Christian Harder is the champion of the inaugural PokerStars Championship Bahamas Main Event. Harder topped a field of 738 entries, winning the trophy and the top prize of $429,664 in a heads-up deal.
The champ is a 29-year-old professional poker player from Annapolis, Maryland. Like several others at the final table, he’s an accomplished player with impressive results both live and online. Harder has racked up more than $7 million in poker winnings, both live and online, but he was still looking for his breakthrough bricks-and-mortar victory.
He got it today, outlasting a tough final table and defeating Cliff Josephy in the heads-up duel to take the first ever PokerStars Championship title. The next stops on the PokerStars Championship schedule are Panama and Macau in March.
Rasmus Glæsel was the first to fall on the final day. The pro from Norway three-bet shoved for about 20 big blinds behind a Harder open, and was flipping for his tournament life with ace-king against the American’s pocket tens. The board ran out eight-high which was good news for Harder but bad news for Glæsel, who was eliminated in sixth place ($103,780).
Michael Gentili began each of the final two days as chip leader but was unable to get anything going at the final table. The 24-year-old Canadian pro lost most of his stack three-bet shoving from the big blind behind a button open from Aleksei Opalikhin. The latter called instantly, and his pocket aces held strong against Gentili’s pocket deuces. One hand later, Gentili was relieved of his last few chips by Harder, eliminated in fifth place ($140,940).
With four players left, Aleksei Opalikhin lost a flip against Cliff Josephy, leaving himself with less than three big blinds. He committed that remainder with ten-nine offsuit on the next hand, only to find he was up against Michael Vela’s pocket kings. A flop full of aces left the former drawing dead to a chop, and a blank on the turn sealed Opalikhin’s fate as the fourth-place finisher ($191,420).
Vela was the next to fall, having gotten short in the orbits following the previous knockout pot. His final hand began with Harder opening the button and Josephy calling in the small blind. Vela squeezed all in for less than 10 big blinds with ace-six suited, and both opponents called to put him at risk. The two live players checked it all the way down, and Josephy revealed king-jack for a king-high flush at showdown. Vela, a former WPT Champion, exited in third place, collecting $259,980 to boost his career earnings past $2 million.
That left Harder and Josephy heads-up with not much between them. The two paused the clock to have a look at the numbers. After a few minutes, they agreed to a straight chip chop, securing most of the prize pool but leaving the trophy and $10,000 in the middle of the table for the winner. Josephy locked up $403,448 in the deal.
Harder went on to chip away at Josephy’s stack and the final hand played out half an hour into the duel. Both men were dealt an ace, but Harder’s ace-jack had his opponent’s ace-eight dominated as all the chips went in pre-flop. Five blanks later and it was all over, with Harder posing for his winner’s photographs alongside his brand new trophy.
The Main Event began the previous weekend with a pair of starting flights that drew a combined field of 738 entries. That turnout generated a prize pool worth $3,376,712, which was shared by the final 143 players. The bubble burst late on Day 2, and the field was whittled down to 125 players before night’s end. That number was further trimmed to 32 by the end of Day 3, then down to 16 as Day 4 concluded. Day 5 was a short run from that number down to the final six, and it took about nine hours of play on the final day to determine a winner.
PokerStars Championship Bahamas Main Event final table results:
1st - Christian Harder, USA, PokerStars player, $429,664
2nd - Cliff Josephy, USA, $403,448
3rd - Michael Vela, USA, $259,980
4th - Aleksei Opalikhin, Russia, $191,420
5th - Michael Gentili, Canada, $140,940
6th - Rasmus Glæsel, Norway, $103,780
7th - Brock Allison, Canada, $76,400
8th - John Dibella, USA, $56,260
Other notable players who cashed in the Main Event included Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier (14th for $32,200), Ryan Riess (15th for $32,200), Adrian Mateos (18th for $24,640), Nick Maimone (19th for $24,640), Team PokerStars Pro Online Jaime Staples (27th for $19,000), Byron Kaverman (28th for $19,000), Pratyush Buddiga (31st for $19,000), Gaelle Baumann (32nd for $14,760), Team PokerStars Pro Barry Greenstein (37th for $14,760), Pascal Lefrancois (39th for $14,760), Sam Chartier (40th for $14,760), Daivdi Kitai (45th for $14,760), Sylvain Loosli (48th for $11,560), Mike McDonald (52nd for $11,560), Nacho Barbero (58th for $11,560), Dan Colman (59th for $11,560), Luc Greenwood (66th for $11,560), Chance Kornuth (71st for $11,560), Richard Seymour (89th for $9,120), Harrison Gimbel (108th for $7,260), Mohsin Charania (131st for $7,260), Team PokerStars Pro Online Kevin Martin (134th for $7,260), Justin Bonomo (137th for $7,260) and Eugene Katchalov (140th for $7,260). Also making a deep run was PokerStars Spin & Go Qualifier Massimo De Mario (22nd for $24,640).
As the inaugural Championship concluded, PokerStars’ Director of Live Events Edgar Stuchly said: "We would like to thank all of this year's players and media who have made the first PokerStars Championship in Bahamas such a great event, with more than 5,600 tournament entries and more than $23 million in prize money awarded overall. We’re really proud of our PokerStars Championship events and can’t wait for players to experience the biggest and best tournaments in premier destinations around the world. We hope to see you at the next PokerStars Championship in Panama in March."
NICOLA BASILE WINS POKERSTARS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
One of the highlights of the 98-event schedule was the PokerStars National Championship. The $2,200 event attracted 421 entries, generating a prize pool in excess of $800,000. It took two days of action to trim the field to the final eight, culminating in a talented final table that included David Yan, Javier Gomez, Marc-Andre Ladouceur, Maria Ho, and Team PokerStars Pro Chris Moneymaker. Basile beat them all, eventually defeating Yan in the heads-up match to claim the trophy.
Basile is a 56-year-old social club owner from Toronto, Ontario. He's been playing poker for decades, but his business operations keep him from pursuing the game in a more serious capacity -- for the time being, at least. His goal is to eventually turn this hobby into a full-time profession, and the $131,680 prize will likely go a long way to facilitate that dream.
CELEBRITIES FLOCK TO POKERSTARS CHAMPIONSHIP BAHAMAS
In addition to all of the poker-famous pros who made the annual pilgrimage to Atlantis Resort, a handful of celebrities also turned up to play.
Award-winning actor Aaron Paul was perhaps the most recognizable celebrity in attendance during the nine-day series. Paul is best known for his role in the hit TV show Breaking Bad, and his new project, The Path, is generating some considerable buzz. Paul carved out time from his busy filming schedule to spend the week on Paradise Island with PokerStars, rubbing elbows with some of the world’s best poker players. After a long day of coverage on the PokerStars feature table, he nearly cashed in the Main Event, dropping out just short of the money.
Hollywood was also represented at Atlantis by award-winning comedian and actor Kevin Hart. Two years ago, Time magazine voted Hart one of the 100 most influential people in the world, and he’s the star of a relatively new TV series called Real Husbands of Hollywood. Hart played a handful of events during the series, including the $100,000 Super High Roller.
World-class professional golfer Sergio Garcia also attended PokerStars Championship Bahamas. “I think it's a wonderful event,” he said in an interview with PokerNews. “The venue's great.
PokerStars takes care of me and makes it easy for me to come and enjoy it every year.”
Former All-Pro football player and three-time Super Bowl Champion Richard Seymour has become something of a traveling professional poker player since retiring from the NFL following the 2012 season. He also made the trip south for a poker vacation in the Bahamas. Seymour played a busy schedule of events, got some face time on the PokerStars feature table, and finished in 89th place in the Main Event for $9,120.
JASON KOON WINS $100,000 SUPER HIGH ROLLER
PokerStars hosted a $100,000 -buy-in event at Atlantis. The 2017 edition of the Super High Roller attracted 54 entries from 41 players, putting a prize pool in excess of $5 million up for grabs.
Jason Koon was on a heater throughout the second half of 2016, and the run-good has apparently carried over into the new year. The 31-year-old pro from West Virginia outlasted the tough field and an impossible final table to win his first PokerStars trophy and the top prize of $1,650,300. His live results now total more than $8 million.
Defending champion Bryn Kenney recorded his fourth cash in seven attempts at this event, but he was forced to settle for seventh place this time around. Connor Drinan finished in sixth, and reigning GPI Player of the Year Byron Kaverman finished fifth. Daniel Dvoress was one of four Canadians in the field and the only one to cash, exiting in fourth place. Dan Colman added another three-quarters of a million to his live results for a third-place finish.
Koon eventually found himself heads-up against Charlie Carrel, the young British pro who’s been riding his own hot streak recently. However, Carrel could not stop Koon, losing the final duel but receiving a seven-figure payout as a consolation prize. The result moved him past $5 million in total earnings spread across a small span of barely two years.
POKERSTARS DEBUTS SHOT CLOCK IN ADDED $25,000 EVENT
An extended schedule of high-buy-in events brought about the opportunity to introduce the first-ever PokerStars "Shot Clock" tournament.
A $25,000 single re-entry event was added on to the series' schedule. At the behest of the players, a shot clock was also introduced, limiting them to 30 seconds for each action. The format piqued the interest of 42 players, 17 of them re-entered to create a prize pool worth $1,445,000.
Reactions to the format were positive. “I haven't heard anyone say they don't want the shot clock," Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu said in an interview with PokerNews. "It's just a good decision."
"I think any turbo should have a shot clock," Igor Kurganov added. "Just the idea that it is out there makes everyone act faster. I think it's a great thing and should be tried out in other tournaments.”
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 $50,000 single-day event a few days prior, and cashed in the $100,000 Super High Roller, showing a profit in the series' three richest events.
#STARSFUN PROVE A BIG HIT WITH PLAYERS
Along with the immense poker action, players and visitors were able to participate in a variety of activities away from the felt thanks to #StarsFun.
The series’ opening weekend coincided with the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs, and a tailgate party was held in the Players’ lounge with a squares competition offering the opportunity to win some great prizes. There was also a Virtual Reality gaming station set up in the lLounge for the duration of the Championship.
The PokerStars Championship Bahamas also saw the return of the popular "Breakfast with the Pros" Q&A sessions, providing fans and media with the chance to pick the brains of sponsored pros. The sessions covered a variety of topics.
BRYN KENNEY WINS POKERSTARS CHAMPIONSHIP BAHAMAS GPI TLB
Coinciding with the start of the new tour, PokerStars announced a Championship leaderboard competition in cooperation with the Global Poker Index. The PokerStars Championship Bahamas GPI TLB allowed players to accrue points from all 98 events on the schedule at the Atlantis Resort. By virtue of an incredible series, Bryn Kenney won the TLB for this stop, racking up 1,229.81 points and $1,773,411 in earnings across five in-the-money finishes. Kenney’s performance earned him a package for next year's event, as well as an entry into an exclusive sit-n-go against the other Championship TLB winners for the remaining stops in 2017. The TLB final will take place in 2018, and the winner will be crowned Player of the Year and collect the $100,000 winner-take-all prize.
LUC GREENWOOD CAPTURES $25,000 HIGH ROLLER AND BANKS $779,268
The ever-popular $25,000 High Roller coincided with the final three days of the PokerStars Championship Bahamas. There were 159 entries to the tournament, creating a prize pool worth $3,895,500.
Canadian pro Luc Greenwood emerged victorious, securing $779,268 and the first six-figure payday of his career. The 28-year-old was seated with his twin brother, Sam, in the tournament but knocked him out in tenth place. Luc scooped his first title on the live circuit, pushing his earnings over $1 million. Greenwood cut a heads-up deal with American pro Nick Petrangelo, who took home $740,032.
Greenwood was also responsible for the elimination of another dangerous American pro, Byron Kaverman, who departed in fourth place for $335,020. Remarkably, that result was just the third-largest of the week for Kaverman. He was one of the series’ hottest players, making three major final tables: $100,000 Super High Roller, $50,000 Single-Day Single Re-Entry, and $25,000 High Roller. On top of that, Kaverman also went deep in the Main Event, finishing in 28th place. In all, the 30-year-old has accumulated more than $1.25 million in earnings over the last ten days.
The final table also featured Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu, poker’s all-time money leader. Negreanu was knocked out in fifth place, adding another $268,780 to his bankroll. He's now close to reaching $33 million in live earnings.
