30-second summary
- The PokerStars Player’s No-Limit Hold’em Championship (PSPC) attracted more than 1,000 players this year
- Many of the star players are completely new to poker and looking for a chance to make a fortune
- The tournament was created in December 2017
- It has become the wealthiest $25,000 buy-in event in the history of poker
- The winner, Ramon Colillas, took home over $5 million
Ultimate competition in the sun
Earlier this week in the Bahamas a poker tournament?took place like never seen before. A $25,000 buy-in complemented by 320 players – some newbies, some experts – on an all-expenses-paid trip to spectate and compete. It had never been done before.
It was the brainchild of PokerStars, who also added $8 million to the prize pool, and then gave an extra $1 million to the first-place prize. PokerStars gave away more than more than 300 $30,000 Platinum Passes to make it happen, which guaranteed entry into the tournament and a trip to the Bahamas. Amazingly, in a?fairytale ending – one of them won.
Former fitness trainer took the hand
The crowned winner was Ramon Colillas, a 30-year-old former fitness trainer from Barcelona, Spain, who won $5.1 million after he outlasted 1,039 players to win the tournament.
Over the past year the Spaniard had been trying to win his Platinum Pass, the credit-card sized metal pass that allowed winners to pay for flights, accommodation and, most of all, a seat worth $25,000 at the table. He was determined to get to the Bahamas and managed to pick up points for his performances by entering €500 buy-in tournaments across the country.
The winning hand
On the day Colillas got ahead thanks to a huge hand and Julien Martini, his opponent, was not able to capitalize on his early running.
The flush versus a full house put Colillas in the lead and before long it was all his for the taking. Previously, his largest win had been just $5,000.
After the tournament, a delighted Colillas said: “A lot of players were saying this was the most important tournament in history, so now it’s only about happiness and enjoying the moment.”
A tournament that makes millionaires
It wasn’t just Colillas who went home a millionaire, thanks to the Platinum Pass. Marc Rivera, from the Philippines, finished a respectable third and took home $2.168 million in total. He gained his Platinum Pass when he lifted the APPT Korea title in April last year.
By the end of the tournament, a whopping 43 players who had earned themselves a Platinum Pass took home a major paycheck. From a total of 1,039 players, the prize pool was a staggering $26,455,500 in total, thanks to the extra added by PokerStars.
The PSPC tournament has become the largest tournament hosted by the company in some measure.
Final table results
- Ramon Colillas – $5,100,000
- Julien Martini – $2,974,000
- Marc Rivera – $2,168,000
- Scott Baumstein – $1,657,000
- Jason Koonce – $1,304,000
- Marc Perrault – $1,012,000
- Farid Jattin – $746,000
- Talal Shakerchi – $509,000