PCA 2011 High Roller Tournament: A Record-Breaking Event

The PCA 2011 high roller tournament started with a bang, as 151 participants registered, far exceeding expectations. The previous year, 84 people paid $25,000 each to participate, making this year's turnout even more impressive.

Dmitry Shtelmak, Alexander Kostritsin, and Max Lykov returned to represent Russia, joined by Dmitry Vitkind, Andrey Zaichenko, Dmitry Gromov, and Alexander Kravchenko. The first day began with blinds at 100/200 and a starting stack of 50,000. Early eliminations included Dan 'djk123' Kelly, who busted after a bad beat, and Dmitry Shtelmak, who lost with pocket aces against a pair of nines that hit on the river.

Alexander Kostritsin was eliminated after a German player check-raised him on a paired board with a straight draw, which completed on the river. Alexander Kravchenko ended the first day with a stack of 21,100, while Dmitry Vitkind finished with 79,000. Max Lykov had a strong start, ending the day with around 130,000. The second day began with blinds at 600/1,200 and an ante of 100. Alexander Kravchenko was eliminated in the third hand, and Dmitry Vitkind busted on the 10th level after losing several premium hands. Andrey Zaichenko was eliminated by Tom Marchesano with KQ against his pocket jacks.