As we reported at the time, when he sat down to play Day 2 of the Main Event, he reflected on what we don’t tell you when we qualify for an event such as this – if you do well, you might never see it. Well now, after a remarkable run, and the biggest cash of his career so far, the Englishman – no doubt covered head to toe in the most powerful sun cream on the market, can finally throw himself to the mercy of the sunshine.
Wayman’s Caribbean Adventure came to an end in 30th place, with a pay-out worth $36,560. It was a performance that looked unlikely at several points this week, but the PCA has always been a place where players put in unexpected performances. Wayman is the latest.
***
I checked in on Andrew Wayman’s stack during the bubble yesterday. As he took his seat he’d expected a tough day, having only just saved his prospects on the penultimate hand of play on day 2. But now, I had to say, things didn’t seem that tough at all.
This sudden increase came during what proved a pleasurable afternoon for the Englishman, who got paid with kings and then set to work increasing his stack on the bubble, as others opted for caution. Not bad for a self-described “$11 qualifier”.
Andrew Wayman on course for the biggest cash finish of his career
“I came back to one of my toughest tables yet,” said Wayman. “Either side of me, were four of the top 50 online players. So the plan was to get lucky. I got lucky.”
Then, just as playing against the best in the world can sometimes lift your own game (admittedly it flattens others), Wayman found his own game improving as the bubble approached.
“For some reason they let me start playing like I’m playing a normal tournament,” he said. “I was just opening every pot. I won five out of 10, something like that, in a row. And they just kept folding, so I kept raising.”
That got him up to around 500,000, and eased him into the money into what now stands as his largest career cash.
“Hilariously, this is my biggest cash other than through staking,” he said. “So $15,000 — the package itself — was up there, just under my biggest score online.”
Turning $11 into $36,560
But the PCA is tough, just as it should be. There are no easy spots and the good players tend to go deep. Luck will only take you part of the way.
“Every time we lose a really good player, they just bring someone equal or better,” said Wayman. “Obviously I don’t know who they are at first, but then they say something like how they make videos for a training site. Then it’s like ‘oh my good lord, really’?”
***
Flash forward through today, and a last hand against Shyam Srinivasan. Wayman was out.
Along the way he’d played great, spotted a few poker heroes and got to know many more (“You seem quite good for an $11 player” – Tim Reilly). He may not have turned $11 into millions, but it was still one of the success stories of this year’s PCA.
Congrats Andrew. Now for some well-earned sunshine.
Stephen Bartley is a staff writer for the PokerStars Blog.
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