The Week in Poker: Seiver, Jetten Among PCA Preliminary Champs
Scott Seiver starts his 2013 on the right foot by claiming a $2 million-plus score in the year's first "super high roller" tournament, while Peter Jetten became the first ever to win an Open Face Chinese poker tournament this week. Meanwhile, a first prize of $1,859,000 awaits the winner of the 2013 PCA Main Event.
The poker world's attention has been focused all week on the series of tournaments happening at the Atlantis Resort and Casino on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. That's where the 10th Anniversary PokerStars Caribbean Adventure is playing out, with this week's highlights including the $100,000 Super High Roller won by Scott Seiver, the first ever Open Face Chinese tournament won by Peter Jetten, and the start of the $10,000 Main Event.
Seiver Starts 2013 With $2 Million Score
The $100,000 Super High Roller event played out over three days earlier this week, with 47 players participating and 12 of those re-entering the tournament. That turnout created a whopping prize pool of $5,724,180 to be divided among the eight players making the Monday's final table, with Scott Seiver ultimately prevailing to claim the $2 million-plus first prize.
David "Doc" Sands entered the final day with the chip lead, and he'd continue to maintain the advantage as the first four players were eliminated from the final table.
Dan Shak was the first to fall after shoving his short stack all-in in a three-way hand following a 10s-9h-9c flop with Kd-Jd, then watching Greg Jensen reraise-shove and Seiver call as well.
Jensen held Kh-Qh and Seiver Ah-Ac, and when an ace fell on the turn to improve Seiver to a full house, both Jensen and Shak were drawing dead.
Jensen would hang on for a while to watch Vladimir Troyanovsky go out in seventh after running pocket tens in to the As-Ah of Nick Schulman. But then it was Jensen's turn to go after being knocked out by Schulman as well who this time used Kc-Kh to best Jensen's Ad-5h.
Philipp Gruissem would go out next in fifth place after making yet another deep high-roller run. The German saw his tourney end in a hand versus Seiver in which Gruissem's As-8c failed to hold up against his opponent's Ks-Qs when a queen appeared among the community cards.
It would take a while longer, but eventually Seiver would seize the lead from Sands. But Sands next knocked out Cary Katz in fourth, his 5d-5c surviving Katz's all-in push with As-Jh, then Schulman in third when Sands's pocket tens held against the latter's Ks-6s.
Sands thus began heads-up play with the lead again, sitting with a little over 8.6 million to the 6.15 million of Seiver. Sands would increase the advantage, then had his opponent all in and at risk before the flop with 9h-9d against Sands's 10c-10h. But a nine fell on the flop, and suddenly Seiver had not only survived but had assumed about a 6-to-1 chip lead.
It didn't take long before Sands was all in himself with Kh-4d against Seiver's Ac-7s, and when the board came Qd-8d-5d-9h-3h, Seiver had won.
2012 PCA $100,000 Super High Roller final table results:
1st: Scott Seiver (United States) -- $2,003,480
2nd: David "Doc" Sands (United States) -- $1,259,320
3rd: Nick Schulman (United States) -- $744,140
4th: Cary Katz (United States) -- $543,800
5th: Philipp Gruissem (Germany) -- $400,700
6th: Greg Jensen (United States) -- $286,200
7th: Vladimir Toryanovsky (Russia) -- $257,580
8th: Dan Shak (United States) -- $228,960
Jetten Claims First Open Face Chinese Title
The first ever Open Face Chinese Poker tournament also played out this week, a $2,150 buy-in event that saw 59 players take part with 19 of those re-entering the event. That meant a total prize pool of $149,380, with Canada's Peter Jetten eventually taking the top prize.
As expected, the event drew the participation of a number of the high-profile, high-stakes players who've been championing Open Face Chinese poker of late, including Jason Mercier, Daniel Negreanu, Shaun Deeb, and Phil Hellmuth.
With a somewhat complicated system of points and royalties, the game featured a unique structure that required some creativity from tourney organizers to format. The reviews by players afterwards were all positive, however, suggesting we may see more Open Face Chinese events in other venues going forward.
In the end, Jetten outlasted three Russian players -- Nikita Nikolaev, Maslak Konstantin, and Maxim Panyak -- to claim the $52,280 first prize and first-ever Open Face Chinese poker tourney title.
2012 PCA $2,150 Open Face Chinese results:
1st: Peter Jetten (Canada) -- $52,280
2nd: Nikita Nikolaev (Russia) -- $32,860
3rd: Maslak Konstantin (Russia) -- $19,420
4th: Maxim Panyak (Russia) -- $14,200
5th: Florens Feenstra (Netherlands) -- $10,460
6th: Melissa Burr (United States) -- $7,460
7th: David "Bakes" Baker (United States) -- $6,720
8th: David Bach (United States) -- $5,980
Main Event Draws 987 Entries, Final Table Sunday
Meanwhile attention has now turned toward the $10,000 buy-in PCA Main Event which saw 987 entries totaling a prize pool of $9,573,900. The top 144 finishers make the money in this one, with a cool $1,859,000 up top for the winner.
A total of 500 players survived the first two Day 1 flights, with Ashton Griffin carrying the chip lead into Day 2. Then only 166 would make it to Thursday's Day 3, with 18-time Olympic gold medal winner Michael Phelps among the many falling on Wednesday.
Nicholas Godoy began Day 3 as chip leader, with Michael Mizrachi, Joe Serock, and Eddy Sabat among those with big stacks as well.
While "The Grinder" would fail to make it through to today's Day 4, his brother Robert Mizrachi did along with Godoy, Serock, Sabat, and others. Just 59 players remained to start play on Friday, led by Patrick Kelly.
Prices quoted in copy are correct at time of publication but liable to change.
