Michel Dattani Leads the 2023 PCA Main Event With 16 Remaining

Name Surname
Senior Editor
3 min read
Michel Dattani

Only 15 players stand between Michel Dattani and the 2023 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) Main Event title after Day 4 of the $10,300 buy-in saw the returning 54 hopefuls whittled to a more manageable 16.

Everyone who returns for Day 5 does so having locked in at least $68,000 for their efforts, but none of them will want to collect that sum because $1,500,000 awaits the eventual champion.

2023 PCA Main Event Top 10 Chip Counts

PlacePlayerCountryChipsBig Blinds
1Michel DattaniPortugal2,900,000116
2Jamil WakilCanada2,840,000114
3Christoph CsikUnited States2,785,000111
4Mitchell HalversonUnited States2,650,000106
5Artur MartirosianRussia2,285,00091
6Clint TolbertUnited States1,950,00078
7Sergi ReixachSpain1,610,00064
8Alexandre RaymondCanada1,475,00059
9Ian MatakisUnited States1,200,00048
10Taylor PaurUnited States1,195,00048

Dattani has more than $1 million in live poker tournament earnings, the largest weighing in at �108,350 ($123,966), which was his reward for a seventh place finish in the 2018 European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona �25,000 High Roller. Should Dattani build on his Day 4 success and navigate his way to the final table, the Portuguese grinder will enjoy another career high. He sits down on the penultimate day armed with 2,900,000 chips (116 big blinds).

As you would expect from the PCA Main Event, there are some legitimate poker superstars among the final 16 players. Russia's Artur Martirosian (2,285,000) finds himself in the top five in chips, while Sergi Reixach (1,610,000), who was the chip leader on both Day 1b and Day 3, has a top 10 stack.

Follow the PCA Main Event updates here

Others to look out for in the PokerNews live updates include Taylor Paur (1,195,000), PokerNews strategy contributor Jonathan Little (1,195,000), and the 2019 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event champion Alexandros Theologis.

Cards are back in the air from 12:00 p.m. local time on January 29 and continues until only six players have chips in front of them.

David Peters Leads the Way in the $3,000 Mystery Bounty

David Peters
David Peters

An action-packed Day2 in the $3,000 PCA Mystery Bounty saw 372 players, including 140 late entrants, reduced to only 22. When the dust settled at the end of play, David Peters topped the chip counts with his 2,190,000 stack (55 big blinds).

British grinder Andy Wilson, known as "BowieEffect" in online poker circles, is second in chips with 1,930,000, while such luminaries as WSOP bracelet winners Yuliyan Kolev (1,585,000) and Sebastien Aube (1,440,000), Kitty Kuo (1,100,000), and Team PokerStars' Rafael Moraes (240,000) remain in contention.

$3,000 PCA Mystery Bounty Top 10 Chip Counts

PlacePlayerCountryChipsBig Blinds
1David PetersUnited States2,190,00055
2Andy WilsonUnited Kingdom1,960,00049
3Michael UguccioniItaly1,675,00042
4Petar KalevBulgaria1,675,00042
5Yuliyan KolevBulgaria1,585,00040
6Sebastien AubeCanada1,440,00036
7Luc LafontaineCanada1,250,00031
8Mauricio SanchezColombia1,195,00030
9Kitty KuoTaiwan1,100,00028
10Samuel CobianUnited States1,010,00025

Two large mystery bounties remain among the final 22 players; one worth $40,000 and a $100,000. On Day 2, Joey Weissman picked out a $40,000 bounty, Michael Jozoff pulled an envelope containing a PSPC Platinum Pass, while the aforementioned Aube banked a cool $100,000.

Join the PokerNews Live Reporting team on January 29 as the $3,000 PCA Mystery Bounty plays down to a winner.

All the $3,000 PCA Mystery Bounty updates are here

"Big Huni" Chris Hunichen Has a Big Stack in the $25,000 8-Handed

Chris Hunichen
Chris Hunichen

Chris Hunichen, affectionately known as "Big Huni," bagged a big stack after Day 1 of the $25,000 8-Handed event. Day 1 saw a field of 78 congregate at the Baha Mar Resort in The Bahamas, and 52 of those punched their Day 2 tickets at the first attempt.

Hunichen built a stack of 565,000 chips to finish second in chips when the curtain came down on the day's proceedings. Only Brian Kim (631,000) is ahead of Hunichen.

$25,000 high-roller events always draw in stellar names, and this event is no different. Timothy Adams (479,000), Joao Vieira (462,000), Orpen Kisacikoglu (316,000), and Matas Cimbolas (314,000) are in the top ten. Others safely through include Stephen Chidwick (265,000), PokerStars' Sam Grafton (249,000), Yuri Dzivielevski (205,000), Daniel Dvoress (185,000), Aussie superstar Michael Addamo (166,000), and Adrian Mateos (105,000) among many others.

$25,000 8-Handed Top 10 Chip Counts

PlacePlayerCountryChipsBig Blinds
 1Brian KimUnited States631,000
 2Chris HunichenUnited States565,000
 3Timothy AdamsCanada479,000
 4Joao VieiraPortugal462,000
 5Tauan NavesBrazil418,000
 6Jean-Noel ThorelFrance400,000
 7Eric WorreUnited States391,000
 8Dylan DestefanoUnited States379,000
 9Orpen Kisacikoglu[Turkey316,000
 10Matas CimbolasLithuania314,000

Day 2 commences at 2:00 p.m. local time, and PokerNews is the only place you will find live and exclusive updates, so check them out.

Click here for the $25,000 8-Handed updates

Share this article
author
Senior Editor

More Stories

Other Stories

Recommended for you

2023 PCA Hands of the Week: Failed Super High Roller Bluff & a Miracle Turn on Bubble 2023 PCA Hands of the Week: Failed Super High Roller Bluff & a Miracle Turn on Bubble