The 2007 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) kicked off on Friday and has already had five guarantee-crushing events. Those five events have already awarded almost $4.6 million in prizes to their participants, a huge number considering the tournaments had combined guarantees of just $2.8 million.
The biggest event of the weekend, the $2 million-guaranteed no-limit hold'em event, was ond of the longest-lasting tournaments in PokerStars history. To see how long it took and find out who won the top prize, see event No. 5, listed below.
WCOOP Event No. 1 – $400,000-Guaranteed Sixhanded No-Limit Hold'em
The first event of the series, held on Friday, Sept. 14, was a $400,000-guaranteed sixhanded no-limit hold'em event with a buy in of $200 (with $15 entry fee). The event lured 4,610 entrants, meaning the prize pool came to a whopping $922,000. Bearbeer123, a player who finished in second place in the UltimateBet $200,000 guarantee in August, made the final table of this event. He eventually finished in fifth place, earning $18,901.
The final results were:
- samh133 – $172,875
- WiLDmAn75 – $99,115
- LUFCBas – $64,632.20
- TiltHappens – $36,880
- bearbeer123 – $18,901
- toomanydonks – $10,142
WCOOP Event No. 2 – $100,000-Guaranteed Pot-Limit Five-Card Draw
A $100,000-guaranteed five-card draw tournament, also on Friday, was the second event of the series, and its prize pool nearly doubled its guarantee, as well. A total of 857 entrants bucked up the $200 buy-in (with $15 entry fee), bringing the prize pool to $171,400. Quite a few notable Internet players finished deep in the event, including Josh "pairDboard21" Evans (sixth, for $3,685), AUSSIE_JASE (seventh, for $2,400), iCeVeNoM (eighth, for $2,400), Xuan "x2then" Nguyen (11th, for $2,400), and Jon "sketchy1" Eaton (15th, for $1,457).
The final results were:
- spielraum.at – $42,850
- jaygee1984 – $23,996
- peseudos – $14,998
- boro83 – $9,598
- BadgerPro – $5,828
- Josh "pairDboard21" Evans – $3,685
WCOOP Event No. 3 – $200,000-Guaranteed SixhandedPot-Limit Omaha
Sixhanded pot-limit Omaha, held on Saturday, was the third event in the series, and the tournament had a $200,000 guarantee and a buy-in of $200 (with $15 entry fee). The tournament handily beat out its guarantee when 1,818 entrants bought in, generating a $363,600 prize pool. Justin "Boosted J" Smith was the most notable player to go deep in the event. He eventually busted out in eighth place, earning $3,200. Matt "All_in_at420" Stout also made it deep before ultimately going out in 12th place, for $3,200, as well. C.K., another notable player, made it close to the final table of the event when he became the final-table bubble boy. He earned $3,200 for his seventh-place finish. Of the final table participants, jalla79 had fairly extensive online tournament experience, and he eventually took down the final pot of the event to secure himself $73,738.
The final results were:
- jalla79 – $73,738
- TomNordli – $43,741
- ely_cash41 – $27,379
- madiso – $16,435
- smittymatt – $9,163
- lefty2506 – $5,527
WCOOP Event No. 4 – $100,000-Guaranteed Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw
Saturday's deuce-to-seven triple draw event was the fourth tournament in the series and guaranteed a prize pool of $100,000. This tournament, like the others before it, beat out its guarantee, but by a much smaller margin. The tournament had a prize pool of $129,800 when 649 entrants bought in for $200 apiece (with a $15 entry fee). The final table of this event included prominent poker player Argyris "polpolpol" Argyrou (aka "Crazy Cypriot"). He eventually finished in fifth place, pocketing $4,868. Hevad "RaiNKhaN" Khan, the sixth-place finisher in this year's World Series of Poker main event, came close to making the final table of this event before being eliminated in eighth place ($2,077). Notable Internet pros Brock "t soprano" Parker and Tracey "XTraCey" Nguyen made it deep in the event, as well, before eventually busting out in 16th and 18th, respectively, both earning $1,233.
The final results were:
- Donald – $32,450
- pstarfish – $18,821
- omaha kid – $12,007
- GymZQuirk – $7,788
- Argyris "polpolpol" Argyrou – $4,868
- GodlikeRoy – $3,245
WCOOP Event No. 5 – $2 million-Guaranteed No-Limit Hold'em
The final hand of the marathon 20-hour WCOOP Event No. 5
The final event of the weekend, Sunday's $2 million-guaranteed no-limit hold'em tournament, was a resounding – and record-breaking – success. The tournament had a buy-in of $500 (with $30 entry fee) and lured 6,025 entrants, generating a prize pool of $3,012,500. Among those finishing deep in the event were notable Internet players Bill Ivey (fifth, for $96,701), Jimmy "gobboboy" Fricke, a player who went heads-up with Gus Hansen in last year's Aussie Millions (15th, for $13,858), and
Isaac "westmenloAA" Baron, currently third in the Card Player Online Player of the Year race (19th, for $10,544).
The tournament started at 4:30 p.m. ET on Sunday and was still running at 1 p.m. ET today as the final two players duked it out. Taktloss47 and AB_illusive had been playing for over 20.5 hours before the final hand took place, making this tournament possibly the longest tournament in PokerStars history. AB_illusive raked in that last pot and earned himself almost $400,000 after a deal was made at the final table. The deal had guaranteed him $249,000 and he snagged an extra $150,000 for winning the event.
The official final results (before the deal) were:
- AB_illusive – $433,198
- taktloss47 – $225,636
- glynda – $162,374
- wNwNw1 – $126,525
- Bill Ivey – $96,701
- fredmainiac – $69,288
- dankhank – $49,706
- debrisfish – $30,125
- 666 INRI – $18,678
The WCOOP continues today with event No. 6, a $400,000-guaranteed, $300 buy-in pot-limit Omaha rebuy event, which started at noon ET. Tomorrow's event is a $100,000-guaranteed limit hold'em event, which also starts at noon ET. Those interested in playing in this year's historic WCOOP can sign up for PokerStars and take advantage of an exclusive deposit bonus through Card Player by clicking here.
