This Week’s Big Winner: Michael Addamo Wins WPT World Online Championships $100,000 Buy-In Event

Australian poker pro Michael Addamo has won the latest six-figure buy-in super high roller tournament, defeating a field of 40 entries to take down the 2020 World Poker Tour World Online Championships $100,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em event.

The two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner was awarded $1,284,113 for the win, the largest score of his young career. Addamo is just 26 years old, but he has already accumulated more than $11.1 million in recorded tournament scores.

This victory was Addamo’s third title of 2020, having won a pair of high-stakes events in his native Australia at the start of the year. He started things off by winning a $50,000 AUD buy-in high roller at the Aussie Millions for $740,915 USD, and just two weeks later took down the $100,000 AUD buy-in event at the Australian Poker Open for another $888,720 USD.

This tournament featured a $3 million guarantee, which was easily surpassed when the final turnout created a $4 million prize pool to be paid out among the top six finishers.

Addamo came into the final table as the chip leader with seven players remaining, including several of the top no-limit hold’em tournament players in the world.

Here are five key hands from the final table.

The Action

Daniel Dvoress started the final table in the middle of the pack on the money bubble. In this hand, he opted to limp in from the small blind with A-K offsuit and then just call a raise from Christoph Vogelsang in the big blind, who held A-10. Dvoress proceeded to check-call every street with A-K high, looking to bluff catch against Vogelsang after the flop brought a paired board. Vogelsang had flopped trip tens, however, and got three streets of value to climb into the lead. Dvoress fell to the second-shortest stack after the hand, and was ultimately knocked out in seventh place as the last player outside of the money.

The Action

2017 Super High Roller Bowl champion Vogelsang came into the final table in third chip position, and briefly took the lead early on, but had lost several all-ins to fall to the bottom of the leaderboard during six-handed action. He picked up pocket queens in the cutoff and raised to 34,000. 2018 SHRB champion Isaac Haxton three-bet to 75,000 from the button with pocket kings, and Vogelsang shoved for 279,000. Haxton made the call and the superior pair held up to see him climb into third place in the chip counts. Vogelsang earned $229,600 as the sixth-place finisher.

The Action

Haxton continued his rise up the chip counts by winning a massive pot against Spanish high-stakes regular Sergi Reixach, who opted to turn his A-4 suited into a bluff preflop only to run into Haxton’s A-K. Reixach started the hand by min-raising from under the gun. It folded back around to Haxton in the big blind, who three-bet to 131,000. Reixach shoved for 828,000 and Haxton made the quick call, having Rexach just covered. Haxton’s A-K high played by the river to take down the pot of over 100 big blinds, moving him within striking distance of Addamo’s lead.

The Action

Charlotte Godwin came into the day as the shortest stack. The UK player reportedly won her way into this six-figure buy-in tournament via a $109 initial investment in a satellite. She managed to make her way through multiple successive qualifiers to earn a seat in this event, and then battled it out against the best tournament players in the world to make the money and lock up a six-figure payday. She had around $90,000 in live tournament cashes to her name before making this final table. In the end, she shoved all-in with A-2 from the button and received a call from Michael Addamo’s A-6 out of the big blind. Both players made a pair of aces on the river, but Addamo’s kicker played to send Godwin to the rail in third place. She earned $620,000 for her deep run, giving her an incredible return on investment (ROI) of 568,807 percent in this event.

The Action

Addamo and Haxton struck a deal heads-up that distributed the remaining money based on ICM (Independent Chip Model), leaving an additional $30,000 and the title to play for. Haxton jumped out to an early lead, which he stretched to more than 4:1 at one point, but Addamo battled his way back into the match before winning this key hand to retake the lead. Haxton limped in from the button with A-2 suited and Addamo checked with 10-8. He flopped the jack-high straight and checked to Haxton, who checked behind. Addamo bet 70,000 on the turn and Haxton called with his turned top pair. Addamo fired a massive overbet of 450,000 into the pot of 197,000 on the river and Haxton called with his aces. Addamo’s straight earned him the pot and the lead, which he went on to convert into the title. Haxton earned $1,216,286 as the runner up.