Jean-Noel Thorel Leads Final 8 Players in 2023 PCA $250,000 Super High Roller Close to the Money Bubble
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The most expensive tournament of the 2023 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure has gathered some of the biggest names in the world of poker but just eight of them remain in contention after Day 2 of the $250,000 Super High Roller.
All of them are eyeballing a portion of the $9,498,060 prize pool but two contenders will go empty-handed, as just the top six finishers earn a cash prize at the lavish Baha Mar Resort on The Bahamas.
French businessman Jean-Noel Thorel soared to the top of the leaderboard in the final level of the night after claiming 2,295,000 to his name, surpassing Sam Greenwood (1,755,000) and long-time chip leader David Yan (1,675,000) eventually.
Fourth on the overnight leaderboard is rising Russian star Artur Martirosian with 1,295,000, who finished third in the 2023 PCA $10,300 Main Event just a few days ago. All-time money leader Justin Bonomo already tasted success during the series as well and advanced with a healthy stack of 1,090,000.
The line-up is completed by Orpen Kisacikoglu (790,000), Byron Kaverman (620,000), and Chris Brewer (260,000). Last casualty of the night was Christoph Vogelsang, who was part of a spectacular three-way all-in with Thorel and Brewer, in which the Frenchman cracked two ace-kings with king-queen suited to rise near the top of the leaderboard.
Seat Draw for the Final Day
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jean-Noel Thorel | France | 2,295,000 | 92 |
| 2 | Artur Martirosian | Russia | 1,295,000 | 52 |
| 3 | Sam Greenwood | Canada | 1,755,000 | 70 |
| 4 | Orpen Kisacikoglu | Turkey | 790,000 | 32 |
| 5 | Chris Brewer | United States | 260,000 | 10 |
| 6 | David Yan | New Zealand | 1,675,000 | 67 |
| 7 | Byron Kaverman | United States | 620,000 | 25 |
| 8 | Justin Bonomo | United States | 1,090,000 | 44 |
The final day is scheduled to recommence at 12.30 pm local time on Thursday, February 2, 2023 with level 15, featuring blinds of 10,000-25,000 and a big blind ante of 25,000. While all eight in contention will miss out on the late registration for the $25,000 High Roller and compete for seven-figure paydays, they can later on jump in the final $100,000 High Roller as of 8pm local time.
The late registration had remained open for the first four levels and following dinner break, during which the field size increased significantly from 25 to 39 total entries. First casualty of an action-filled day was Chris "Big Huni" Hunichen who returned with the shortest stack and was unable to spin it up.
Many other big names of the international poker scene would follow such as Mikita Badziakouski, Kathy Lehne, and Bryn Kenney. Adrian Mateos and Dan Smith were among those to lose their chips right before and after the end of the late registration period as neither was unable to bounce back to winning ways.
Isaac Haxton flirted with the chip lead in the early stages of the day but was unable to keep up the momentum, while Eric Worre was ousted by eventual chip leader Thorel. Yan not only avoided an expensive re-entry but spun up a severe short stack to the dominating lead after he could seemingly not lose any showdown for several hours. Michael Addamo was among those to hand over his chips with the Aussie bowing out prior to the final two tables.
In rather quick succession, the unofficial final table was determined with the rapid eliminations of Ben Heath, Chalie Hook, Stephen Chidwick, Aleksejs Ponakovs, and Henrik Hecklen. They were joined on the rail without anything to show for by Cary Katz and Rob Yong, who were both knocked out by Martirosian within a couple minutes from each other.
Kisacikoglu kept his hopes of a finish in the money alive with a double through Yan once the unofficial nine-handed final table was set. Only one further player ran out of chips thereafter and it was a quite memorable hand in which Thorel was trailing preflop holding king-queen suited. Vogelsang and Brewer both held ace-king but the king-queen high shook up the leaderboard.
All eight players are set to return to their seats of the Convention Center at the Grand Hyatt at 12.30 pm local time to play down to a winner. The PokerNews live reporting team will be on the floor to provide exclusive updates.
flop gave Thorel kings and queens, and he retained the lead throughout the 
turn as well as the 
river.
and making the fold. 
, the eights for Martirosian held up to eliminate Yong on the final table bubble.
turn. 
turn and 
river didn't matter. Greenwood bumped fists with Jean-Noel Thorel, who had previously hit quad eights against him.
and both players checked to the 
river. 
, but when the river fell the 
flop on which the last of it went into the middle.