Maria Lampropoulos Poker

It was a case of out with old and in with the new for 2018, all-time female great Vanessa Selbst’s retirement paving the way for Argentina’s Maria Lampropoulos to take over the helm with a $1,081,100 scoop of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event – her second seven-figure score leapfrogging her to 5th spot on the female lifetime money-winners list.

After her record-breaking PartyPoker MILLIONS win in April of last year – the first non-High Roller $million payday for a female – the diminutive Lampropoulos said “It really feels like a magic moment I’m in right now,' and that magic has just been doubled as she took on and beat some of the best players in the world in Paradise Island this week.

Mahmut Yildirim saw a raise to 35,000 by Maria Lampropoulos from under the gun and three-bet to 76,000 from the cutoff. The Argentinian called and then check-called the flop for 100,000. On the turn, Lampropoulos checked again and then folded to a second barrel worth 125,000. Maria Lampropulos wins 2018 PCA Main Event Argentine picks up $1,081,100 for her win in the Caribbean Adventure and becomes the first women to cash for seven figures twice inside 12 months. Maria Lampropulos became the first ever woman to bank multiple million dollar plus scores within 12-months after she took home the PCA Main Event on Sunday. By the time heads-up play began it was only his special someone who could deny him the title as he faced off against his girlfriend Maria Lampropoulos. She may not be as experienced as Luca in big buy-in tournaments but she can play, she can play very well as evidenced by her runner-up finish in a WPT National event in Brussels at the end of.

Maria Lampropulos Poker

With 582 entries to the $10K buy-in flagship event, the prizepool had swollen to a massive $5,645,400 with the likes of Adrian Mateos, Koray Aldemir, Liv Boeree and David Peters making it deep into the money – with Lampropoulos guaranteeing she’d be the last woman standing when she knocked Boeree out herself in 17th spot.

A final table ‘of the highest quality’ was streamed live on PokerStars.tv and as the PS blog stated, viewers ‘were treated to tricks, bluffs, aggression and solidity’ – unsurprising given that Mateos, Aldemir and Canada’s Shawn Buchanan all have excellent pedigree – almost $30million between them in tournament earnings. Throw in the new female on the block and it was a poker masterclass.

With the short stacks falling early on the 6th day of play, Spanish sensation Adrian Mateos made his bid for the title but the swings and roundabouts of poker fortune conspired against him – a huge hand against Buchanan ending his dreams in 4th spot…

Germany’s Koray Aldemir certainly wasn’t scared to get it all-in when needed, an outrageous bluff holding pocket 3’s grabbing the attention of the Twitter-followers of the PCA…

Maria Lampropoulos Poker Tournaments

…but eventually he too succumbed as he was first short-stacked and then had to watch as his last-gasp effort was hit by trips, the river king pairing his hand but too little, too late…

Heads-up for the title and it would be history in the making – no female ever winning the PCA in its 13 years – and Lampropoulos did it in style, pulling away from Buchanan and finishing him off with a flopped pair, her boyfriend Ivan Luca rushing down to greet the new PCA champ…

'I am very proud,' Lampropulos said afterwards. 'Every woman here - dealers, floors - every woman is very happy for me, and I'm grateful for that,' adding: 'I am very, very happy. I'm so excited. This is incredible. I know that this is hard to believe for everybody. It's my second huge main event, and I'm very thankful.'

Maria Lampropoulos Poker Tournament

2018 PCA Main Event Results