The action-packed 2018 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) $10,300 Main Event has come to a close and Argentina’s Maria Lampropulos emerged victorious with a million-dollar boost to her account. This was the poker pro’s second million-dollar victory and the first in 2018 which has also put her on top of Hendon Mob’s 2018 Money List.
Argentina’s Maria Lampropulos Creates History At 2018 PCA
The battle was gruesome and hard, with Lampropulos having to overcome 582 seasoned and amateur players at the Atlantis Casino and Resort on Atlantis Paradise Island. The Argentinean poker pro started with 55/341 in chips on Day 1 but continued to play well and make progress with each passing day. She entered the top 18 on Day 2 and then climbed all the way to the top ten in the next three subsequent days. She had to beat some of the best poker pros in the game and in the end she faced-off with the finale, World Poker Tour (WPT) champ Shawn Buchanan at the final table and ended up getting the better of him.
It was a high-profile victory for Lampropulos who became the first woman ever to win the PCA Main Event in its 13-year history. She took home the prize money of $1,081,100 and a coveted $30,000 Platinum Pass to the PokerStars Players Championship next January. Lampropulos looked like she was overflowing with happiness after her longtime boyfriend and fellow poker pro Ivan Luca came rushing to her after she finished Buchanan off with a flopped pair.
In a statement, Lampropulos said, “I am very proud. Every woman here—dealers, floors—every woman is very happy for me, and I’m grateful for that. I am very, very happy. I’m so excited. This is incredible. I know that this is hard to believe for everybody. It’s my second huge main event, and I’m very thankful.”
Lampropulos Leading Hendon Mob 2018 Money List
Lampropulos’ million-dollar cash at the end of the PCA Main Event pushed her total live earnings to $2,798,141. During the time of this writing, she currently sits on top of the Hendon Mob’s 2018 Money List ahead of US-based pro Cary Katz, who zoomed in to second place after a $1,492,340 cash-in at the PCA Super High roller event. Apart from topping the 2018 Money List, Lampropulos made it to second place in Argentina’s All Time Money List behind her boyfriend Luca, who flopped out early and only made $22,020 during the PCA Main Event.
The last few months have been very good for Lampropulos. She won the partypoker MILLIONS Live tournament in April 2017 and for the first time in her career won over a million dollars. She received the equivalent to $1.28 million after winning the £5,300 No Limit Hold’em event and in doing so became the first female player who made a 7-figure payday outside a high-roller event.
She used that momentum well in 2017 and continued to cash in on several live tournaments after that. It looks like Lampropulos has brought that momentum in 2018 and her PCA Main Event win will give her a lot more confidence for the rest of the year.
The PCA Main Event final table had a total of 6 players battling it out for the final prize. Shawn Buchanan who finished in second place took home $672,960 while third placer Koray Aldemir won $481,560. In fourth place was WSOP champ and GPI Player of the Year Adrian Mateos who bagged $372,600, while Daniel Coupal finished in fifth place and took home $293,560. Germany’s Christian Rudolph pocketed $229,760 after finishing in sixth place.
2018 PCA Top Performers
Christopher Kruk also stole the limelight at the 2018 after winning the $25,000 High Roller event. He went through a total of 144 players and ended up winning $836,350. The Canadian poker pro was quite emotional after his victory as this was his biggest cashout in his career and pushed his total live earnings to $2,029,669.
The 2018 PCA has also been very good to another Maria at the pro tournament circuit. Maria Konnikova, a journalist from New York, was able to top hundreds of male poker players at the PCA National Championship to take home close to $85,000 and a $30,000 Platinum Pass. Apart from expressing excitement about nabbing the title, she also shared that winning the platinum pass to the biggest $25,000 buy-in tournament in the poker world is as rewarding as it could get since she wouldn’t have been able to afford entering the tournament without the pass.