$25,000 High Roller
Day 3 Completed
2018 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure
$25,000 High Roller
Day: 3
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2018 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure
Buy-in
$25,000
Entries
142
Level
24
Blinds
25,000 / 50,000
Ante
50,000
Level 24
: 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
It was a comeback for the ages and Christopher Kruk rose to the top to capture the $25,000 High Roller at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure 2018. Kruk overcame a red-hot Jonathan Jaffe in heads-up play to take down a field of 144 entries and pocket $836,350 for his efforts.
When heads-up play began, Jaffe was the overwhelming chip leader and continued to increase his lead. With 180 big blinds in play, Kruk held just 7 big blinds at one point. Everyone is familiar with the saying "A chip and a chair" and that is literally all Kruk needed. One double up led to another double up, and Kruk was right back in the match.
He slowly chipped away at Jaffe's stack and assumed the chip lead when he flopped middle pair and rivered two pair. A big river bet was paid off by Jaffe and Kruk was finally in front. Not long after, Jaffe bluffed the majority of his stack with a dry ace. Kruk called him off with top pair and held a dominating chip lead. In the last hand of the day, Jaffe was all in with 
but Kruk woke up with 
. The board provided no help to Jaffe and Kruk clinched the win.
Kruk broke through into the live tournament scene as of late, finding himself playing in many of the high roller events. Mostly known for his online play, Kruk had one of his best years behind the computer in 2017. That transformed into him entering some live high-stakes poker tournaments. Kruk's first live tournament win came at the PokerStars Championship Barcelona in 2017 in the �5,200 No Limit Hold'Em Hyper Turbo for �79,400. With a total of $1,193,319 in live tournament earnings thus far, Kruk has just surpassed the $2 million mark with this win.
Final Table Summary
The final table officially got underway at the end of Day 2, but with no eliminations through one level, the players decided to bag up and come back on Day 3. Felipe Ramos became the first player to fall as his day got off to a rough start. After paying off Seymour in a big pot, he then doubled up Bonomo and left himself with only 5 big blinds, which he would lose on the next hand. Stefan Schillhabel became the next victim as he couldn't get anything going on the final day. He eventually got all of his chips in the middle with an open-ended straight draw against Jaffe's top set. Schillhabel was drawing dead when the board paired on the turn and that left just six players.
Mikita Badziakouski came into the day with just 7 big blinds and already managed to ladder up a couple positions. He looked poised to keep hanging around after a double up through Seymour, but just two hands later he ran his ace-nine into the pocket aces of Jaffe. Badziakouski was unable to come from behind and he was sent home in sixth place. That left Igor Kurganov on the short stack and he got his last few chips in the middle with king-high against Bonomo's queen-high. However, Bonomo made two pair by the river and that brought an end to the last remaining PokerStars Team Pro.
With just four players remaining, Jaffe continued to hold the chip lead, but with the number of big blinds in play, it was still anyone's game. That was until Justin Bonomo and Jaffe collided in a massive pot. Both players flopped a pair of aces, but it was Jaffe who turned two pair. He put Bonomo to the test on the river and the high-stakes tournament player paid him off. Jaffe took a sizeable chip lead into three-handed play and he didn't stop there. Former Super Bowl champion, linebacker Richard Seymour shoved all in with 
but Jaffe woke up with pocket queens. Seymour was unable to connect with the board and his story-book ending came to a halt. That left Jaffe and Kruk to battle heads-up for the title and nearly a $300,000 heads-up match.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Christopher Kruk | Canada | $836,350 |
| 2nd | Jonathan Jaffe | United States | $569,760 |
| 3rd | Richard Seymour | United States | $376,360 |
| 4th | Justin Bonomo | United States | $310,150 |
| 5th | Igor Kurganov | Russia | $249,160 |
| 6th | Mikita Badziakouski | Belarus | $195,150 |
| 7th | Stefan Schillhabel | Germany | $146,360 |
| 8th | Felipe Ramos | Brazil | $108,030 |
With such a prestige event taking place and such a big payout for the winner, there was no doubt that this tournament would attract the best of the best. However, there wasn't enough room for everyone to make a deep run and some of those that fell short early on included Ryan Riess, Bryn Kenney, Ben Tollerene, Dan Shak, Rainer Kempe, Benjamin Pollak, and defending champion Luc Greenwood.
The money bubble was reached half-way into Day 2 and it was Richard Kirsch sitting on a stack of just five big blinds. He got his chips in the middle holding 
against Isaac Haxton's 
. Haxton hit trip queens on the flop and never looked back, bursting the bubble with Kirsch on the outside looking in. That left the remaining 20 players guaranteed to walk home with at least $45,300.
Some of the big names to reach the money included Mike Watson (18th place - $45,300), Isaac Haxton (15th place - $55,740), PokerStars Team Pro Liv Boeree (14th place - $55,740), Steffen Sontheimer (11th place - $69,730), and PokerStars Team Pro Daniel Negreanu (9th place - $83,640).
That wraps up the coverage for this event, but there is still live coverage happening in the $10,300 Main Event. It was a great start to the 2018 season and there will be plenty of more action to come. Continue to follow along with the PokerNews live reporting team for all of the live updates from the next event.
Level 24
: 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
Christopher Kruk wins the $25K 3-day tournament for a hefty $836,350. There were over 100 entries including Daniel Negreanu, Dan Shak, Erik Seidel, Issac Haxton and last year's winner Luc Greenwood. Ultimately, it was Christopher Kruk who overcame a massive chip deficit heads up to win the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $25K.
Level 24
: 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
Christopher Kruk called from the button, Jonathan Jaffe jammed from the big blind for about 450,000 total, and Kruk quickly called to put Jaffe at risk.
Christopher Kruk:
Jonathan Jaffe:
Kruk had a commanding lead before the flop with the higher of the two pocket pairs and Jaffe needed help from the deck to survive. The board ran out 
missing both players, so Kruk took the pot to eliminate Jaffe and end the tournament.
A full recap will be posted in due course.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
7,200,000
485,000
|
485,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
||
Level 24
: 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
Christopher Kruk raised to 125,000 on the button and Jonathan Jaffe called. The flop came 
and Jaffe check-called a bet of 200,000 from Kruk.
The 
peeled off on the turn and Jaffe led out for 450,000. Kruk made the call and the 
completed the board. Jaffe announced a bet of 1.9 million and Kruk was thrown back in his seat. With only 30 seconds to act, he needed to make a big decision for a monstrous pot. Kruk tossed in a single chip and Jaffe rapped the table. He turned over 
for a missed flush draw and Kruk held for top pair.
Jaffe was left with just under 500,000 and Kruk has taken a commanding chip lead.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,715,000
2,715,000
|
2,715,000 |
|
|
485,000
-2,715,000
|
-2,715,000 |
|
|
||
Level 24
: 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
Christopher Kruk raised to 125,000 from the button and Jonathan Jaffe called from the big blind.
The flop came 
and Jaffe checked. Kruk bet 200,000, Jaffe check-raised to 600,000, and Kruk called.
The 
fell on the turn and both players checked.
The river brought the and Jaffe checked. Kruk bet 750,000 with just seconds remaining on the shot clock and Jaffe went into the tank. After tossing in a time bank slip, he eventually called. Kruk tabled 
for kings up, Jaffe mucked, and Kruk took the pot to recover the chip lead.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
4,000,000
1,000,000
|
1,000,000 |
|
|
3,200,000
-1,000,000
|
-1,000,000 |
|
|
||
Level 24
: 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
Maria Ho has been in the commentary booth for the majority of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. We find out the surprising reason she hasn't been able to take a seat on the felt and play some poker herself. The final table is about to start for the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event 2018 and Maria Ho shares her pick for the winner along with other observations before hopping into the live stream booth.
Level 24
: 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
Jonathan Jaffe opened to 175,000 on the button and Christopher Kruk called. The flop came and Kruk check-called a bet of 125,000 from Jaffe.
The on the turn slowed the action as both players checked and the fell on the river. Kruk led out with a bet of 455,000 and Jaffe wasted little time before his cards hit the muck.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
4,200,000
-900,000
|
-900,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
3,000,000
900,000
|
900,000 |
Level: 24
Blinds: 25,000/50,000
Ante: 50,000
Level 23
: 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Jonathan Jaffe raised to 130,000 from the button and Christopher Kruk called from the big blind.
The flop came 
and both players checked. They checked the 
turn, as well.
The fell on the river and Kruk bet 360,000. After some thought, Jaffe folded, and Kruk took the pot.
The final two players are now taking a shortened break. Play will resume in 10 minutes.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
5,100,000
-300,000
|
-300,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
2,100,000
300,000
|
300,000 |