After ten levels of play on Day 1 of Event 25: $50,000 8-Handed in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, it was Jonathan Jaffe who bagged the chip lead at the luxurious Baha Mar Resort in The Bahamas.
The event saw six players join the field on Day 1 with two needing a second chance early on. Mikita Badziakouski and Seth Davies couldn’t find luck but jumped back into the action to bag at the end of the night.
Jaffe comes in with more than six million dollars in earnings and will look to add to that number with a title here. Jaffe finished second place in the 2018 PCA $25,000 High Roller for $569,760 but will have his hopes set on his first PCA trophy.
Full Chip Counts after Day 1
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonathan Jaffe | United States | 353,000 | 88 |
| 2 | Daniel Dvoress | Canada | 317,000 | 79 |
| 3 | Orpen Kisacikoglu | Turkey | 248,000 | 62 |
| 4 | Seth Davies | United States | 167,000 | 42 |
| 5 | Mikita Badziakouski | Belarus | 70,000 | 17 |
| 6 | Stephen Chidwick | United Kingdom | 45,000 | 11 |
Day 1 Action
After the delayed start to the event, there was no shortage of action. Jaffe and Orpen Kisacikoglu clashed early when Kisacikoglu turned a set of kings and won a sizable pot in the first level.
Soon after Jaffe would bounce back when he turned the nut straight against the ace-queen of Badziakouski to send him to the rebuy window. A few hands later Kisacikoglu would find a full double up when he made a flush against the two pair of Davies to leave him on a short stack.
Later in the evening Stephen Chidwick would find a premium with ace-king suited and get it all in against Jaffe who held pocket jacks. The board ran out with Jaffe making a boat to leave Chidwick short. He would manage to climb back a bit to finally bag for the night in hopes of better luck tomorrow.
Play resumes at 2 p.m. ET on January 27th at Level 11, with blinds at 2,000-4,000 and a 4,000 chip big blind ante. The late registration and re-entry period remains open until the end of Level 12.
As always, the PokerNews team will have all of the action covered as the field plays down to crowning the latest PCA champion.
, Seth Davies checked from the small blind and Jonathan Jaffe checked back in the big blind. 
river Davies checked again and Jaffe sized to 25,000. Davies took a moment to weigh his options, but eventually made the fold and Jaffe took down the pot.
, it was the full house for Jaffe that secured the huge double up and leave Chidwick on a short stack.
turn action checked around again to Badziakouski who sized to 21,000. Jaffe got out of the way and Dvoress called. The 
completed the board and Dvoress checked a third time. Badziakouski took some time before sliding forward 128,000, leaving a single 500 chip behind. 
and the trip queens for Dvoress scored the pot to send Davies to the exit.
, Jonathan Jaffe checked from big blind to Mikita Badziakouski on the button, who bet 8,000. Jaffe took a moment before making the call and the 
hit the river. 
for a rivered straight. Badziakouski tabled 
then made his way to the exit.
, Jonathan Jaffe checked from the small blind to Stephen Chidwick in the big blind, who bet 4,000. Jaffe made the call and the 
hit the turn. 
for a flush and Jaffe mucked his hand.
was revealed while Kisacikoglu collected the sizable pot.
