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Cary Katz Wins 2018 PCA $100,000 High Roller

The 2018 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure is underway at the Atlantis Paradise Island. Poker players from around the world descend on the venue annually for the first major live poker event of the year. One of the first events is already in the books and it is a big one.

The $100,000 Super High Roller concluded on Monday and the final table was stacked with big names, none bigger than Poker’s All-Time Money List leader Daniel Negreanu. However, in the end it was Poker Central founder Cary Katz that managed to pull off a come from behind victory to win his first major live tournament outside of Las Vegas.

Super High Roller Final Table Stacked With Top Players

The $100,000 Super High Roller kicked off on Saturday and drew a total of 48 entries, creating a prize pool of $4.73 million. After two days of play, the final table of 7 was reached and the majority of the poker world was focused on two players.

Bryn Kenney won this event in 2016 and came into the final table with a middle stack. Daniel Negreanu is looking to correct a two-year downswing in live events and made the final table. He started third in chips.

The overall chip leader coming into the final table was Ivan Luca, who had $2.76 million. Other players making the final were Sam Greenwood, Justin Bonomo and Isaac Haxton.

Luca started the final table as chip lead and was still the overall leader with five players left. However, a failed bluff attempt and then a cooler hand against Bryn Kenney resulted in his being busted in 5th place.

Daniel Negreanu was knocked out in 4th place. He lost most of his chips in a pair of hands against Bonomo. The most brutal saw him all-in with pocket kings but Bonomo binked the board with his A-J.

Catz Comes Back From the Short Stack to Win

Three-handed, Bryn Kenney was chip leader and looked to take the title. However, as blinds got bigger, Kenney faltered and was eventually the short stack. He then shoved with K-9 and was called and subsequently outdrawn by the Q-10 of Bonomo.

As Bryn Kenney faltered, Cary Katz managed to go from short stack to overall chip leader. At the start of heads-up play with Justin Bonomo, he led 6.69 million to 5.3 million. He then took a more than a 2:1 chip lead when he was able to catch quad sevens against a full house for Bonomo.

Three hands later, Bonomo moved all-in with Ac-Kh and Catz made the easy call with pocket eights. The board failed to hit Bonomo and Cary Katz took down the Super High Roller title. Bonomo walked away the runner-up but earning $1.07 million.

Cary Katz wins the 2018 PCA $100,000 Super High Roller for $1.49 million. This is the second largest live poker score in Katz’s career. He now has $13.69 million in live earnings. It’s also his first major live tournament victory outside of Las Vegas.

The PCA continues and we will be reporting regularly on all the big winners and the top stories from the event. Stay tuned!

Photo Credit: PokerStars Blog

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