think hate me because I’m asking them [about] their stacks all the time because I want to be precise. So yeah, it’s just a lot of work and I guess I will understand what is going on maybe in a week, maybe more.”

2023 PokerStars Players Championship Final Table Results

_{*Denotes three-handed deal}

Shylko’s Unlikely Road to Victory

As is often the case in poker tournaments, Shylko’s road to victory was an unlikely one.

Late on Day 4 with three tables remaining, Shylko found himself at risk of busting in a three-way all in where he and last woman standing Nadya Magnus held ace-king to dominate the ace-queen of the bigger-stacked Menzel, who managed to spike a queen on the flop to take the life out of the mild-mannered Shylko.

However, the dealer then peeled off a king on the turn and the eventual champion lived to see another day in what he called “the biggest moment in my life, in poker” up to the final table.

“It was really a really emotional one for me,” he admitted.

The poker pro kept his composure throughout the hand and the rest of the tournament, but the poker world got to see an emotional side of Shylko when he was at risk of going out in fifth place when his ace-ten was dominated by Pizzari’s Big Slick.

A king-high flop was no help to Shylko but left him hope with a gutshot to a Broadway straight. It didn’t come on the turn but the river gave Shylko one of his four outs and he erupted in cheer before running over to his rail, stopping only to apologize to his opponent for the understandable outbust.

Nacho Typical Final Table

The energy was electric as the six players returned for play on Day 5 with tens of thousands of eyes on the live-streamed final table. Most of those eyes were on Argentina’s Barbero, the most experienced player at the final table who had a commanding chip lead to put him on the trajectory to victory.

The trajectory slanted downward in just the first hour of play when Barbero made a massive misclick to raise-fold for over 20 big blinds. With blinds of 125,000/250,000/250,000, Shylko opened to 500,000 from under the gun with pocket jacks and Barbero, busy talking to the rail and having not noticed a raise in front of him, raised to 5,125,000 in the small blind with just nine-three. A four-bet jam from Shylko forced a fold from Barbero and he gave up the chip lead.

“I made a mistake,” Barbero told PokerStars in an interview afterward about the raise that cost him five million in chips.

The mistake may very well have also cost Barbero millions of dollars as he later bowed out in fourth place to miss several payout jumps and the $4,053,200 first-place prize. The Argentinian WSOP bracelet winner admitted he was “tilted” after the hand but managed to re-take the chip lead before a few unfortunate runouts left him short before a top pair versus two pair cooler to mark his elimination.

It wasn’t the only big mistake at a final table that commentator Maria Ho called “crazier than I could have imagined.” Not long after Barbero’s televised misclick, Pizzari folded the winning hand at showdown as he apparently didn’t realize he had a pair to be ahead of the king-high of Thumm.

Despite the chaos around him, Shylko kept it together and played his A-game.

“I was just trying to be focused on the game,” he said. “I just rewatched the hands and the end of the day, try to go have a good rest and go to [the] ocean. And when I was on the table, I was trying to be as calm as possible and play one hand at a time, that’s it. That’s the best you can do.”

After the three-handed deal, Pizzari fell in third when he moved his short stack in with jack-seven and was looked up by the Menzel, who flopped top pair to secure the Brazilian’s exit. It was a short heads-up battle before Menzel made a straight on the river only to be against the full house of Shylko. A check-jam from Menzel sealed the deal and Shylko stared at the board as things became real.

Shylko’s emotions shined through once again as Joe Stapleton announced his victory and he lifted the Player’s Champion trophy with some help from the 2019 champ. After posing with the trophy, he video-chatted his friends and family back home in Belarus and the Czech Republic so they could share the moment from afar.

That wraps up PokerNews’ coverage of the specular return of the 2023 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure and PokerStars Players Championship. Be sure to check out the live reporting hub for coverage of other events here in The Bahamas.

PokerStars wrapping the 2023 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) with the conclusion of the second ever PokerStars Players No-Limit Hold’em Championship (PSPC). That $25,000 buy-in tournament attracted 1,014 entries and will award the winner a $4,053,200 top prize.

The PokerNews Live Reporting Team has been on-site to offer live updates from a slew of PCA tournaments. Here’s a look at five of the more interesting hands captured in our live updates from the PSPC.

Click here to download the My Stack app for iPhone, or click here to download the My Stack app for Android.

Barbero Makes an Ill-Timed Misclick

At the final table in Level 31 (125,000/250,000/250,000), Aliaksandr Shylko opened to 500,000 from under the gun with and Nacho Barbero was busy talking to the rail and didn’t notice the raise. Barbero raised to 5,125,000 in the small blind with , thinking he was just putting Max Menzel to the test in the big blind.

Menzel folded and Shylko jammed all in for around 12,000,000 which got a quick fold from the dumbfounded Barbero as the chip lead exchanged hands. Whether or not that hand will ultimate cost Barbero, who began the final table as chip leader, remains to be seen as the tournament is still in progress as of this publication.

Follow live updates from the 2023 PSPC here to see how Barbero does!

“Why Did You Fold?” “‘Cuz The Rest of the Table is So Bad”

On Day 1 in Level 6 (400/800/800), Shaun Deeb was out of position in a heads-up pot against Xuan Liu on a board of .

Deeb checked on the turn and Liu bet 7,000. Deeb called. Deeb checked again on the river and Liu announced “all in” with Deeb covered, sending the American into a deep tank that extended several minutes. Eventually, Deeb folded to maintain his tournament life.

“Good fold,” commented table mate Eric Worre.

“I don’t think it was,” replied Deeb.

“Then why did you fold?” questioned Liu.

“‘Cuz the rest of the table is so bad,” replied Deeb as he was met with a big laugh from Worre, though no one else at the table seemed to think it was funny.

“Tell us how you really feel,” said Liu.

Rocco and Addamo Clash

In Level 10 (1,000/2,000/2,000) on Day 2, Michael Addamo raised to 4,500 from the hijack and was called by Michael Rocco in the big blind.

The flop came and Addamo continued for 2,000. Rocco put in a check-raise to 13,500. Addamo called.

The was the turn and Rocco checked. Addamo paused before betting 27,000. Rocco paused before calling.

The river was the and Rocco checked. Addamo went into the tank before betting 70,000. Action was on Rocco who moved all in for 123,000. Addamo went into the tank for several minutes before making the call. Rocco showed for full house to secure the double up as Addamo showed for a straight.

Addamo stood still in his chair as the remaining players went on break.

Volkmann’s Bluff Hunted Down

On Day 3 in Level 20 (10,000/20,000/20,000), Bruno Volkmann opened to 40,000 from under the gun and Matthew Hunt defended out of the big blind.

Hunt checked on the flop of and Volkmann continued for 20,000. Hunt called. Hunt check-called again on the turn when Volkmann bet 50,000.

Hunt checked a third time on the river and the Brazilian took about a minute before putting out an overbet of 460,000. Hunt took some time and called. Volkmann showed just an underpair with and Hunt tabled to win the big pot.

Death By Quads for Gong

In Level 23 (20,000/40,000/40,000) on Day 4, Philipe Pizzari opened to 80,000 from under the gun before Jiachen Gong jammed for around 400,000 from the big blind. Pizzari called.

Jiachen Gong:
Philipe Pizzari:

“You like ace-nine,” said Gong as the cards were tabled.

Gong was in great shape for a double up but was immediately drawing thin after Pizzari made trips on the flop.

The turn gave Pizzari quads and the checkmark for the pot.

“I see why you like it,” commented Gong as the dealer finished the board off with the .

The Birth of Tragedy: Nitsche Bluffs Into Full House

Also on Day 4, albeit in Level 24 (25,000/50,000/50,000), Thomas Eychenne was in the big blind in a heads-up pot against Dominik Nitsche and got to the river on a board of .

The full action is unclear, but somehow all of Nitsche’s chips ended up in the middle on the river as he moved all in with Eychenne covered. Eychenne quickly called with the effective stack of 1,815,000.

Eychenne showed for a full house before Nitsche sheepishly turned over for an epic nine-high bluff. The German was left with crumbs as the Frenchman shot to the top of the counts.

Click here to see who cashed the 2023 PSPC!

Executive Editor U.S.

Executive Editor US, PokerNews Podcast co-host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.

In case you didn’t know, PokerStars is back in the United States. It actually has been for quite some time in New Jersey as well as in Michigan and Pennsylvania, though each was a segregated market. At the start of the New Year, PokerStars hit the ground running by becoming the first online operator to merge their NJ and MI player pools, instantly making it the largest online poker network in the US.

One man responsible for making that happen was Managing Director of North America for PokerStars Severin Rasset, who helped usher in a similar liquidity merge in Europe.

“We had similar things happening in Portugal, which was operating as a closed liquidity for a while,” he explained. “Portugal has about 14 million inhabitants. So, very similar to the size of New Jersey or Pennsylvania. Then Portugal joined with Spain, which was a big, dynamic change to the market.”

He added: “I’ve been through quite a lot of these changes in the regulatory and so just using this experience while getting the most out of the team in the US and plugging my experience in with their expertise and their own experiences, I think we’re gonna have a really good mix.”

Rasset recently spoke to PokerNews at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) in the Bahamas about recent developments concerning PokerStars US including the reveal that they’re offering $1 million in guarantees each week, updates on Pennsylvania and Nevada, and the potential return of live events in America.

Exclusive: PokerStars Managing Director Severin Rasset on “Way More Generous” Rewards for Players

On the Merging on MI & NJ Markets

On January 1, PokerStars flipped the figurative switch to merge the New Jersey and Michigan player pools. There wasn’t a major celebration straight away, but it was a momentous day for online poker.

“Very exciting days. When you work for months on liquidity – the technical team, the commercial teams – to arrive there seeing it going live and immediately making an impact,” Rasset explained. “This is something that we’ve been looking forward to. Having more liquidity means that we can do much more, we have the right product, we have the right software, but having the ability to get more depth and breadth, more games, it’s something that is really making a big difference.”

He continued: “Having this ability to suddenly merge liquidity between New Jersey and Michigan is a game changer for us and hopefully just the first step or so, like offering a much bigger liquidity for all American players.”

With an expanded player pool, Rasset and company know it is more important than ever to keep their foot on the gas by appealing to players, be it through either promotions, new games, or tournament series.

“What is important is that you continue to offer something that you know is really strong and can be differentiated from the rest of what is offered. We are also launching Zoom, a different type of cash game that requires liquidity. So, we’re doing it in a temporary fashion to see if players like it, and we’re gonna also do it during peak hours to make sure that we can actually run them. We’re gonna learn from that to see, again, what is the reaction from players. We adjust to make it appealing for them.”

Rasset was also excited to reveal that February brings a very exciting development – that PokerStars US will be guaranteeing $1 million in weekly prize pools for NJ & MI, while Pennsylvania will offer $500,000!

“Also, $1 million guaranteed on a weekly basis is even more important to me than a series because the series is creating like a peak of activity, but the weekly schedule is what says to players they can come back any day, you can come back any weekend, whenever you feel like playing there will be something exciting waiting for you. And that’s really what makes a difference in terms of keeping players engaged.”

SCOOP Upcoming

While the specifics are yet to be announced, Rasset did confirm that PokerStars US will offer a SCOOP series, which is slated to be even bigger and better than the recently-completed PSPC Online.

“A couple of teasers that I think we’re going to try even bigger than what we did for the PSPC is SCOOP,” said Rasset. “It’s something that is really deeply ingrained into the history of PokerStars and is something that we have been very proud of really creating this championship. I think winning an event in the scope of the SCOOP means something for the players, there is a lot of pride. We want to make sure that we create the best offering, so I think we’re going to try to surprise them with bigger guarantees than we did for the PSPC Online.”

Detroit Red Wings, PokerStars Form Online Poker Partnership in Michigan

Will Pennsylvania Also Merge?

As of 2021, Michigan had a population of 10 million, while New Jersey had 9.2 million. That means if Pennsylvania were ever to join the network with its 13 million population, the player pool would grow exponentially. However, that’s not an easy process as Pennsylvania would first have to navigate political hoops to join the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA).

“If it was up to me, we’d do it tomorrow,” said Rasset. “There are a few steps that are important. We are working with the regulators to explain to them why we think it’s a benefit, and we feel now we have much more ammunition to explain to them given what’s happening with New Jersey and Michigan merging. But there’s also a political aspect.

He continued: “We need the Governor of Pennsylvania to sign the MSIGA, and that’s part is outside of our control. The best that we can do is explain the rationale that we think it’s having a positive impact for the player experience, and then hope for the best. But we know that when Pennsylvania joins we will be aiming to be the first one to release and bring them into the merged player pools.”

Learn more about PokerStars in PA here!

What About Nevada?

Nevada is the most mature online poker market in the US, though right now WSOP.com is the only operator. PokerStars was prevented from entering the market when it launched as they were deemed a “bad actor” for continuing to offer its services to US players after the UIGEA in 2006. According to legislation, bad actors were barred for 10 years. Well, that period is almost up, so has PokerStars thought about Nevada?

“Yeah, absolutely,” said Rasset. “That’s something that we’re always looking at on a regular basis. It’s also important to notice that our sister brand, Fan Duel, also got licensed over there. So, this is something that we’re working with them to see what would be the right requirements for us to be able to be there. It’s something that we evaluate on an ongoing basis. There’s no immediate plan to come there, but we are looking into it.”

Return of Live Events

Prior to Black Friday, PokerStars had launched their own tour in the United States called the North American Poker Tour (NAPT). It proved to be quite successful in its short existence. Given that PokerStars has return to the US, at least in a trio of states, have they thought about returning to the live space on a more permanent basis?

“We’re seeing the PSPC at the moment and the excitement that it creates for players. They truly enjoy this experience, and I think that’s something that is really complimentary to what we offer online, but it’s a completely different poker experience when you play live versus playing online … but the short answer is yes, we are also going to be back live in the US, and I think that’s something that will also help overall to show that we have this passion for poker, we have an appreciation for the players, and that we know how to run things to make a difference.”

While Rasset couldn’t share specifics regarding any upcoming live efforts, he did indicate that there is likely to be movement on that front later in 2023.

Learn more about PokerStars in MI here!

The Future of Poker in US

The expansion of online poker in the US has come at a snail’s pace, but given what’s happened both in that space and with live poker as of late, Rasset it bullish on the future.

“Coming from Europe with having brand operations experience for a long time over there. There is an excitement about poker overall, both live events and online,” he explained. “There is a character about the game that is really quite unique in the market, and the players have this passion that you feel is here to stay. So, I took the job here because I really believe that there is a strong future for poker overall in the US and because I think with PokerStars we have the best brand to actually deliver the best product. With states opening one by one, I think that we have like 5-10 years ahead of us where the seeds will just continue to grow on a regular basis”

He added: “There are [legislative] drafts in Indiana; New York is showing some movement. You have states that seem to be happening in the next three to five years, and the goal is to put us in the best position so that when there is a new state opening or joining the liquidity we can actually make sure that we’re ready. We can immediately add players to the overall pool. The vision is to create a large merged player pool in the US where we can offer more and more exciting tournaments with every year being better than the one before.”

Learn more about PokerStars in NJ here!

$1 Million a Week on PokerStars MI/NJ

As Rasset mentioned, one of the most exciting announcements is that PokerStars is offering $1 million in guaranteed prize pools on a weekly basis to players in Michigan and New Jersey. This will be offered across a packed schedule of daily and nightly tournaments.

With an attractive variety of daily tournament buy-ins starting at $5 and ranging up to $250, as well as reoccurring nightly tournaments ranging from $25-$50 buy-in, the new guaranteed prize pool gives the PokerStars community even more rewards and games every day. Since shared liquidity was announced on January 1, players have been enjoying PokerStars US’ largest guarantees to date. With more players, more tournaments and bigger prizes, the excitement keeps growing.

Similarly, players in Pennsylvania will play for a $500,000 guaranteed prize pool with the same tournament structure. Reoccurring nightly tournaments include:

Shared Liquidity Schedule for Nightly Stars

PA Schedule for Nightly Stars

Weekly PokerStars US Tournaments

Executive Editor U.S.

Executive Editor US, PokerNews Podcast co-host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.

New from bet365, we’re taking a look at Prize Blizzard, which is their latest promotion and your chance to win up to £1,000 or 200 Free Spins!

Prize Blizzard is a new promotion from bet365 and will allow a few lucky slots players to win special prizes in the promotional period, by staking on specific slots titles. The promotion will run for two weeks up to the 5th February, with a prize draw occurring each week:

Week 1: 00:00 GMT on 23rd January until 23:59 GMT on 29th January 2023.
Week 2: 00:00 GMT on 30th January until 23:59 GMT on 5th February 2023.

Simply get a ticket for the prize draw for every £10 you stake on eligible slot games, and you could be in with the chance of scoring one of the top prizes! What’s more, if you stake £10 on featured ‘double ticket’ games, you’ll get TWO prize draw tickets!

How does Prize Blizzard work?

Let’s dive deeper into the Prize Blizzard promotion and explain how it works.

If you want to take to part, just follow these steps:

1. Head to the bet365 Games website and click ‘Offers’
2. Click ‘Prize Blizzard’ and select opt in.
3. If you haven’t already, you’ll need to log in or sign up for bet365.
4. Once you’ve opted in, every £10 you stake on eligible slots will earn you one prize draw ticket. £10 staked on featured double ticket games will earn two tickets. See below for details of eligible slot titles for each week of the promotion.
5. Cash prizes will be credited within 48 hours of each promotional period ending.
6. Free Spins will be credited within 48 hours of the prize draws taking place. Once credited, you will have 7 days to accept your Free Spins, which you can do via a pop-up message or through the ‘My Offers’ section on the bet365 website.

What slot titles are included in the Prize Blizzard promotion?

Take a look at the table below for details on the specific online slots that will qualify you for a prize draw for every £10 staked in each promotional period:

What about the double ticket slots?

Here are the featured double ticket slot games which will qualify you for TWO prize draw tickets for every £10 staked in each promotional period:

Want to know more about the qualifying slot games from bet365? We’ve got you covered – take a look at the section below for more details on some of the slots you can play in this promotion.

Like with any slot game, take time to read the game rules and terms & conditions before you stake any money.

5 Lions Megaways

Megaways are one of the best-known slots and their mechanic features in many of the top slot titles available. 5 Lions Megaways has a low staking requirement at just 10p per spin and has over 117,000 paylines! There are additional features contained in the slot such as the Tumble Feature which removes each symbol involved in a win, from the reels.

There’s also a Wild Multiplier, which applies a random multiplier to all wins involving a Wild symbol, if this symbol forms part of a winning combination.

Big Bass Bonanza

With the gameplay all themed around fishing, you’ll want to catch a big win on Big Bass Bonanza! This is a traditional-style slot title, with a 5×3 layout and 10 paylines. You can play from 10p a spin (up to a maximum of £24) and the game features some nice bonuses like Free Spins which awards free spins when at least three Scatter symbols appear. You also have the advantage of Money Symbols which have a random cash value and can appear during any spin.

Buffalo King Megaways

Buffalo King Megaways has a whopping 200,000 paylines and you can start spinning for just 20p per spin. As with all Megaways slots, matching adjacent symbols from left to right will give a win. Additional features like the Tumble Feature are also available, which removes winning symbols from the reels after they have paid out. There’s also a Free Spins Bonus which can appear at any time, anywhere on the reels. Four or more Bonus symbols appearing will trigger the Free Spins Bonus and award a total bet prize.

Sugar Rush

As the name suggests, Sugar Rush is a slot game themed around sweets and candy. You spin the reels on a 7 x 7 grid, with at least five of the same symbols needing to appear and connect to trigger a win.
Like other slots mentioned here, Sugar Rush also features the Tumble Feature as well as Multipliers and Free Spins.

Big Bass Splash

Big Bass Splash mixes a Wild West theme with graphics and gameplay linked to fishing. It has a low minimum bet of 10p (up to a maximum of £25) with 10 paylines across 3 rows of 5 reels. When playing the slot, you’ll also see different bonus symbols like the Fisherman Wild and Scatter symbols. These trigger different features such as the Scatter Nudge, where you have the chance to get a free respin, as well as Free Spins and Free Spin Modifiers.

What about Free Spins awarded in the Prize Blizzard promotion?

As well as the £1,000 cash prize on offer, you’ll also have the chance to win 200 Free Spins to use on bet365 slot games.

If you’re lucky enough to win Free Spins, you can use these on the following eligible slots:

• If you win Free Spins in Week 1, you can use these on Big Bass Bonanza, Bigger Bass Bonanza, Mustang Gold, Sugar Rush and The Dog House.
• If you win Free Spins in Week 2, you can use these on Big Bass Splash, Book of Golden Sands, Buffalo King Megaways, Fruit Party 2 and Sweet Bonanza.

Senior Casino & Gaming Manager

The 2023 PokerStars Players No-Limit Hold’em Championship has reached its conclusion on Day 4 in The Bahamas with just six players poised to return for the fifth and final day of the tournament. Each player has guaranteed themselves a seven-figure payday and they will all be newly crowned millionaires by the end of the day tomorrow.

Leading the way is Nacho Barbero who is the most experienced player of the six still remaining. Barbero can often be found at high-stakes cash games these days but he also has some tournament results on his poker resume as well. The Argentinian has four tournament wins under his belt, including two LAPT titles and an EPT London victory, all coming back in 2010. Barbero has already locked up the biggest score of his career along with the other five players that will be joining him.

Barbero has distanced himself from the rest of the field, with the next three players all hovering around similar stacks. Aliaksandr Shylko will return in second place with 12,200,000 followed by Philipe Pizzari with 11,975,000 and Pedro Marques with 10,475,000. Max Menzel finished Day 4 with 5,025,000, good enough for 20 big blinds while Niclas Thumm will be on the short stack with 1,800,000.

The two short stacks in Menzel and Thumm are the only two Platinum Pass winners still in the field on a freeroll. What a freeroll it has been, turning their free tournament entry into at least $1,000,000. They will be looking to join Roman Colillas, who won the first version of the PSPC in 2019 on the heels of a Platinum Pass as well.

Day 5 Seating Assignments & Chip Counts

Action from the Tables on Day 4

There were 52 players who returned to their seats for Day 4, and there was no shortage of action in the opening 90 minutes of the day. The field went from 52 players to 32 players in rapid time, and some of those eliminations included Chance Kornuth, Sean Winter, Jonathan Jaffe, Rayan Chamas, and Talal Shakerchi. The field mellowed out for a brief moment as the players began to realize how much money was up for grabs.

One of the largest pots of the day in terms of big blinds came in the opening levels when the start-of-day chip leader was met with a cold deck. Petar Kalev was lined up to stack up 150 big blinds and hold over 10% of the chips in play with pocket kings against the ace-king of Marques. However, an ace on the flop and an ace on the river gave Marques a huge double-up en route to bagging chips heading to Day 5.

When the players returned from break, the action picked up again as the final three tables were assembled with 24 players remaining. Chris Moorman, Matthew Hunt, and Daniel Dvoress were eliminated in consecutive order on the feature table while Blake Bohn bowed out on one of the outer tables.

Everyone had their sights set on Fedor Holz possibly making another deep run in one of the biggest tournaments in the world. Unfortunately for the semi-retired German poker pro, Holz got his last 10 big blinds in the middle with an inferior pair and was sent home in 21st place. Another key focus for those tuning into this event was current EPT dealer Jerome Moreau who was making a deep run and ready to lock up his largest career score by a healthy margin. Moreau was cruising along quietly while the chaos took place around him, but it was finally his time to bow out in 20th place.

The last woman standing was Nadya Magnus and fitting it was as she is currently the reigning GPI female player of the year. Magnus secured the second six-figure score of her career with an 18th-place finish and has put herself in a great position early in 2023 to possibly win back-to-back titles.

Once the field was down to just two tables, Tom Parsons, who was one of the remaining Platinum Pass winners, was ousted in 16th place. Three big names still had their sights set on the championship trophy but they were also eliminated in quick succession. Dylan Destefano, Jeremy Ausmus, and PokerStars ambassador Sam Grafton all bowed out in a matter of a few minutes, leaving just 11 players remaining.

After James Mendoza and Marcello Del Grosso busted their short stacks, the unofficial final table of nine players was assembled. It didn’t take long for lightning to strike on the final table as Barbero continued to bully his opponents with one of the big stacks. Barbero ripped all in on the button with suited connectors and was looked up by Andrei Boghean in the big blind with ace-king. Barbero flopped a pair and rivered two pairsto send Boghean home in ninth place.

Kalev, who entered the final table as the short stack and managed to ladder up many pay jumps already, was next on the chopping block. Kalev found himself in a good spot to double-up with the dominating hand against Shylko, but the big stack spiked a three-outer on the flop, and Kalev was unable to recover. On the last hand before the break, Thomas Eychenne and Pizzari both flopped top pair. When all of the chips went into the middle on the flop, Eychenne found himself dominated and at risk. There was no help for the Frenchman on the turn or river, and that drew the curtains on Day 4.

The final six players will be returning at 12:30 p.m. local time on Friday to play for the championship trophy and the $4,053,200 first-place prize that goes along with it. The lion’s share of the prize pool is still up for grabs with significant pay jumps on the horizon. Here is a look at what they will be playing for:

Final Table Results and Prizes

The last elimination on Day 4 occurred just prior to the players going on break, so they will be returning to a brand new level with blinds at 125,000/250,000 and a big blind ante of 250,000. The levels will continue to be 60 minutes in length until just three players remain, and then they will be cut down to 30 minutes.

The PokerNews live reporting team will be back on the tournament floor to bring you all of the updates from 12:30 p.m. local time on a 30-minute security delay to be in sync with the PokerStars live stream.

The $250,000 PCA Super High Roller has come to an end and Sam Greenwood is the champion after he defeated Jean-Noel Thorel in heads-up play to win $3,276,760.

Greenwood outlasted a field of 39 players to take home the top prize at the 2023 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. The big score adds to Greenwood’s lifetime earnings of more than $26,000,000, according to The Hendon Mob. Thorel won $2,317,100 for his second-place finish from the total prize pool of $9,498,060.

David Yan finished in third for $1,472,200 and Byron Kaverman won $1,092,300 for fourth place. Artur Martirosian and Justin Bonomo rounded out the six cashing finishers with $854,800 and $664,900, respectively.

2023 PCA Super High Roller Final Table Results

Winner’s Reaction

“Good! That’s an understatement. I’m feeling really tired but really happy,” Greenwood said about how the win made him feel in an interview with PokerNews.

Any $250,000 High Roller will be a tough field, but Greenwood found his way to the end with a limited amount of trouble.

“Honestly, I had a lot of trickier spots on my first bullet. On my second bullet, I was getting pretty good cards. I was winning all of my preflop all-ins. It was all pretty smooth. There were some ups and downs, but it wasn’t that tough.”

Greenwood is not done with the PCA just yet—he plans on jumping in the $100,000 High Roller tomorrow for a chance at another big score.

Final Table Action

The final eight players returned to Baha Mar Resort for the Day 3 finale, and Chris Brewer was the first to go in eighth place when his ace-four couldn’t catch up to Martirosian’s pocket jacks. Brewer cashed once during the series—a 28th-place finish in the PCA Main Event for $38,900.

Brewer’s elimination set up the tournament for a prolonged money bubble that lasted two hours and featured cautious play with no clear short stack. The bubble finally burst when Orpen Kisacikoglu got his short stack in with two callers, only to see his top pair of aces fall to Thorel’s rivered straight. Kisacikoglu cashed twice at the PCA, both in $50,000 high rollers and both in second place.

The busted bubble opened up play a bit, and the shorter stacks made their moves. The next to go was Bonomo in sixth place when his queen-jack couldn’t catch up to Greenwood’s pocket fives. This was Bonomo’s third cash of the series, which included a first-place finish in the 8-handed $25,000 High Roller event for $574,530.

Soon after Bonomo’s exit, Martirosian got it in with a suited ace-six, but Greenwood was waiting with pocket kings to send him to the rail. Martirosian cashed twice at the PCA, including a third-place finish in the Main Event for $677,400.

The final four players settled in, and both Yan and Kaverman found doubles to flatten out the chip counts. However, Kaverman eventually fell in fourth place when he shoved with pocket tens and ran into Thorel’s pocket jacks. The fourth-place finish was Kaverman’s first cash of the series.

Next to go was Yan in third place, just minutes later. Yan fell very short and got it in with king-eight, but Thorel was there once again to bust him with ace-ten. Yan won the 6-handed $50,000 High Roller earlier in the PCA for $485,690.

Thorel and Greenwood were left to battle it out in heads-up play, and Thorel held the early advantage. However, Greenwood quickly fought back to take the lead after calling three streets of bets from Thorel, who turned over a lesser pair. The big moment came when Thorel got it in with queen-eight and Greenwood held on with pocket deuces to secure his victory.

Be sure to keep it with the PokerNews team for the final day of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure at Baha Mar Resort in The Bahamas. The last day will feature finales for the $25,000 and $100,000 High Rollers, as well as the final table of the PokerStars Players Championship.

Editor & Live Reporter

Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game. Calum’s proudest poker achievement is winning the only tournament he has ever played in Las Vegas, the prestigious $60 Flamingo evening event.

The first session of the newest Galfond Challenge likely wasn’t too surprising to most who have followed the careers of Phil Galfond and Dan “Jungleman” Cates.

Thursday’s four-hour pot-limit Omaha (PLO) battle on WSOP.com Thursday concluded with Galfond securing a $1,000 win, which is actually $10,000. The two online poker pros intended to play $100/$200 stakes but were limited to $10/$20 due to some deposit issues with the poker site. They’re still technically playing the high-stakes version and the losing player after 7,500 hands are complete will owe the winner 10 times the deficit.

Read the PokerNews Review of WSOP.com Here!

Galfond Challenge Back in Action

Galfond, who streamed the challenge on his YouTube channel, admitted during the early parts that he wasn’t playing his best and that he was a bit tired. However, he didn’t use that as an excuse for a small early deficit he faced as he mentioned his opponent was also tired.

One hand that helped propel Cates into a modest lead involved Galfond raising from the button on the river with the second nuts (a straight), but then having to fold to a pot-sized three-bet. The Run it Once poker site founder was convinced the move likely meant he was up against the nut straight, but he would then find out “Jungleman” was only representing the nuts, but in actuality had just top pair.

There were 21 pots that cracked $1,000 ($10,000, technically). Each player bought in for $2,000 ($20,000) to start on both tables they played, and were required to add on any time they dropped below the initial buy-in.

Galfond’s most costly hand of the day came with on a board of when he raised pot on the river to around $1,700 only to be snap-called by , as “Jungleman” had trips and his pocket queens served as blockers to a straight.

But the Run it Once poker coach won his fair share of monster hands, including one $4,100 pot that was all in on the turn with Galfond holding top set against a flush and double-gutter. The river bricked and the online poker pro formerly known as “OMGClayAiken” took down a crucial pot.

Galfond, who admitted on Twitter his “rust showed” and that even though Cates took the loss, he felt like he was outplayed.

His wins have come against online poker players “VeniVidi1993,” “ActionFreak,” Chip Leader Coaching founder Chance Kornuth, and shortened matches against Bill Perkins and Brandon Adams.

Complete Galfond Challenge History Guide

The 2023 PokerStars Players No-Limit Hold’em Championship (PSPC) attracted 1,014 players, a mix of poker pros and amateurs, many of who got in after winning a Platinum Pass. Also sprinkled throughout the field were a number of celebrities including UFC announcer Bruce Buffer, Survivor all-star “Boston” Rob Mariano, and David Costabile, who currently plays Mike “Wags” Wagner on Showtime’s hit show Billions and also portrayed Gale Boetticher on Breaking Bad.

So how did one of the busiest actors in Hollywood find his way to the PSPC?

“Let me tell you a story – early, early days. In the pandemic, you remember that? We were all inside and there was a celebrity charity tournament that was set up through PokerStars,” he told PokerNews. “And I got invited to that and through Brian Koppelman, who was my boss at Billions, and Hank Azaria was running it I won the tournament.”

The tournament he was referring to was the Stars CALL for Action powered by PokerStars Charity Tournament in May 2020. Costabile defeated a field filled with A-list celebrities – including Breaking Bad co-stars Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul – to win $100,000 to donate to World Central Kitchen, a charity that supplies food to those who most need it.

“They’re working really hard in Ukraine to give people food and it’s an amazing organization,” Costabile explained. “I was so happy to be able to give them $100,000, I mean, that was awesome. Also, at that particular time, there was so much need going around. I really believe strongly in their cause.”

Other celebs to participate were Amy Schumer, Michael Cera, Jon Hamm, Neymar Jr., Don Cheadle, Jeff Garlin, David Schwimmer, Edward Norton, Macaulay Culkin, Lisa Kudrow, Teri Hatcher, Kevin Pollak, David Arquette, Liam Payne, Ricky Williams, Jack Black, and Jason Alexander, among many more.

David Costabile Wins Stars CALL For Action powered by PokerStars – Charity Tournament

PokerStars Comes Calling

More than two years after his online win, Costabile was approached by PokerStars about the idea of coming down to the Bahamas and participating in the PSPC via a Platinum Pass.

“They called and said, ‘You can win poker events, why can’t you come and win this poker tournament?’ And then I said, ‘Yeah, can I come and win this poker tournament?’ Then interestingly enough, that didn’t happen this time. But I’m one for two. right? So, that’s Hall of Fame. What’s the best batting average in the Hall of Fame? I might just call it a day. I mean, that might be my last tournament. You know, I won the first one, lost the second.”

He continued: I’ve played in smaller tournaments. I’ve certainly played in online tournaments before back in the Middle Ages. It was not on this particular scale and not so heavy with the professional poker players, the people who can spend their whole time playing poker. That’s where it gets trickier for someone who just admires poker. I like to watch poker, I play poker, but I am not a professional. I’m a professional actor. You just got to know where you fit, how your puzzle piece fits, and then apply it.”

As for the PSPC, Costabile was in the thick of things for most of Day 1. When asked if there were any big hands or spots, he didn’t hesitate.

“Here’s some advice for you as a poker player that I learned – when you’re short stacked with about 20 big blinds and you’re under the gun and you’re playing with people who are leagues ahead of you and you get queens, instead of trusting your instinct that says to you, ‘I should probably go all in at this point,’ you think to yourself, ‘Maybe I’ll get tricky.’ That feeling of I should get tricky. That’s not a good feeling. That’s not the voice to listen to.”

Costabile, who lost that hand with pocket queens, wound up falling towards the end of Day 1 in Level 8 (600/1,200/1,200) while playing at the feature table. He got his last 8,200 in holding in the small blind and was up against Antoine Saout‘s in early position and Daniel Neilson holding in the hijack.

The two active players checked down the board of and Saout made a club flush to scoop. Costabile said farewell to his table mates before exiting the stage.

“There’s nothing like being on television and having to play poker with people who are incredibly accomplished, who then recognize that you are the mark at the table and really, really want to get you,” Costabile said. “It was fun. When they weren’t trying to attack me, they were all very kind.”

What Character Would Make the Best Poker Player?

Costabile has played some classic characters over the years – including Daniel Hardman in Suits and managing Editor Thomas Klebanow on The Wire – so which one does he would make the best poker player in real life?

“I think Wags would probably be a great high-stakes cash player.”

“Well, I do think Gale would probably, he was a great mathematician, so he would probably be a great tournament player,” said Costabile. “I think Wags would probably be a great high-stakes cash player.”

As for Costabile himself, he seems to be a little more like Wags than Gale, meaning he’s far from quiet and reserved, rather a bit more boisterous and engaging.

“I’ve got to go back to New York and shoot a scene on Friday and so maybe I was a little more like Wags in that tournament,” he admitted. “We’re in the middle of shooting our seventh season of Billions and we’ll be finished around the end of May, and then I don’t know, I’ve got other things that I’ve just shot last year.”

Cameo in NBC’s The Office

Another role that Costabile played was as “The Banker” in an episode of The Office, largely regarded as one of the best comedies of all time. PokerNews couldn’t resist asking the story behind his appearance on the legendary mockumentary sitcom.

“Rainn [Wilson] and I are very good friends and we had been friends since college. We all had auditioned for The Office when it first came out and Rainn got it. It was awesome for him,” Costabile explained. “I did not audition for Dwight, I auditioned for Jim. Not going to get that.”

“There’ll be more poker. I’m wounded but I’m not out.”

He continued: “There was a group of us that were out working in Los Angeles at the time and we all auditioned … In the beginning, it was a really slow grind and NBC really kept it surviving and then it grew into something huge, which was awesome for them. I really had Rainn lobbying for me to be on the show. I really wanted to be on the show before it ended, so I got in, which was good.”

Costabile’s PSPC experience may not have ended in quite the same fashion as his charity tournament experience nearly three years earlier, and while he joked that walking away at this point would leave him with a good record, there’s a solid chance the poker world will see more of him.

“Oh, yeah, there’s gonna be poker for sure,” he said with a smile. “I’ll do some more studying. I’ll really reconsider queens again, but there’ll be more poker. I’m wounded but I’m not out.”

Executive Editor U.S.

Executive Editor US, PokerNews Podcast co-host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.

Julian Track, who won the 2013 European Poker Tour (EPT) Prague for €725,700, unexpectedly passed away after a traffic accident on January 17 at the age of 39 according to Poker Firma.

Born November 11, 1983, Track was a prolific online player under the moniker “jutrack” where he had sustained success over the past decade playing primarily pot-limit Omaha (PLO).

In September 2013, Track started to play online satellites for live events and won a package to the EPT Prague.

Track amassed $1,038,891 in tournament earnings in the live realm according to the Hendon Mob. Almost all of that — $994,463 to be exact – came when he topped a 1,007-entry field to win the aforementioned EPT Prague in 2013. It was there he defeated a stacked final table that included Georgios Sotiropoulos (2nd – $959,245), Stephen Chidwick (3rd – $517,992), Ole Schemion (5th – $299,147), Max Silver (6th – $219,530), and Jorma Nuutinen (8th – $115,931).

Despite his success in Prague, Track couldn’t imagine switching to live poker saying at the time: “There are too many really good players at the tables, and the other thing is that I don’t like when players think about a decision for five or six minutes.”

That year Track also won his way to the Aussie Millions in February 2013 where he wound up cashing in two tournaments.

“Maybe the Aussie Millions will be my last live event”, he said at the time. In fact, Track would cash just two more live tournaments – fourth in the 2014 EPT Barcelona €1,100 NL Omaha Hi/Lo Championship for $8,282 and eighth in the 2015 EPT Malta €1,100 IPT Main Event for $22,233.

Julian Track’s Live Poker Cashes

According to his obituary, Track is survived by his Mum and dad, Alexander, Laura Schwedes, best friends Henri and Luki, and other family and friends.

PokerNews offers its condolences to Track’s family and will always remember the EPT Prague champ.

Julian Track Wins PokerStars.com EPT Prague Main Event for €725,700

Executive Editor U.S.

Executive Editor US, PokerNews Podcast co-host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.