PCA 2023: Justin Bonomo, Dylan Smith & Samuel Cobian Win PokerStars Trophies

PCA 2023: Justin Bonomo, Dylan Smith & Samuel Cobian Win PokerStars Trophies
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  • RUPAM THAKUR January 30, 2023
  • 5 Minutes Read

The 2023 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) is just a day away from kicking off its most-awaited $250,000 PSPC Super High Roller at the luxurious Baha Mar Resort. In the meantime, the 13-day-long series has crowned four more winners! While the $10,300 PCA Main Event champion, Michel Dattani, was the center of attention, the three other winners were poker heavyweights Justin Bonomo, Dylan Smith, and Samuel Cobian, who we will talk about in this report.

The ranked #1 player in Poker’s all-time money list Justin Bonomo delivered a power-packed performance, topping the star-studded 140-player field in the $25K 8-Handed for $574,529, grabbing his third PCA title (first of the series). A three-handed ICM deal saw Rui Ferreira (2nd for $664,820) and PCA $100K Super High Roller champion Isaac Haxton (3rd for $491,550) securing podium finishes.

It’s been a terrific start to 2023 for Dylan Smith, who overcame the 44-player field in the $25K PCA PLO High Roller to clinch his first PokerStars Trophy and the $364,440 first-place prize. Germany’s Oliver Weis placed runner-up for $237,700.

And last but certainly not least, Samuel Cobian outlasted the star-studded 763-player field in the $3K PCA Mystery Bounty to clinch his first PokerStars spadie trophy for a career-best $239,658. Andy Wilson secured a runner-up payday worth $149,450.

 

Justin Bonomo Champions $25K 8-Handed For $574,529

Widely considered one of the best poker pros today, Justin Bonomo delivered a power-packed performance. The accomplished poker pro outlasted the reg-infested 140-player field in the $25K 8-Handed to win $574,529 and his third PCA title (first of the series).

A three-handed ICM deal saw Rui Ferreira (2nd for $664,820) and Isaac Haxton (3rd for $491,550) round out the top three finishes.

Following this win, Bonomo now has $59.5 Million in lifetime live tournament earnings. This victory also marked Bonomo’s first tournament title outside Las Vegas and his second cash out of Sin City since 2019. The first came earlier this week when he finished 44th in the $10,000 PCA Main Event for $29,400.

During the post-tournament interview, Bonomo said, “Just like any other tournament, you have to play your best, you have to get lucky, catch the right cards at the right time. Just a combination of things coming together, really.”

He added, “It was a great field. I’m used to playing these high-roller tournaments against a lot of the best players in the world, a lot of the same people over and over. So it’s definitely exciting when I get to play with new people, people I don’t recognize.”

The $25K 8-Handed generated a prize pool of $3,361,400, and twenty places got paid with a min-cash worth $43,050.

Justin Bonomo
Justin Bonomo

 

Final Table Results (USD)

  1. Justin Bonomo – $574,529*
  2. Rui Ferreira – $664,820*
  3. Isaac Haxton – $491,550*
  4. Carlos Chadha – $286,950
  5. Jean-Noel Thorel – $220,700
  6. Mario Mosboeck – $169,800
  7. Seth Davies – $130,600
  8. Alex Kulev – $108,450
  9. Dominykas Mikolaitis – $90,350

*denotes a three-way deal

 

Dylan Smith Wins $25K PCA PLO High Roller For $364,440

On Sunday, Dylan Smith topped the 44-entry field in the $25K PCA PLO High Roller to clinch his first PCA title and $364,440 up top. Germany’s Oliver Weis placed runner-up for $237,700.

On January 18, Smith took down LHPO Event #20: $10K PLO High Roller

in Florida for $91,960, and two weeks later, he took down his second title of the year in the PCA PLO High Roller.

Smith is mainly a PLO player, with his last four recorded cashes have been in PLO tournaments. This win fetched Smith’s first-ever six-figure tournament score, boosting his lifetime live earnings to $980,101.

Despite his recent tournament success, Smith considers himself a PLO cash game player. He plays high-stakes PLO online for stakes as high as $200/$400. Smith said when he first started playing Poker, he focused on NLHE but moved in with an outstanding PLO player, which encouraged him to switch his focus to the PLO streets.

The PCA PLO High Roller collected $1,056,440 in the prize pool and paid the top six places.

Dylan Smith
Dylan Smith

 

Final Table Results (USD)

  1. Dylan Smith – $364,440
  2. Oliver Weis – $237,700
  3. Jeremy Ausmus – $163,750
  4. Shaun Deeb – $121,500
  5. Andriy Lyubovetskiy – $95,100
  6. Joni Jouhkimainen – $73,950

 

Samuel Cobian Ships $3K PCA Mystery Bounty For $239,658

Samuel Cobian overcame a star-studded 763-player field in the $3K PCA Mystery Bounty to clinch his first PokerStars spadie trophy for a career-best $239,658. Andy Wilson secured a runner-up payday worth $149,450.

Cobian also won fifteen bounties which were of the $1,000 minimum variety. His live tournament earnings have now touched $354,085.

In his post-win interview, Cobian said, “This feels great, man. I never thought this could happen. But it does, and it did.”

The recreational poker player from Indianapolis revealed that he and his wife do not usually travel during the winter. However, he was convinced by his spouse to attend the 2023 PCA, and it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

He added, “We usually go to Florida in the winter, but my wife convinced me to come to The Bahamas and play some poker this year.”

Cobian is often seen at the WSOP in Las Vegas, where he’s cashed the Main Event on multiple occasions.

The PCA Mystery Bounty collected $1,309,308 in the prize pool, and the top 111 places were assured a min-cash of at least $3,050.

Samuel Cobian
Samuel Cobian

 

Final Table Results

  1. Samuel Cobian – $239,658
  2. Andy Wilson – $149,450
  3. Justin Steinbrenner – $106,750
  4. Yuliyan Kolev – $82,100
  5. Matthew Lambrecht – $63,150
  6. Rui Bouquet – $48,600
  7. Kayhan Mokri – $37,400
  8. David Peters – $28,750

 

Content & Images Courtesy: PokerNews & PokerStars

Keep following PokerGuru for the latest updates from the 2023 PCA!

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