Dominik Panka Wins PCA Main Event 2014 for Over $1.4 Million

Written by:
Press Release
Published on:
Jan/14/2014
Dominik Panka Wins PCA Main Event 2014 for Over $1.4 Million

The European Poker Tour got its first-ever Polish champion today when PokerStars online qualifier Dominik Panka defeated Mike McDonald heads-up to take down the $10,000 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event. Panka, who received a life-changing $1,423,096 for his win, was the ninth Pole to make an EPT final table.

As well as his life-changing first prize, Panka, 22, who hails from the tiny Polish town of Brześć Kujawski, also received a prestigious trophy and Steel and Black design watch worth €5,550, from luxury Swiss brand SLYDE, the Official Bracelet Sponsor of PCA 2014. Prior to today, his lifetime tournament winnings totaled just over $8,000; now he has catapulted straight to the top of Poland’s all time money list.

He said: “I’m an internet player and I haven’t played many live tournaments. I only started playing live last year and I expected my first big cash to be a tenth of this! It’s weird because I didn’t feel too much pressure on the final table. I concentrated on being a rock, a statue, and now I can’t really dance with joy because I’m still in that mindset.”

McDonald, who won EPT Dortmund in Season 4, came his closest yet to winning a second EPT. In Season 5, he finished fifth again in Dortmund and he bubbled the EPT Madrid final table. He has accrued lifetime tournament winnings of more than $7 million including third at EPT6 Deauville, fifth in last month’s EPT Prague High Roller, bubbling the EPT Madrid final table and final tabling both EPT Barcelona Super High Rollers. At the start of the PCA festival, he finished eighth in the $100k Super High Roller for $217,320, and earned $1,064,865 today for his Main Event runner-up finish, the biggest live cash of his career

Both Panka and McDonald were among 427 players who won their PCA seats online on PokerStars. McDonald was actually the very first, securing his trip to the Bahamas in a $700 qualifier back in August last year.

American online poker legend Isaac “westmenloAA” Baron finished third and managed to secure himself a $1,207,599 cash after cutting a three-way deal with McDonald and Panka. Third place was originally going to award $774,060.

Canadian Pascal LeFrancois, who first shot to fame in 2010 when he posed bare-chested after winning the WSOP $1,500 NL Event, finished seventh for $242,020 while the LAPT Viña del Mar champion Fabian Ortiz from Argentina was eighth for $173,220. UKIPT Dublin champion and EPT Prague finalist Max Silver bubbled the final, finishing ninth for $135,400.

There were 1,031 players from 65 countries in the event creating a prize pool of $10,000,700. Numerous stars competed including Friend of PokerStars and Seinfeld star Jason Alexander, golf champion Sergio Garcia, actress Jennifer Tilly, “One Tree Hill” actor Paul Johansson and three-time NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas.

PCALive covered the Super High Roller and Main Events every day with both final tables broadcast with hole cards visible “as live” in a multitude of languages. Both events were also filmed for television.

There were 151 players in the money including Team PokerStars Pros Vanessa Selbst, Angel Guillen, Liv Boeree, Marcel Luske, George Danzer, Jason Mercier and Leo Margets plus PokerStars Team Online’s Marc-Andre “FrenchDawg” Ladouceur and Caio Pessagno all made the money. Others who cashed included WSOP finalist Antoine Saout, Masters Finale champion Robert Auer, Jude Ainsworth, Loni Harwood (the last woman standing, who also cashed in the Women’s event), Jennifer Shahade, PCA High Roller winner Alex Bilokur, EPT Barcelona Super High Roller winner Dan Smith, EPT Berlin champion Davidi Kitai, PCA 2012 champion John Dibella, Antonio Esfandiari and Ole Schemion – who, like Selbst, cashed in all three major events.

Syndicate