Eugene Katchalov Wins 2011 PCA $100,000 Super High Roller!
Congratulations to Eugene Katchalov for taking down the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $100,000 Super High Roller event and winning $1.5 million!
When this event began three days ago, Katchalov was just one of many in the impressive field of 38 players who ponied up the enormous $100,000 buy-in. At the start of the final table today, he sat third in chips behind best friend Nick Schulman and Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu. From there, Katchalov went on to bust Sandor Demjan on the bubble with jacks versus tens to secure everyone left at least $200,000. He also busted third-place finisher Bryn Kenney with pocket queens to pocket eights.
With Schulman going out in fourth place and Kenney falling in third, the stage was set for a battle between Negreanu and Katchalov. When they began heads-up play, the two were virtually dead locked in chips and very deep compared to most tournaments. Shortly into their match, Katchalov scooped two big pots to take a commanding lead. First, he turned two pair against Negreanu to get to 6.9 million. Shortly thereafter, Katchalov boomed to 8.65 million after calling Negreanu's check raise on the turn before shoving the river. After those two pots, Negreanu fought as hard as he could in a time when many may just give up.
Negreanu even battled back to get close to an even three million, but could never seem to get over the hump he needed to in order to really get control of the match. It seemed as though every time Negreanu started coming back or had a nice double up, Katchalov would whack him right back down. On the final hand, Katchalov smacked a set on the turn beat Negreanu's pocket fives with his pocket fours.
A second-place finish and $1 million would be all Negreanu would have to settle for, but not after becoming the leader on the all-time tournament money list. By making it to the top two spots in this event, he surpassed Phil Ivey and now leads the way.
The first-ever $100,000 Super High Roller event held here at the 2011 PCA was a huge success. Despite lacking a few big names in poker, the event drew a whopping 38 players when many were only suspecting a field of 20-30. A prizepool worth $3,743,000 was up for grabs with $1.5 million going to the winner. That winner turned out to be Katchalov and he can now add this title to his trophy case and stout list of tournament results.
Final Table Results:
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eugene Katchalov | $1,500,000 |
| 2 | Daniel Negreanu | $1,000,000 |
| 3 | Bryn Kenney | $643,000 |
| 4 | Nick Schulman | $400,000 |
| 5 | Humberto Brenes | $200,000 |
Congratulations to all the winners and especially to Eugene Katchalov, your 2011 PCA $100,000 Super High Roller champion! Don't forget that we're covering four big events here on PokerNews at the 2011 PCA. Don't forget to follow all of the action, including our ongoing coverage of the Main Event from our amazing Live Reporting Team.