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
| Rank | Name | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sam Greenwood | Canada | $3,276,760 |
| 2 | Jean-Noel Thorel | France | $2,317,100 |
| 3 | David Yan | New Zealand | $1,472,200 |
| 4 | Byron Kaverman | United States | $1,092,300 |
| 5 | Artur Martirosian | Russia | $854,800 |
| 6 | Justin Bonomo | United States | $664,900 |
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.