$$ Cash 4 Seat $$

The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure has spent years awarding millions of dollars to it winners. Now, the PCA and its players are set to give something back.

PokerStars has long been a supporter of AIDS research charities. Going back several years, PokerStars has been a proud supporter of the AIDS fundraising Lifeball event. Now, PokerStars has teamed up with AIDS research charity amfAR to host a celebrity charity tournament during this year’s PCA to raise money for HIV/AIDS awareness and research. The $5,250 buy-in tournament will donate half the prize pool to amfAR.

Players and celebrities expected to show up include NHL Olympic gold medalist Mats Sundin, tennis legend Boris Becker, and members of Team PokerStars Pro.

Boris Becker playing EPT Prague last week

PokerStars is giving its players a chance to play with the stars and raise some money for amfAR - and you have one more opportunity to get a seat in this star-studded tournament. Sunday December 13 at 16:00, PokerStars will host a $5.50 tournament that awards prize packages to the top two finishers.

Also, if you’re headed out to the PCA, keep your eyes open for ways you can donate to amfAR during the week in paradise.

Good luck to those trying to win a seat. We hope to see you in the Bahamas in a few weeks.

For more information on the charity qualifiers, see the amfAR charity event page.

Boris is well and truly back. The scene was set here in the Imperial Ballroom for a Battle Boris extravaganza, with six players lining up one-by-one take a shot at the PokerStars ambassador. The tennis legend was all that stood between them and a seat in the PCA tomorrow, a freeroll prize that could potentially amount to millions of dollars. It sounded simple…

Six players had made it here after gallant routes through a progression of tournaments on PokerStars. Daily “Battle Boris” events ran into November before weekly finals through October and into November that culminated in a grand final online, with the top finishes brought here to the Bahamas. For the victors today, a seat in the PCA; for the vanquished, chance to spend a week with sand between their toes on the shores of Paradise Island, trying to forget what could have been. Faced with such an either/or, some would say everyone’s a winner…

Michel Dion went first. The Quebecois withstood a Becker advantage before turning the tables on the German, a first win for the contenders, Dion becoming the most recent addition to the day 1B line up.

Lone winner Michael Dion

But any thought that we would be adding another five new names to the player list (and their buy-in to the prizepool) were quickly forgotten. Boris Becker, the winner of six tennis grand slam titles and countless others across a glittering tennis career, was about to turn up the heat.

Next up was Namik Ajlan who did well to keep himself in the game during some relentless Becker pressure before being eventually sent to the beach empty handed, Becker’s tens full of jacks seeing off his fellow German. It was a similar fate for Isaak Oknin of Israel.

Oknin came out raising from the start, the equivalent of a booming serve that Becker returned, unharmed. The lead switched between the two for some time before a breakthrough, and again it was Becker on top, seeing him off with an ace-high flush for three in a row.

2-1 Becker…

Next up was Piotr Malinowski, from France. Despite heroic efforts his battle with Boris lasted a little more than ten minutes.

3-1 Becker…

Next up was Stefan Edberg. No, I mean American Keith Anderson, sportingly dressed in a white headband, shorts and a t-shirt, reminiscent of Becker’s Swedish nemesis. Only the open sandals gave Andersen away. Their clash would not be too dissimilar from the Becker-Edberg battles of yesteryear.

Becker and Edberg, a.k.a. Keith Andersen

Becker worked his way into a 2-1 chip lead putting Anderson on the base line. After a pocket deuces hand Becker had left his opponent with a little more than 400 chips. But to Edberg’s Andersen’s credit he fought back, doubling up twice to level the scores only to stumble again, before everything flipped, putting Becker on the back foot in true Wimbledon epic style.

But Boris was proving resilient, turning on the aggression again to seal the match, beating Andersen’s pair of threes with his own pocket fours, putting this one to bed.

4-1 Becker…

It would soon be 5-1. Italian player Stefano Busolin completed the display, down to the felt in just ten minutes, completed a Becker run that few had predicted.

The PCA will be boosted by just one player tomorrow. Becker headed off to play cash ahead of his Day 1B appearance.

That’s the wordy version. Now hear it from the man himself…

Watch PCA 09: Boris Becker on Battle Boris on PokerStars.tv

Imagine how many people who have trembled as they looked across the net and saw Boris Becker staring back at them. Looking into the champion’s eyes on the competitive field is something few people can do. Now, you have your chance and a seat to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure is on the line.

As you might already be aware, Boris Becker has been spending a lot of time with the PokerStars folks these days. Now, he’s decided to play some PokerStars players heads-up in the Bahamas. The winners will end up with seats to the hottest tournament in the islands.

PokerStars has just started running a series of daily freeroll tournaments that feed directly into the weekly finals. The final table players from those events will make it to the November 16th grand finals. The top three players from those two tournaments will go to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure and play heads-up with Boris Becker. Win that match and proceed directly to your PCA seat across the room.

To learn more about the Boris Becker event, visit the Play Against Boris Becker page at PokerStars.

To get started, click on TOURNEY and ALL in the PokerStars lobby and look for the “Battle Borris” freerolls.

Good luck!