Two big stacks and three short stacks at the table made for easy dynamics and once it folded to Nick Petrangelo on the button, he pushed all in for 450,000 in the small blind. Isaac Haxton in the big blind called and the cards were flipped over.
Nick Petrangelo:
Isaac Haxton:
Along with his two live cards, Petrangelo also found a gutshot on the flop. The turn gave Haxton a gutshot, too, Neither player connected with the river and king-high was good enough to eliminate Petrangelo in 5th place for $405,800.
Fedor Holz raised to 180,000 on the button and Steve O'Dwyer as one of the two short stacks on the four-handed table defended the big blind with what appeared to be around 425,000 behind.
The flop saw O'Dwyer use one time bank extension before he moved all-in and Holz beat him into the pot with a snap-call.
Steve O'Dwyer:
Fedor Holz:
An audible sigh by O'Dwyer followed when he found himself in dire shape against the overpair and nut flush draw.
Nothing changed with the turn and the river only improved Holz to the nut flush, ending the run of O'Dwyer in 4th place for a payday of $518,500.
One key hand reduced the stack of Aleksejs Ponakovs to a single chip and he was unable to bounce back with a miracle comeback to see his run come to an end in third place.
First, it was Isaac Haxton who got a three-bet through versus Fedor Holz.
Ponakovs then raised the button and Haxton called in the big blind. On a flop, Haxton check-called for 80,000 and did so again for 300,000 on the turn. After the river, Haxton checked the third street in a row with just shy of 1.7 million chips behind.
Ponakovs bet 865,000 and left a single T-5,000 chip behind. That sent Haxton into the tank and he used one time bank before making the call.
Ponakovs tabled the for a bluff and Haxton won the pot with the for the second pair.
"Good game," Holz exclaimed and Ponakovs joked "I am still in".
"I didn't believe you ... I don't know," Haxton now said in table chat. Holz concluded the proceedings with the "sometimes you gotta go with your gut."
Ponakovs was forced all-in the next hand to survive before he was forced all-in for 10,000 out of the small blind next.
Haxton raised to 180,000 on the button and Holz defended the big blind. The flop came and Holz check-folded to a bet worth 400,000.
Aleksejs Ponakovs:
Isaac Haxton:
"I had a good hand, too" Holz chimed in and the trio saw the board complete with the turn and river. Ponakovs became the third place finisher for $698,800.
Fedor Holz limped the button off a stack of around 1,000,000 and Isaac Haxton raised to 300,000. The limp-shove by Holz followed and Haxton double-checked his cards before making the call.
Fedor Holz:
Isaac Haxton:
The flop propelled Haxton into the lead and he was on the verge of victory after the turn. No king or nine but the fell on the river as Haxton claimed the win with eights full of sevens. Holz departed in second place and takes home $1,014,400 for the efforts while Haxton scored the second seven-figure payday of the series, banking a payday of $1,555,360.
All but one tournament has concluded on the final day of the 2023 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure and the penultimate High Roller trophy was awarded to American poker pro Isaac Haxton. Out of 46 entries in Event #66: $100,000 7-Handed High Roller, he took home the biggest slice of the $4,508,460 prize pool after defeating German wunderkind Fedor Holz in heads-up play.
It was the second victory for Haxton during this very successful stop at the Baha Mar Resort on The Bahamas. He came out on top of a three-way deal with Seth Davies and Adrian Mateos in the opening $100,000 PCA Super High Roller before banking almost half a million in the $25,000 8-Handed High Roller, falling short of a victory to Justin Bonomo and Rui Neves Ferreira.
The third time was a charm again and there was no deal discussions at all this time when Haxton and Holz battled for the victory. Coming into the duel with a slight lead, Haxton always remained on top to score a payday of $1,555,360, while Holz had to settle for a consolation prize of $1,014,400.
"Only second place but I'll take it ... it was kind of a sad heads-up," Holz told his German rail after he came up just shy of the win. The German has limited his live poker appearances in the last few years but hasn't forgotten any of the skills that gave him the label of "wunderkind".
Haxton, in the meanwhile, was delighted with the outcome of the trip to The Bahamas. "Wow, what a week, can't complain," he said immediately after the final hand.
Among those to cash were also Aleksejs Ponakovs, Steve O'Dwyer, Nick Petrangelo and David Peters. The aforementioned Mateos was eliminated by Haxton on the money bubble in rather cruel fashion.
Final Result Event #66: $100,000 7-Handed High Roller
Place
Player
Country
Prize (in USD)
1
Isaac Haxton
United States
$1,555,360
2
Fedor Holz
Germany
$1,014,400
3
Aleksejs Ponakovs
Latvia
$698,800
4
Steve O'Dwyer
Ireland
$518,500
5
Nick Petrangelo
United States
$405,800
6
David Peters
United States
$315,600
Isaac Haxton, Luca Greenwood, Steve O'dwyer, Mike Watson, Justin Bonomo
The final day recommenced with 12 Day 1 survivors out of 21 entries returning to their seats but the late registration and re-entry period was available for the first hour. During that time frame, the field size more than doubled in a frantic opening stage. Big names of the international poker scene arrived and departed without anything to show for but an expensive final day of the series.
Several eliminations in quick succession brought the field down to the final three tables with Justin Bonomo and
Kannapong Thanarattrakul among those to depart. Chris Brewer, Michael Addamo, Bryn Kenney, and Cary Katz found no trip saver thereafter either while the exit of Day 1 chip leader Daniel Dvoress set up the final two tables.
Short-handed play close to the money bubble brought with it the eliminations of Seth Davies and Kathy Lehne, which created the seven-handed final table on the money bubble.
Adrian Mateos bubbled the event
Haxton was responsible for bursting the bubble when he jammed ten-trey into the ace-king of Mateos and turned a wheel. It didn't take long to lose three short stacks in quick succession after that as Peters, Petrangelo and O'Dwyer were gone within half an hour.
"I have to look it up later but the computers probably won't like it," eventual champion Haxton remarked right after it happened.
Heads-up play between Holz and Haxton lasted for around an hour and small ball poker dictated the action right out of the gates. Eventually, Haxton established a commanding lead and ultimately prevailed with ten-eight suited versus king-nine suited to cap off the series on The Bahamas with a second trophy.
This concludes the PokerNews live coverage from the PokerStars flagship series in the Caribbean but the first stop of the European Poker Tour in Paris is just around the corner.
Return to live poker for Fedor Holz ends with another seven-figure score
flop. The 
turn gave Haxton a gutshot, too, Neither player connected with the 
river and king-high was good enough to eliminate Petrangelo in 5th place for $405,800.
flop saw O'Dwyer use one time bank extension before he moved all-in and Holz beat him into the pot with a snap-call.
turn and the 
flop, Haxton check-called for 80,000 and did so again for 300,000 on the 
for a bluff and Haxton won the pot with the 
for the second pair.
and Holz check-folded to a bet worth 400,000.
turn and 
river. Ponakovs became the third place finisher for $698,800.
turn. No king or nine but the 
