Jason Koon took down the first “big” buy-in event of the new calendar year. Koon faded a field of 54 entries to win the $100,000 buy-in Super High Roller in the Bahamas. The prize pool for the PokerStars Championship Bahamas was $5.2 million and the final two played it out to the end without chopping it up. Koon earned a first-place payday worth $1.65 million. Runner-up Charlie Carrel shipped almost $1.2 million for second place. Comedian/actor Kevin Hart busted on Day 2 and failed to make the money despite multiple buy-ins.
Without Fedor Holz lurking around the Bahamas this January, this year's PCA SHR was wide open! When he's not doling out book recommendations on Twitter, Holz is currently launching a new venture capital business in Europe. That means without the Great White Shark gobbling up high-stakes sharks in the Bahamas, someone else had a legit shot at winning the high roller event on the international poker circuit this calendar year. Jason Koon stepped up and shipped the first Super High Roller event of 2017.
The Atlantis Resort and Casino in the Bahamas has been the location of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure for over a decade. The venue is still the same (along with inflated prices and bartenders running on island-time), but the name of the event has changed. The PCA is nevermore and the inaugural PokerStars Championship Bahamas (PCB) is the new name.
The PCB just doesn't have the same ring to it like the PCA did. The price tag for the SHR was still the same: $100,000. If you had the cash, then you could go swimming with sharks. Comedian Kevin Hart has been cashing multi-million dollar paychecks in Hollywood after cranking out a dozen lucrative films in the last few years, so he didn't blink at firing two bullets in the 100K SHR. Hart busted late on Day 1, but bought in before the night ended. He advanced to Day 2, but was knocked out early on Day 2.
Only seven players made the money in this SHR event. There were 54 total entries with 41 unique runners adding an additional 13 re-entries. The prize pool was close to $5.2 million. Only the top 7 places paid out. Second place locked up seven figures with approximately $1.2 million and the winner was guaranteed $1.65 million.
Jason Koon
This could be the best of my poker accomplishments. I won 25Ks and 50Ks but I've never closed out a 100K and this is the 100K to win. This heater's been crazy but I also think it's important to keep my eye on the rail and stay grounded. I'm having my mini Fedor Holz moment and that's great but at the same time there's a bunch of guys more talented than me and if I want to stay on top I have to continue to work hard.
British pro Charlie 'Epiphany77' Carrel went on a heater to end 2016. He final tabled three high roller events in Amsterdam, then he cashed in two more in Prague to end the year. Carrel took third in a €10K (single day) event and then took second in the €50K SHR. He had a flurry of deep runs in high roller events, but an outright victory eluded him during that run. Carrel was hoping his luck would change in the Caribbean. He previously shipped EPT11 High Roller event in Monte Carlo. He was only 21 years old at the time and took down €1,114,000 for first place.
Charlie Carrel went into the final table as the chip leader with a 3.7M stack. Dan Colman was second overall with 2.6M and Jason Koon in third with 2.3M. Both of the "BK" players were short-stacked with under 1M with Bryn Kenny the shortest at 740K and Byron Kaverman at 970K. Also rounding out the final table were Connor Drinan and Dan Dvoress.
After Dan Colman busted in third place, we were treated with a heads-up showdown between Jason Koon and Charlie Carrel. The final two didn't even consider a money chop. There was no hint at a deal. Both players wanted the win. Badly. Despite a slew of final tables in 2016, Carrel failed to actual break through to the winner's circle. According to PokerStars Blog, “Carrel has been on a sensational run of late, with no fewer than nine major final tables in Malta, Amsterdam, Prague and now here. But he hasn't converted any of them into a win.”
Alas, Carrel would have to settle on second place because it was Jason Koon's time to shine. Koon defeated Carrel heads-up for the SHR trophy and $1.65M in cash. Koon now has over $8.1 million in career tournament earnings. This current SHR title also marks Koon's biggest cash to date. This past summer in Florida, Koon earned $1M for winning a SHRPO event for $1 million. And just last month, Koon won the $25K High Roller event at the Bellagio for a $412K score. Oh, in case you are wondering… Koon is the top-ranked player from the state of West Virginia. No one from the great state of W.V. has more career earnings than Koon!
2017 PokerStars Championship Bahamas - $100K Super High Roller
Buy-in: $100,000
Entrants: 54 (41 entries; 13 re-entries)
Prize pool: $5,239,080
PCB 100K SHR - Final Table Results:
1. Jason Koon (USA) $1,650,300
2. Charlie Carrel (U.K.) $1,191,900
3. Daniel Colman (USA) $759,660
4. Daniel Dvoress (Canada) $576,300
5. Byron Kaverman (USA) $445,320
6. Connor Drinan (USA) $340,540
7. Bryn Kenney (USA) $275,060
