A very busy Monday at the 2008 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) at PokerStars saw three different winners crowned and bracelets awarded. The biggest story of all was the conclusion of Event #20, which saw 43 players on hand to decide the lion’s share of a $3,647,000 prize pool. The final five survivors eventually agreed on a deal that netted them an average of more than a quarter million dollars each.

WCOOP Event #20, $1,000+50 NLHE, $3,000,000 Guaranteed, Day 2

Day 2 of Event #20 of the 2008 WCOOP, $1000+50 No-Limit Hold’em, concluded Monday night. 43 players returned with hopes of winning the title. Among them were Team
PokerStars pros Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier and Humberto Brenes, but both fell short of the final table. ElkY saw his

outflopped by

and finished in 14th place ($14,561.40) while Brenes ran

into

to finish in 15th place ($14,561.40). Taylor “ElMasterMind” McFarland finished in 18th for $8,667.50. High finishers who didn’t survive to Day 2 included Hoss_TBF in 56th ($5,547.20), Dani “supernova9″ Stern in 86th ($5,200.50), Mr. Tim Caum in 90th ($5,200.50), Andre “aakkari” Akkari in 191st ($3,813.70), Joe Hachem in 240th ($3,467) and Noah “Exclusive” Boeken in 350th ($2,426.90).

The chip counts to start the final table were as follows:

QuasiFiction – 17,614,385
Mary 717 – 11,817,844
CamoJr – 6,325,276
Christian “C.K.” Krue – 4,630,228
NYC P.I.M.P – 4,068,719
henri72 – 3,134,664
Jeff “JSchnett” Schnettler – 2,093,726
Sumar07 – 1,223,614
VuaXi`Tô’ – 1,096,544

The first to be eliminated was Sumar07. With blinds of 80,000/160,000 and an ante of 16,000, Sumar07 moved all in from middle position for 1,559,614 with

. On his immediate left, Jeff “JSchnett” Schnettler reraised all in and isolated the action with

. The board rolled out

and Sumar07 took home $31,203 for ninth. Later in the level, VuaXi`Tô’ moved all in under the gun for 1,745,088 and CamoJr called from the big blind. VuaXi`Tô’s JdTd needed help to beat CamoJr’s

, but was unable to find any. VuaXi`Tô’ finished in eighth place for $45,071.

WCOOP Event #7 winner Mary 717 certainly showed what it takes to win a WCOOP event, and continued here by eliminating henri72 in seventh place. The blinds and antes had moved to the 100,000/200,000/20,000 level, when, on the button, Mary 717 moved all in for 9,393,669 with

to force the smaller stacks in the blinds to pick up hands and make decisions for their tournament lives. Henri72 woke up with

and quickly called. Unfortunately for henri72, the board rolled out

to give Mary 717 a straight, eliminating henri72 in seventh place for $72,807. Sixth place was determined when Jeff “JSchnett” Schnettler moved all in from the cutoff for 2,485,340 and was called by Christian “C.K.” Krue in the big blind. Schnettler’s

ran into Krue’s

, and only a king would come on the board, not enough to save Schnettler. He earned $107,477 for sixth.

The remaining five players discussed a chip count chop and with a slight adjustment, a deal was reached. Each was guaranteed as follows:

QuasiFiction – $340,000
Mary 717 – $288,155.21
CamoJr – $230,388.83
Christian “C.K.” Krue – $226,965.07
NYC P.I.M.P. – $197,953

The remaining $60,000 would be awarded to the winner as would be the championship bracelet. Play slowed down for a while but eliminations soon came at a frantic pace. At the 150,000/300,000/30,000 level, QuasiFiction opened to 700,000 and Mary 717 reraised to 2.4 million. QuasiFiction moved all in and Mary 717 called all in showing

, but was in a precarious position seeing QuasiFiction’s

. The board ran out 10-high and Mary 717 finished in fifth place. The next hand, Christian “C.K.” Krue moved all in for 1,424,330 and NYC P.I.M.P reraised, successfully isolating the action. Krue showed

but was trailing NYC P.I.M.P’s

. No king would pair Krue’s hand as he finished the tournament in fourth place. It would take only five hands for the next player to fall. CamoJr made it 800,000 to go and NYC P.I.M.P moved all in for just over ten million. CamoJr called all in with

but was dominated by NYC P.I.M.P’s

. The board rolled out

and CamoJr placed third.

Heads-up play began with these chip counts:

QuasiFiction – 34,796,431
NYC P.I.M.P – 17,208,569

It took 30 hands for NYC P.I.M.P to double up with pocket aces and eventually take down the title. The winning hand came on a limped pot that brought out a flop of

. QuasiFiction check-called a bet of 550,000 and the turn delivered the

. This time QuasiFiction led out for 1,200,000 but was raised all in by NYC P.I.M.P. After a few moments of pondering, QuasiFiction called and showed

but was behind NYC P.I.M.P’s

. The river was the

and the tournament was over. QuasiFiction finished as runner-up, but still took home the biggest payday of $340,000.

The winner of WCOOP Event #20 was NYC P.I.M.P. After securing $197,953 per the five-way deal, NYC P.I.M.P battled valiantly to win the championship bracelet and the additional $60,000 to take home a total of $257,953. The final results:

*1. NYC P.I.M.P – $257,953
*2. QuasiFiction – $340,000
*3. CamoJr – $230,388.83
*4. Christian “C.K.” Krue – $226,965.07
*5. Mary 717 – $288,155.21
6. Jeff “JSchnett” Schnettler – $107,477
7. henri72 – $72,807
8. VuaXi`Tô’ – $45,071
9. Sumar07 – $31,203

* — five-way chop for remaining prize money, $60,000 to eventual winner

WCOOP Event #21, $500+30 Stud Hi/Lo, $200,000 Guaranteed

Though it had a relatively low number of entrants at 525, the $530 Stud Hi/Lo event generated a prize pool of $262,500, easily eclipsing its pre-tourney guarantee. Just missing out on the final table were Scott “emptyseat88″ Fischman in 14th place ($3,412.50) and Chad “ChadBrownPRO” Brown in 16th place ($3,412.50). Other top finishers included Lee “LeeNelsonP*” Nelson in 29th ($1,968.75), Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi in 30th ($1,968.75), Shane “Shaniac” Schleger in 41st ($1,312.50), Andre “aakkari” Akkari in 44th ($1,312.50) and Isabelle “NoMercy” Mercier in 72nd ($918.75).

The final table still possessed star power, though, as James “Andy McLEOD” Obst finished in seventh place for $6,562.50. In the end, weaktight defeated aldenpogi to capture the $530 Stud Hi/Lo title. The final results were as follows:

*1. weaktight – $42,735.78
*2. aldenpogi – $34,439.22
3. sagwise – $19,687.50
4. Bad Beat Oz – $14,437.50
5. CR00K – $9,187.50
6. The_Drow – $7,875
7. James “Andy McLEOD” Obst – $6,562.50
8. 7CardRyon – $5,250

* — two-way deal for remaining prize money, $4,000 to eventual winner

WCOOP #22, $500+30 O/8 Mixed (6-max) $200,000 Guaranteed

Event #22 was a unique mixed game that went back and forth between limit Omaha Hi/Lo and Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo. It drew 620 entrants for a prize pool totaling $310,000. Notable finishes included Scott “BigRiskky” Clements in 10th place ($4,030), Victor Ramdin in 14th place ($2,790), 2007 WCOOP bracelet winner copi in 31st ($1,550), horryclutch in 32nd ($1,550), Alexander “allingomes” Gomes in 33rd ($1,550), Dario “Dariominieri” Minieri in 45th ($1,178) and Chris “Money800″ Moneymaker in 58th ($1,023).

After fifteen hours of play the winner was determined when Matt “BUCKIZ6″ Schulte outlasted jamie2000 and the rest of the field. Schulte’s triumph brought him a $55,800 first-place payday. The final results:

1. Matt “BUCKIZ6″ Schulte – $55,800
2. jamie2000 – $41,850
3. PieOhMy – $31,000
4. lovesimi – $21,700
5. iamaction – $15,500
6. Londolozi – $9,300

Day 7 of the World Championship of Online Poker saw the return of a tournament with a guaranteed prize pool of $1 million, along with a smaller stud event that still cruised past its pre-start guarantee by a wide margin. The $215-plus-rebuys Event #13 at PokerStars featured lots of star power late, with Josh Arieh and Kevin Saul the focal points of attention in the event before “lrdvoldemort” surged to the win.

WCOOP Event #13: $200+15 No-Limit Hold’em w/ Rebuys, $1,000,000 Guaranteed

The $200+15 NLHE event with rebuys had 2,234 entrants, who collectively rebought 2,635 times and added on another 1,524 times. Put it all
together and it made a prize pool of $1,278,600. Several big names made it close to the final table but fell just short. Among them were Rami “arbianight” Boukai in 14th place (7,671.60), Zach “nofingclue11″ Clark in 17th place ($5,114.40), Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy in 20th place ($2,685.06), UH Big Tex in 39th ($2,301.48), Stuart “the donator” Paterson in 78th ($1,917.90), Juan “Vietcong01″ Barros in 82nd ($1,917.90), and Team PokerStars Pro member Chad Brown in 144th ($1,662.18).

The final table itself had its share of big names, too. Leading the way in chips was Josh “nitbuster” Arieh, and right behind him was Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul. Saul led with roughly 30 players left, but found himself holding the shortest stack with 16 remaining. However, a flurry of good luck (K-9 over A-3, A-9 over A-J, K-K over A-A – all three were all-ins preflop and each doubled his stack) propelled him towards the top of the leader board. An exciting final table was sure to come.

The chip counts as the final table began:

Josh “nitbuster” Arieh – 3,738,562
Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul – 2,717,000
ACESEDAI – 2,057,663
Doug “imcastleman” Dicken – 1,702,714
omalos – 1,490,448
moe32746 – 1,257,246
TheKaas – 1,161,020
lrdvoldemort – 1,045,133
Sykoen – 664,214

The first one to be eliminated from the final table was ACESEDAI, who started third in chips before things went downhill. With the blinds at 20,000/40,000 and an ante of 4,000, ACESEDAI made it 120,000 to go from middle position and moe32746 called from the big blind. The

flop saw moe32746 check and ACESEDAI bet 240,000, which was quickly called. The

came on the turn and again it was checked to ACESEDAI, who moved all in for 1,079,663. Moe32746 snap-called and showed

for a straight. ACESEDAI’s

needed a nine for an unlikely chop but the river was the

, eliminating ACESEDAI in ninth place for $14,192.46.

Next to go was TheKaas. The blinds and antes were now at the 25,000/50,000/5,000 level. From the cutoff, lrdvoldemort moved all in for 1,346,266 and TheKaas wasted little time calling all-in for 1,114,974, He showed

, well ahead of lrdvoldemort’s

. However, the board ran out

, felting TheKaas in eighth place for a payday of $23,014.80. Two hands later the tournament was down to six players. Doug “imcastleman” Dicken moved all in from the small blind for his last 782,512 and Sykoen called all-in from the big blind for 561,939. Dicken showed

but had run into

. Dicken would need a nine or diamonds to win the hand and the latter would come. The board ran out

and Dicken made the nut flush to eliminate Sykoen in seventh place for $35,800.80.

Coming in as the two biggest stacks, Josh Arieh and Kevin Saul were primed to clash. Arieh still held the top spot on the leader board while Saul had slipped. Their inevitable duel would soon occur, resulting in Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul’s sixth-place elimination. With blinds and antes at the 30,000/60,000/6,000 level, lrdvoldemort raised to 150,000 on the button and Saul called from the small blind. Arieh then reraised to 420,000, prompting lrdvoldemort to fold. Saul deliberated briefly before calling and seeing a flop of

. He checked it over to Arieh who immediately moved all in, putting Saul’s tournament life at potential risk. Eventually, Saul clicked the call button and showed

but trailed Arieh’s

. Unfortunately for Saul, the turn and river came

and

. Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul earned $48,586.80 for sixth place.

A few hands later lrdvoldemort won a monster pot that left the tournament three-handed. After a flurry of preflop raising involving four of the remaining five players, Doug “imcastleman” Dicken was all in with

as the short stack, omalos was all in with

, and lrdvoldemort had a chance to knock them both out with

. The flop almost certainly guaranteed it, coming out

. The turn brought the

, which gave omalos a chance, but the

river gave lrdvoldemort queens full. Doug “imcastleman” Dicken finished in fifth place for $61,372.80, and omalos was the fourth-place finisher for $74,158.80.

The chip counts at the start of three-handed play were:

Josh “nitbuster” Arieh – 7,154,759
lrdvoldemort – 5,713,069
moe32746 – 2,966,172

Surprisingly, it would be Josh Arieh finishing the tournament in third place. After committing himself to a call with

and failing to catch up to pocket kings, Arieh was the short stack. When the blinds were 40,000/80,000 with an 8,000 ante, Arieh put his remaining chips in with

, but was up against lrdvoldemort’s

. The board would not improve Arieh, coming out

. Josh “nitbuster” Arieh earned $110,215.32 for his third-place showing.

At the start of heads-up play, these were the chip counts:

lrdvoldemort – 8,285,112
moe32746 – 7,548,888

The battle for the bracelet was competitive, with each player managing his own double-up to stay in the fight. The chip lead swung back and forth, but in the end it was lrdvoldemort who reigned supreme. After winning a coin flip to take 4.5-to-1 chip lead, lrdvoldemort had the upper hand. With blinds of 60,000/120,000 and an ante of 12,000, lrdvoldemort min-raised to 240,000 and moe32746 called. The flop came

and moe32746 would soon be all in with

, needing to get lucky to catch lrdvoldemort’s

. The turn and river were no help to moe32746, who finished as runner-up for a prize of $153,432.00.

The winner of WCOOP Event #13 was lrdvoldemort, who bested a final table that boasted two of the game’s elite at the top of the chip counts. Lrdvoldemort battled from eighth in chips at the start to holding all of the chips at the end, winning the championship bracelet and $207,772.50.

The final results were:

1. lrdvoldemort – $207,772.50
2. moe32746 – $153,432.00
3. Josh “nitbuster” Arieh – $110,215.32
4. omalos – $74,158.80
5. Doug “imcastleman” Dicken – $61,372.80
6. Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul – $48,586.80
7. Sykoen – $35,800.80
8. TheKaas – $23,014.80
9. ACESEDAI – $14,192.46

WCOOP Event #14: $300+20 Seven-card Stud, $100,000 Guaranteed

The only seven-card stud tournament of the WCOOP took place on Day 7. A field of 627 made up a prize pool of $188,100. Notable finishes included Steve “Rabscuttle” Mil in 14th place ($2,351.25), “xthesteinx” in 16th place ($2,351.25), Steve “Thorladen” Weinstein in 17th ($1,881.00), Chris “TheTownhouse” Odle in 44th ($940.50), and Kevin “BeLOWaBOVe” Saul in 49th ($846.45). The final table came to a close 14 hours after play began and, following a two-way deal, Mildred53 outlasted the rest to capture the title and 28,608.50.

The final standings were:

*1. Mildred53 – $28,608.50
*2. tiffaniejoy – $25,000
3. adsonvonmelk – $13,637.25
4. fly high989 – $9,405
5. yhcaep – $5,643
6. SanibelSanta – $4,702.50
7. AGame18 – $3,762
8. lilletrold – $3,291.75

* — two-way chop for remaining prize money; $2,000 to eventual winner

Of CEO Mitch Garber’s simultaneously announced departure, PartyGaming Michael Jacskson said, “While saddened that Mitch Garber, Group CEO, has decided to not to extend his contract beyond May 2009, the Board respects his decision to return to North America and is highly confident [] of being able to secure a replacement and manage a smooth transition before his departure.” While no list of possible successors has been released, analysts believe that the recently promoted John O’Malia, former Gamebookers Chief Executive, is a frontrunner for the position.

As part of the release, PartyGaming also stated that its discussions with the US Attorney General’s office were progressing and that it was “possible that an agreement will be reached in the foreseeable future.” On June 4, 2007, PartyGaming announced that it had entered into talks with the US to remove the threat of possible prosecution for taking bets in the US prior to their withdrawal from the market. Garber added that the talks were “moving down a very good and constructive path.”

Although Financial Direct Martin Weigold assured analysts that PartyGaming still expected to meet its 2008 core profit forecast of $174 million, shares of the company dropped 5.5% today on analysts’ concerns that the company would be challenged to hit its revenue numbers.

pokernews.com