The third and final day of the record-breaking PCA $25k High Roller saw 11 players returning, all with the $1.29 million first-place prize in sight! The relatively unknown Canadian poker player Jean-Pascal Savard had the chip lead when the day started and he made it on to the final table of eight. Although he outlasted pokerstars Faraz Jaka and Scott Seiver on the final table, he eventually ran out of luck (and chips) and finished in 4th place for $508,080.
After Ukraine's Oleksii Khoroshenin had been eliminated in third place for $629k, American pro Joe Kuether and newcomer Ilkin Gribaldi from Azerbaijan were playing heads-up for the title. The two quickly agreed on a deal that looked like this:
Ilkin Gribaldi - 9,280,000 chips ($1,105,540)
Joe Kuether - 4,170,000 chips ($1,050,000)
Heads-up play then resumed with only the trophy and a SLYDE watch left to play for. Well, to be fair "only the trophy and a SLYDE watch left to play for" doesn't do justice to the heads-up battle, given that both players took it very seriously. The battle, which lasted for 2.5 hours, included several double ups and the chip lead changed hands as they fought for the trophy and the watch.
On the final hand, Garibli shoved from the big blind with K
8
and Kuether called with JJ
. The board ran out 7
K4A3 and Garibli was crowned the winner of the 2015 PCA Main Event! Believe it or not but this was Garibli's first ever live tournament cash!
PCA High Roller - January 12-14, 2015
Buy in: $25,000
Entries: 269
Prize pool: $6,456,000
1. Ilkin Garibli (Azerbaijan) $1,105,040*
2. Joe Kuether (United States) $1,050,000*
3. Oleksii Khoroshenin (Ukraine) $629,460
4. Jean-Pascal Savard (Canada) $508,080
5. Scott Seiver (United States) $398,340
6. Nick Petrangelo (United States) $301,500
7. Faraz Jaka (United States) $221,440
8. Dan Heimiller (United States) $162,700
* denotes two-way deal
