Steve O'Dwyer Triumphs at 2018 PCA $50k High Roller

The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) has long been a favorite way for many of the world’s best poker players to welcome in the new year, with the nine-day poker series taking place in the beautiful sun drenched Bahamas.
Amongst the top players who have been in action at the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort is Steve O’Dwyer, who early on booked a 5th place finish at the 25k Charity Event for $66,500. A few days later, and the 35 year-old pro has now gone all the way after taking down the $50,000 High Roller Single Re-Entry for a massive $769,500 payday. Commenting after his impressive victory, O’Dwyer, who now ranks 13 on poker’s ‘All Time Money List’ with $21,121,735 in live career earnings, stated:
“I had a few good years here in The Bahamas. No complaints, it’s fun to win.”
A total of 46 players paid the tournament’s $50,000 buy-in fee, which together with a further 15 re-entries helped create a prize pool worth $2,263,200. On Day 2, just the six remaining contenders would then see a return on their investments, with the first players to exit the final table being Turkey’s Orpen Kisacikoglu (6th) and then France’s Benjamin Pollak (5th), both of whom were sent to the rail by Byron Kaverman.
Next, Steve O’Dwyer entered the fray by eliminating poker legend Erik Seidel in 4th, after which Kaverman took care of Frenchman Jean-Noel Thorel in 3rd to set up heads-up play between himself and O’Dwyer for the tiitle.
At this stage, Kaverman held a 3-to-2 chip advantage over his final opponent, but O’Dwyer soon managed to redress the balance after winning five hands in a row to take the lead. Despite his best attempts at a comeback, however, Kaverman eventually found himself reduced down to just 11 big blinds when the defining hand was played with Kaverman moving all-in preflop holding Q-9. O’Dwyer opted to make the call with J-10, with the ensuing J-4-2-5-K board then sealing the deal.
While Steve O’Dwyer was crowned the champion, Kaverman collected $531,860 for his runner-up finish, in the process pushing his career earnings past the $12 million mark.
Final Table Results:
1: Steve O’Dwyer $769,500
2: Byron Kaverman $531,860
3: Jean-Noel Thorel $339,480
4: Erik Seidel $260,260
5: Benjamin Pollak $203,680
6: Orpen Kisacikoglu $158,420