Jason Koon emerged victorious in the $25,000 Single-Day High Roller at the 2018 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure for $421,080, besting a field of 41 unique players who collectively made 58 total entries. He came out on top of a stacked final table that included the likes of Nick Petrangelo, Chris Hunichen, and Isaac Haxton. With this latest victory, Koon crossed the $11,000,000-mark in live tournament earnings.
Final Table Results
Place
Player
Country
Prize
1
Jason Koon
United States
$421,080
2
Mikalai Vaskaboinikau
Belarus
$304,580
3
Timothy Adams
Canada
$196,500
4
Nick Petrangelo
United States
$148,780
5
Benjamin Pollak
France
$115,100
6
Chris Hunichen
United States
$89,840
7
Christopher Kruk
Canada
$71,580
8
Isaac Haxton
United States
$56,140
This tournament was an eventful one from the get-go; before the first level was over, Erik Seidel had lost his stack to Chance Kornuth. Although Seidel reentered (as did 16 others who busted their first bullet before the conclusion of level 8), he was eliminated during level five when he lost a flip to the eventual champion. The unofficial final table was reached after the dinner break and the bubble broke when PokerStars Team Pro Igor Kurganov got his stack in preflop with nines only to see Timothy Adams flip over queens and got no help from the board.
The first player to finish in the money was Isaac Haxton, who departed in eighth place when he got his chips in preflop with pocket sevens and couldn’t improve against Adams’s pocket tens. Christopher Kruk became the seventh-place finisher when he jammed preflop with eight-seven suited, was called by Jason Koon holding queen-ten suited, and the board missed both players entirely. Chris Hunichen was eliminated in sixth place when he shoved preflop with a suited king and got action from Koon who held ace-jack suited; Koon made trips and Hunichen didn’t connect.
Koon’s hot streak continued when he dispatched Benjamin Pollak in fifth place. The two players got all the chips in before the flop; Koon held ace-ten suited, Pollak held queen-jack, and Koon was still best after the last card fell. Nick Petrangelo fell in fourth when he got his stack in on the flop holding a king-high flush draw and gutshot only to find himself trailing Mikalai Vaskaboinikau’s nut-flush draw. He got no help from the turn and made the second-best flush on the river.
Next, Adams became the third-place finisher when he got his stack in preflop with jacks against Vaskaboinikau’s ace-nine, and although he retained his lead after the flop and turn, an ace fell on the river to give Vaskaboinikau the winning hand. Heads-up play between Koon and Vaskaboinikau lasted over an hour. The tournament ultimately came to an end when Vaskaboinikau shoved from the button with king-six and Koon, who had the larger of the two stacks by a somewhat narrow margin, woke up with aces.
Although this event is in the books, the action on Paradise Island is far from over. The $10,300 Main Event is ongoing and the final high roller event of the series, Event #22 $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller, kicks off Saturday at noon local time. Be sure to check back for continuing coverage of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure presented by the PokerNews Live Reporting Team.
Mikalai Vaskaboinikau shoved from the button and Jason Koon quickly called from the big blind.
Vaskaboinikau:
Koon:
Vaskaboinikau found himself way behind Koon's aces and needed a lot of help from the deck in order to stay alive. The board ran out which kept Koon's hand best, so he took the pot to eliminate Vaskaboinikau and end the tournament.
Mikalai Vaskaboinikau opened and called a three-bet shove by Timothy Adams.
Adams:
Vaskaboinikau:
Adams was in great shape to double up, until the river. It was smooth sailing through to the turn as the board ran out . Unfortunately, Vaskaboinikau channeled his inner Barry Greenstein and the landed sending Adams to the rail in third place, good for $196,500.
Mikalai Vaskaboinikau raised to 120,000 from under the gun and Nick Petrangelo called from the big blind.
The flop came and Petrangelo checked. Vaskaboinikau bet 150,000 and Petrangelo check-raised to 400,000. Vaskaboinikau jammed and Petrangelo called to put himself at risk.
Vaskaboinikau:
Petrangelo:
Both players had flopped flush draws but Vaskaboinikau held the nut-flush draw while Petrangelo had additional outs in the form of a gutshot. The on the turn was no help to either player. The river completed the flush, securing the pot for Vaskaboinikau and ending Petrangelo's tournament.
Jason Koon raised to 85,000 from the cutoff and Benjamin Pollak three-bet jammed from the button for what looked like about 650,000. Koon called to put Pollak at risk.
Koon:
Pollak:
Koon had the preflop advantage and Pollak needed to improve in order to survive. The board ran out which paired Koon's ten but was no help to Pollak, so Koon took the pot to end Pollak's tournament.
Chris Hunichen pushed all in for 390,000 from the cutoff and Jason Koon re-shipped all in from the small blind. Benjamin Pollak folded the big blind and the cards were tabled.
Koon showed and Hunichen flipped over . "We got a bit of a sweat," Hunichen said about his live cards.
The flop came and Koon took a massive lead in the pot. "That's not the sweat I was looking for," Hunichen laughed.
The turn was the and Hunichen was drawing dead to the on the river.
Isaac Haxton pushed his short stack of 260,000 into the middle from the cutoff. Timothy Adams was in the small blind and moved all in over the top, forcing Chris Hunichen to fold his big blind.
Timothy Adams:
Isaac Haxton:
Haxton would need to hit one of the two remaining sevens in the deck in order to stay alive. Unfortunately, the board ran out and Haxton was the first player to be eliminated in the money.
Isaac Haxton opened to 26,000 from early position and called a three-bet jam of about 130,000 from defending champion Bryn Kenney one seat over.
Kenney:
Haxton:
The most classic of races was underway and Kenney quickly lost his advantage when Haxton spiked a king on the flop. No help came with the run out and Kenney departed in 13th place.
An under-the-gun open by Brynn Kenney saw Daniel Negreanu defend his big blind. The flop fanned out and Negreanu check-raised a bet of 12,000 from Kenney to 32,000 and Kenney called.
When the fell on the turn, Negreanu checked again and called a bet of 26,000 from Kenney. The completed the board and Negreanu check-folded when Kenney bet 75,000.
Negreanu was left with about 10 big blinds and busted a few moments later. That spells the end of Negreanu's day as he was on his second bullet.
Lawrence Greenberg has just come into the room and sat down with his first bullet.
![[user339870]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
which kept Koon's hand best, so he took the pot to eliminate Vaskaboinikau and end the tournament.
. Unfortunately, Vaskaboinikau channeled his inner Barry Greenstein and the 
and Petrangelo checked. Vaskaboinikau bet 150,000 and Petrangelo check-raised to 400,000. Vaskaboinikau jammed and Petrangelo called to put himself at risk.
on the turn was no help to either player. The 
. "We got a bit of a sweat," Hunichen said about his live cards.
on the river.
and Kruk eas eliminated in seventh place earning $71,580. 
flop. No help came with the 
