BSOP brings out the big names for its Bahamas debut
There's $86K up top in the BSOP Bahamas Main Event and the field is full of familiar faces
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A $1,100 buy-in is modest compared with the Super High Roller and PokerStars Players Championship (PSPC) events on this year’s PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA)/PSPC schedule.
But for most poker players around the world – I’m sure you’ll agree – $1,100 is a big deal. Maybe a once-every-few-years kind of deal. Perhaps even once in a lifetime.
And for some poker players who’ve made the trip to the Bahamas, this is their Main Event.
THE BSOP COMES TO THE BAHAMAS
The PCA has always hosted a $1K-$2K event with a regional feel, akin to the Latin American Poker Tour (which just announced its return!), the UK and Ireland Poker Tour or the Eureka Poker Tour.
It’s had various names and buy-ins over the years. It’s had big-name winners, too. We’ll tell you all about those in a moment.
But this year’s event marks the first time the Brazilian Series of Poker (BSOP) has landed in the Caribbean, or stepped outside of Brazil, for that matter. It’s also the first event of the new BSOP schedule and so far — as you’ll see in the Event Stats section below — it’s been a big success.
“Many Brazilian players who wouldn’t normally travel to the Bahamas have made the trip because it’s a BSOP event,” says Devanir Campos, BSOP Executive Director. Indeed, Brazilian crushers Fabiano Kovalski and Kelvin Kerber are just a few of the players representing the green, yellow and blue.
Vanessa Kade
Then there’s Sunday Million Anniversary winner Vanessa Kade, PCA 2019 champ Chino Rheem, Team PokerStars Pros Benjamin “Spraggy” Spragg, Fintan “easywithaces” Hand, Parker “Tonkaaaa” Talbot, Alejandro “papoMC” Lococo, Steve Enriquez, and Guillermo Sanz, plus high stakes pros Joao Vieira, Jonathan Little, and Ludovic Geilich, to name but a few.
Ben “Spraggy” Spragg
EVENT STATS
The $1,100 BSOP Bahamas Main Event drew 460 entries, made by 282 unique players. The $446,200 prize pool will be split between the top 63 finishers, with the winner taking $86,650.
American players make up most of the field, but there was a strong showing from Brazilians too
Players from 37 different countries are taking part, with the top five nations being the USA (62 players / 22%), Canada (49 / 17.4%), Brazil (28 / 9.9%), the UK (23 / 8.2%), and Germany (16 / 5.7%).
When we look back at the same stats from the 2019 equivalent of this event, Brazilian players didn’t make up a significant percentage of the field, so it’s clear the BSOP brand has enticed many to make the trip.
You can follow live updates from the event over on Poker News.
(Stats kindly provided by PokerStars Media Coordinator extraordinaire Jan Kores).
Fintan “easywithaces” Hand is repping Ireland
PREVIOUS WINNERS
The event was called the PCA National when it last ran in 2019. German phenom Ole Schemion added the trophy to his full-to-the-brim cabinet, defeating an 812-entry field to win $148,220.
Ole Schemion won it in 2018
The year prior, best-selling author Maria Konnikova completed her journey from poker student to poker master by taking down the 290-entry, $1,650 buy-in PCA National Championship for $84,600 and one of the first shiny Platinum Passes.
Maria Konnikova went from knowing nothing about poker to winning the PCA National
Konnikova is now back in the Bahamas and hoping to win the same event under its new BSOP banner.
Maria Konnikova is currently playing the BSOP Bahamas
The PokerStars YouTube and Twitch streams you’ll watch over the next two weeks will focus on the bigger buy-ins, but it’s worth remembering that there are always more affordable tournaments at PokerStars Live events.
Plus, when the buy-in is lower, the satellite buy-ins are lower too. To find online satellites for $1K events around the world:
- Open your PokerStars Lobby
- Click on the Events tab
