Justin Bonomo Wins the $25,000 Single-Day High Roller II for $383,650
There was another high roller event on the schedule today at the 2019 PCA and it came in the form of the $25,000 Single-Day High Roller II. After nearly 11 hours at the felt, Justin Bonomo claimed the title and the $383,650 first-place prize when he defeated Jesus Cortes in heads-up action.
The year is starting to look a lot like the previous edition in 2018 when Bonomo ran over the poker world to top the career money list. After a couple of fourth place finishes in the $10,000 High Roller and the $50,000 Super High Roller yesterday, this will go down as his third cash here at the 2019 PCA. With one more $25,000 event still to come, the American poker pro will be looking to add some more cash to his pocket before he leaves the Bahamas.
It also wasn't a bad day for Jose Cortes who is coming off his largest career cash in the $100,000 Super High Roller. Cortes has re-emerged on the live poker scene in the Bahamas and is showing that he still has what it takes. Adding another $265,200 to his pockets for his efforts today will leave him walking away with a smile.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Justin Bonomo | United States | $383,650 |
| 2nd | Jesus Cortes | Spain | $265,200 |
| 3rd | Steffen Sontheimer | Germany | $169,280 |
| 4th | Igor Kurganov | Russia | $129,780 |
| 5th | Nick Petrangelo | United States | $101,560 |
| 6th | David Peters | United States | $79,000 |
The day surprisingly got started on time when eight players took their seats just after the scheduled 3:00 p.m. start. Each player started with 100,000 chips and it was actually Cortes who was the first elimination during the opening level. With a single re-entry allowed, Cortes was able to jump back into the action and made great use of his second bullet.
The tournament attracted a total of 47 entries that made up a prizepool of over $1.1 million. Many players fired off two entries by the time late registration closed after the second break, but the eliminations were fast and furious throughout the entire day. It only took another four levels after late registration closed to reach the unofficial final table of nine. Pablo Cabrera, Henrik Hecklen, and Mikita Badziakouski all hit the rail before the money bubble would burst.
Final Table Summary
Once Badziakouski was eliminated on his four big blind stack, the final six players were all guaranteed at least $79,000, more than three times their buy-in. Six-handed play continued for over an hour until David Peters collided with Bonomo blind versus blind. Peters shipped just over ten big blinds with seven-five suited and Bonomo snapped him off with pocket sixes. The board missed Peters completely and he headed to the payout desk in sixth place. Just a couple of hands later, Nick Petrangelo flopped a pair and got it all in against Steffen Sontheimer's two over cards. Both the turn and river hit Sontheimer and Petrangelo exited in fifth place.
After a quick break, Igor Kurganov was unable to keep up his early run of success going when again, blind versus blind, the PokerStars Pro moved all in from the small blind with ace-eight and was called by Bonomo's king-ten suited. Bonomo turned a ten and Kurganov was forced to settle for a fourth-place finish. Three-handed play had its fair share of twists and turns and Sontheimer rode the waves of tournament poker with multiple double ups going in his favor and against him. Unfortunately, in the end, he found himself on the wrong side when Cortes spiked a three-outer on the turn to eliminate the German high-stakes player.
That left Cortes and Bonomo to battle heads-up in what started out to be an even matchup. However, Bonomo took a sizeable lead after Cortes paid off a large turn and river bet. Cortes battled back with a double up of his own and after briefly taking the chip lead, the pendulum swung in the other direction again. Both players were dealt a pocket pair, Bonomo's being the larger, and got all of the chips in the middle preflop. Bonomo held on for a massive double up and left Cortes with just 10 big blinds.
Although Cortes doubled up once, in the last hand of the night, the Spaniard shipped all in after Bonomo limped the button. Bonomo woke up with the same pocket sixes as earlier and Cortes was drawing slim with queen-five. The board ran out clean for Bonomo and his pocket pair held on to earn him the victory.
That wraps up another single-day high roller with tons of money being dished out here at the Atlantis Resort, but there is still more to come. Stay with us as PokerNews continues to bring you coverage of the Main Event along with another $25,000 high roller that begins tomorrow.