An extended schedule of high-buy-in events brought about the opportunity to introduce the first-ever PokerStars "Shot Clock" tournament here at the PokerStars Championship Bahamas. A $25,500 single re-entry event was one of the six events tacked on to the series' schedule, and it was held from start to finish on Wednesday, January 11. At the behest of the players, a shot clock was also instituted, limiting them to 30 seconds for each action. The format piqued the interest of 42 players, and 17 of them also re-entered to create a prize pool worth $1,445,000.
American pro Bryn Kenney took down this one-off event, snagging his second title of the week and $392,876 in a heads-up deal with Dario Sammartino. Kenney had already won the $50k single-day event a few days prior, and he cashed in the $100k Super High Roller too, showing a profit in the series' two biggest-buy-in events. He's already earned more than $1.6 million at the inaugural PokerStars Championship Bahamas, and he's a big favorite to win the GPI TLB for this stop, details of which can be found below.
The 30-year-old pro from New York is one of the all-time great performers at the PokerStars events held annually in The Bahamas. Most notably, he's cashed in the $100k Super High Roller four times in eight chances, including a $1.7 million victory one year ago. In total, Kenney has racked up more than $13.5 million in live tournament earnings, putting him in 21st place in the all-time money list at the moment. He's climbing that list in a hurry, though, and his 2017 campaign is already off to a blistering start.
Kenney struck a heads-up deal with Italy's Sammartino, then defeated him to win the extra $10k and the trophy that was still up for grabs after the chop. Sammartino is a 29-year old pro from Naples, and he secured $354,424 in the deal. He's now amassed more than $3.8 million in live cashes, good for third place on Italy's all-time money list. Sammartino is also renowned for his online achievements under the screen name "Secret_M0d3", where his recent results include a victory in the 2016 PokerStars SCOOP High Roller for $718,000.
Third-place finisher Anton Astapau earned $202,380 for his efforts, while EPT10 Vienna champion Oleksii Khoroshenin collected $153,200 for fourth place. Others who finished in the money include Igor Kurganov, Bill Perkins, Mike Watson and Sean Winter.
Bryn Kenney won the $25k Shot Clock Event to earn his second title at PokerStars Championship Bahamas
PokerStars Championship Bahamas $25,000 Shot Clock Single Re-Entry Results:
1st - Bryn Kenney, USA, $392,876
2nd - Dario Sammartino, Italy, $354 424
3rd - Anton Astapau, Belarus, $202,380
4th - Oleksii Khoroshenin, Ukraine, $153,220
5th - Igor Kurganov, Russia, $118,540
6th - Bill Perkins, USA, $92,520
7th - Mike Watson, Canada, $73,720
8th - Sean Winter, USA, $57,820
RACKING UP THE POINTS
PokerStars has announced a Championship leaderboard competition in cooperation with the Global Poker Index. The PokerStars Championship Bahamas GPI TLB allows players to accrue points from all events held here this week. Whoever earns the most points will be awarded with a seat to next year's event, as well as an entry into an exclusive sit-n-go against other Championship TLB winners. The final will take place at the 2018 PokerStars Championship Bahamas, and the winner will be crowned Player of the Year and collect the $100,000 winner-take-all prize. All 2017 PokerStars Championship Leaderboard winners will be eligible to receive a PokerStars Championship Bahamas VIP Package which includes:
▪ PokerStars Championship Bahamas Main Event buy-in
▪ Accommodation in a suite at the Cove
▪ Airport transfers
▪ Room folio
Bryn Kenney leads the race in The Bahamas at the moment, but with less than half of the events complete, it's still most certainly anyone's game. Click here to see the current leaderboard.
NINE DAYS OF ACTION
PokerStars Championship Bahamas, which runs through January 14 at the sun-drenched Atlantis Resort in Nassau, is the first event of the all new PokerStars Championship tour. Poker players from around the world have been qualifying for as little as $10 at PokerStars.com. The event has an action-packed schedule of nearly 100 tournaments, cash games, and non-poker activities, and attracts thousands of international players who will dust off the holiday cobwebs to play in the nine-day Bahamas poker extravaganza.
KEY EVENTS
- $100,000 Super High Roller (January 6-8, 2017)
- $2,200 PokerStars National Championship (January 7-9, 2017)
- $5,000 PokerStars Championship Main Event (January 8-14, 2017)
- $50,000 NL Hold'em Single Day Single Re-Entry
- $25,750 PL Omaha Single Re-Entry
- $220 PokerStars Open (January 10-12, 2017)
- $25,750 High Roller (January 12-14, 2017)
- $440 PokerStars Cup (January 12-14, 2017)
POKERSTARS TV MAIN EVENT BROADCAST
The ever popular PokerStars TV returns to The Bahamas with a five-day broadcast schedule, bringing viewers the action from the PokerStars Championship Bahamas Main Event right through the event's conclusion. The webcast is available in a wide number of languages, both on desktop and mobile on PokerStars.tv, YouTube, Facebook and Twitch. For cards-up finals, please ensure you do not post ANY action until it has appeared on the live stream. No live streaming is allowed - on any channel (including Facebook, Periscope etc) - from any tournament
