The final $25,000 High Roller at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure has come to an end and Ognyan Dimov is the champion after he defeated Ren Lin in heads-up play. Dimov outlasted a returning field of 17 on Day 3 to take home the top prize of $990,655.
The field of 187 players generated a prize pool of $4,444,055 and the top 27 players all took home at least $43,800. Lin won $619,200 for second, while Anthony Hu claimed $442,300 for third place. Kayhan Mokri and Brock Wilson rounded out the top five with $340,200 and $264,700, respectively.
$25,000 PCA High Roller Final Table Results
| Rank | Name | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ognyan Dimov | Bulgaria | $990,655 |
| 2 | Ren Lin | United States | $619,200 |
| 3 | Anthony Hu | United States | $442,300 |
| 4 | Kayhan Mokri | Norway | $340,200 |
| 5 | Brock Wilson | United States | $261,700 |
| 6 | Mustapha Kanit | Italy | $201,300 |
| 7 | Dylan Smith | United States | $167,700 |
| 8 | Elio Fox | United States | $139,700 |
| 9 | Yuri Dzivielevski | Brazil | $116,400 |
The win is the largest in Dimov’s career and a long time coming since his 2015 victory in the EPT Main Event at Deauville in northwestern France.
“I’ve been waiting for many years for such a big score like this,” Dimov said in his post-win interview with PokerNews. “I’m very happy.”
Dimov enjoyed his time in The Bahamas—where he cashed four times and enjoyed a second place finish in the $10,000 Bounty Freezeout. The series has been an opportunity for poker regulars to bring their families and Dimov was no exception.
“I’m with my family here (wife Simoneta and son Boyan) and they can enjoy the place. I feel like I don’t have much time to do it, but still, it was worth it.”
Day 3 Action
The third and final day of the $25,000 PCA High Roller kicked off with 17 players and Ben Heath was the first to go when his nines ran into Dylan Smith’s queens. Heath’s elimination sent the tournament to the final two tables and Mario Navarro, Ryan Riess, Santiago Plante, Ethan “Rampage” Yau, Rodger Johnson, Joao Vieira, and Carlos Chadha were all eliminated before the final table. Yau is picking up where he left off after a breakout 2022 that finished up with a win in the $25,000 High Roller at the WPT World Championship in Las Vegas.
The final nine kicked off final table action three hours into Day 3 and Yuri Dzivielevski was the first one out in ninth when his king-ten lost to Elio Fox’s ace-jack. Dimov eliminated Fox in eighth shortly thereafter and Smith fell in seventh when Dimov’s tens caught up to his pocket kings.
The final six played for another hour and Mustapha Kanit had gone on a run in the early stages of the final table, but he fell back to the pack and was knocked out in sixth when Lin beat his pocket eights with a flopped pair of aces. Moments later, Brock Wilson bowed out in fifth place when he got it in with pocket fours but ran into Lin’s pocket aces.
Kayhan Mokri had an up and down day, but always seemed to find himself back at the chip average. However, his night ended in fourth place when his ace-queen couldn’t beat Dimov’s pocket tens.
Dimov’s turning point came during three-handed play when he called with mid-pair after Hu fired a big bluff on the river with a missed flush draw. The hand gave Dimov the chip lead and he soon sent Hu to the rail in third with pocket eights.
Lin entered heads-up play with a big disadvantage against Dimov’s towering chip stack and he wasn’t able to make up much ground. The big moment came when Lin got it all in on the flop with an open-ended straight draw, but Dimov dodged the outs to win with two pair.
That wraps up coverage of the $25,000 PCA High Roller from Baha Mar Resort in The Bahamas. Be sure to keep it with the PokerNews team for live updates from your favorite tournaments throughout the world in 2023.
Live Reporting Executive
Las Vegas-based PokerNews Live Reporting Executive, originally from Chicago, IL