comalatcucendec.netlify.com

We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. Buried in the depths of that interview, PokerStars has announced that, after a 15-year run, that the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure will not be contested in 2020 and, effectively, is done as a.

The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, or PCA as it was affectionately known, is to cease being after 16 years as a traditional new year showpiece. The Adventure began life in 2004 with a field of 221 aboard a cruise ship as part of the World Poker Tour, a full seven years before Black Friday. A year later, the venue had been moved to Atlantis Resort, Nassau, in the Bahamas.

In those earlier years, US players were still very much a part of the international online poker scene and such a glamorous Caribbean location not far from their own shores made for the perfect January destination. In 2011, the very same year that Black Friday took its toll, attendance peaked for what would be the last time ever. Once the US market was frozen out, the fields shrunk year on year forcing the poker room to lower the buy-in by 2016.

Signups continued to plummet, driving PokerStars’ various operators over the years to tinker with numerous ways to keep the event relevant. There was even a period of time where the PCA was added to the European Poker Tour (EPT) despite Europe being on the other side of the ocean. And in 2017 the event was rebranded as PokerStars Championship Bahamas for a year.

Last year’s $25K PokerStars Players No-Limit Hold'em Championship (PSPC) was held as part of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure festival and, thanks to $1 million added, 320 Platinum Passes plus a two year mass marketing campaign, it did improve the situation, albeit only slightly and briefly. While it will continue, the PSPC will now receive top billing at a new festival of its own in Barcelona, Spain from next year.

And so, after 16 years, Stars Group have decided to call it a day on one of the longest running live poker festivals hosted by an online-poker site. Hopeful fans looking for a reprieve will need to pin their hopes on a rebirthing of American poker, which might possibly breath life into the PCA should online poker reopen to the majority of the US population.

Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure 2021 Results

In the meantime though, PokerStars Marketing Director Eric Hollreiser had the following to say:

“It’s no secret that after 15 successful years, the PCA has been losing momentum and there’s been increasing player criticism of the location. As such, we will not be returning to Paradise Island in 2020. PokerStars and our players have had some great success at the Atlantis Resort & Casino in the Bahamas over a strong 13-year run, and we have very many fond memories of ringing in the New Year with our PCA. Our research, alongside player feedback, has shown, however, that it is time for a change to keep things fresh and give our players what they are asking for.”

As most of the States of America and Europe shiver their way through another winter, there are hundreds of players (and perhaps their loved ones) heading to more pleasant climes. If it is the start of January, it is time for the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, which begins on Saturday.

Kicking it Off with a Bang

Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure Results

One of the most talked about events in the world of poker will kick off the 2019 version of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. The PokerStars Players’ Championship (PSPC), the $25,000 buy in tournament that has been the buzz of the poker community for the entirety of 2018, will actually come to life bright and early on Sunday morning. Saturday will mark one of the final opportunities for players to get into that tournament “on the cheap,” with a $2700 Qualifier set to begin at 6PM.

The PSPC is the brainchild of the “powers that be” at PokerStars, in essence their “thank you” note to the poker community. For the past year, $30,000 “Platinum Passes” ($25,000 entry fee, $5000 travel expenses) have been handed out to players around the world. It is estimated that 300 of these passes have been distributed to players for their performance on the felt (last year at the 2018 PCA, Maria Konnikova won one of the first passes for taking down the National Championship in the Bahamas), for their work in the game or just basically because! PokerStars didn’t stop there, however. The eventual champion of the PSPC will see another $1 million added to their eventual winnings straight from PokerStars.

The tournament itself will be “old school” in many ways. Starting with 60,000 in chips, it is a classic “freezeout” tournament, which means no rebuys, no reentries. The players are given one shot and, with a 60K stack, they should have plenty of opportunity for skillful play.

Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure 2018 Super High Roller

It is expected that there will actually be those who will buy into the tournament for the $25K price tag. Basically, the tournament is $8.5 million in “free” money (the Platinum Passes and the extra $1 million), with many pros licking their chops about getting ahold of some of that bounty. But the players who are there on their Pass won’t be quite as easy to vanquish as some of these professionals think.

Pca Poker

But Wait! There’s More!

There’s plenty of poker activity for players outside of the PSPC. In total, there are 41 events on the roster stretching to January 16. There are several highlights embedded in the litany of tournaments, most notably the High Roller tourneys and, of course, the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event.

The first High Roller event will be a $100,000 (with unlimited reentry) affair, otherwise known as the “Super High Roller.” It will kick off festivities on Thursday (January 10) and should draw a strong field for competition. The “poor man’s” version, the $25,000 High Roller event, will be a single re-entry tournament that will begin on Monday, January 14, and play through to a champion on the final day of the PCA on Wednesday (January 16). If this weren’t enough, there are several $100,000 and $25,000 “single day” tournaments on the PCA schedule.

The star of the show, however, is the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event. The $10,000 buy-in tournament will feature a single re-entry for its players. It will also have multiple Day Ones, with Day 1A beginning on Friday (January 11) and Day 1B on Saturday (January 12). The field will come together on Day 2 on Sunday, at which point any late registration/re-entry will close.

Looking to defend her title is the first ever female champion of the PCA Main Event. Maria Lampropulos was a force during her run to the title in 2018, banking $1,081,100 for defeating a final table that included such difficult competition as Shawn Buchanan, Koray Aldemir and Adrian Mateos. Lampropulos would go on in 2018 to prove that it wasn’t a fluke victory, cashing in another 20 tournaments (including a High Roller victory at the 888Poker LIVE Barcelona) on her way to moving her career earnings over the $3 million mark and finishing in the Top 100 players in the world in 2018.

It promises to be an entertaining couple of weeks of poker and it signifies the start of the new poker year. It is the 2019 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure and it all starts on Saturday!