World Championship of Online Poker Has Star PowerThis Weekend's WCOOP Events Had Star-Studded Final Tables |
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UPDATED
Humberto Brenes, Isabelle Mercier, Todd Brunson, and Chad Brown all made final table appearances so far this weekend at the Poker Stars World Championship of Online Poker. In fact, one of the four ended up taking home a WCOOP bracelet (read on to find out who). Add to that the H.O.R.S.E. event's huge prize pool, beating its guarantee by almost nine times, and you have the perfect lead-in to the main event today at 1:30 pm PDT.
Event No. 16: $5,000+$200 H.O.R.S.E.
Whoever decides on the guarantees at Poker Stars should be fired (well, not really). The site was only willing to bet that 20 people would pony up the $5,000 + $200 entry fee for the second H.O.R.S.E. event of the WCOOP, making for a guaranteed prize pool of $100,000. In reality, 175 players opted to participate, building an incredible pool of $875,000. The previous H.O.R.S.E. event clobbered its guarantee as well, meaning next year Poker Stars will undoubtedly be upping the guarantees for H.O.R.S.E. The prize pool was only to be beaten by events that had guarantees over $1 million in the first place.
It wasn't just the prize pool that made this tournament a must-see. The final table included the likes of Isabelle "NoMercy" Mercier, Chad "stelladora" Brown, and Todd "Sam Grizzle" Brunson. Mercier and Brunson had very similar short stacks in the $70,000s. Brown was sitting in second place with just a fifth fewer chips than Hold_emNL in first.
Almost as soon as the final table was seated, Brunson was eliminated. Just five minutes in, Brunson pushed his chips in on third street of a stud round showing the 3
. Hold_emNL called showing the A
and revealed his hole cards to be Q 7
. Brunson flipped up 6 6 for a pair and the lead. As the remaining streets were dealt, Hold_emNL spiked a queen to take the lead and Brunson failed to improve. Brunson was sent to the rail in eighth, earning $22,312.50.
Youbet, the short stack entering the table, was the next to go when he pushed all in on third street against Brown. Both were showing kings, but Brown revealed another king in the hole for a pair. Fifth street gave youbet the case king to give him kings with a better kicker and the lead. Sixth street gave both players two pair, but Brown a better second pair with jacks to retake the hand. The river offered youbet no solace and he was out in seventh ($31,500).
After youbet's elimination, the stacks were fairly even. The shortest stack, Mercier, held $220,000, while Hold_emNL still had the lead with $363,000. Over the next 12 minutes, Mercier's stack was chipped away at until she was left with only $88,000. Mercier was the bring-in in the stud eight-or-better round, showing the 2 and Brown raised with the 6. The action folded to Mercier, who called. Mercier showed 2 4 on fourth street and Brown showed 6 10
. Now Mercier lead out with a bet after Brown checked. Brown called and fifth street brought him the K, which he checked. Mercier received the K and again bet out. Brown now raised and Mercier called all in. Mercier showed her hole cards to be A 7 for ace high with a low draw, while Brown turned over 7 5 for king high. Brown ended up hitting both a 5 and a 7 on the next two streets, giving him two pair, enough to eliminate Mercier, who missed her low draw, in sixth. Mercier took home $41,125 for her finish.
Brown now had a narrow lead over ILuvKittens, who had held the chip lead, but the stacks were still fairly level throughout the remaining players. DCJ311 lost some ground until he finally had to push in on third street. Both Brown and Hold_emNL called and end up betting throughout the remaining streets. Their bets amounted to a split, with Hold_emNL taking the low and Brown taking the high, ultimately taking out DCJ311 between their two hands. DCJ311 got a $55,125 payday for his fifth-place finish.
With four players left, Hold_emNL had retaken the lead, but again no one person held a commanding chip stack or painfully low stack. Brown and Hold_emNL took charge and raked in pots from the other two players, MyRabbiFoo and ILuvKittens, until MyRabbiFoo was down to the felt. MyRabbiFoo took his chances on third street showing the 6 and Hold_emNL called his all-in with the A. Hold_emNL showed another ace underneath for a pair and MyRabbiFoo flipped up A 6 for a pair of sixes. MyRabbiFoo failed to improve while Hold_emNL caught the case ace on the river to further his lead and scoop the pot. MyRabbiFoo was sent to the virtual rail in fourth with $70,875.
An ailing ILuvKittens shoved in just 4 minutes later on fourth street. Both Brown and Hold_emNL, having almost identical chip stacks before the hand, called the all-in. Both players made small bets on the remaining streets to build a respectable side pot until Brown finally showed down a jack-high flush. Hold_emNL mucked his hand and ILuvKittens showed only two pair, not enough to stay alive. ILuvKittens was eliminated from the tournament in third ($102,812.50).
The side-pot action in ILuvKitten's elimination hand was enough to give Brown a sizable lead with almost twice as many chips as Hold_emNL. Hold_emNL kept himself alive for almost 20 minutes before the final showdown. Hold_emNL pushed in his few remaining chips on the flop of a hold'em round. With a flop showing A 9 5, Brown called Hold_emNL's all in and showed Q 4. Hold_emNL flipped up Q 10 for the lead. Brown hit a 4 on the river and took down the pot to eliminate Hold_emNL in second for $152,425. Brown earned $223,125 and a 14 karat gold WCOOP bracelet for his win.
The final standings were:
Chad "stelladora" Brown - $223,125
Hold_emNL - $152,425
ILuvKittens - $102,812.50
MyRabbiFoo - $70,875
DCJ311 - $55,125
Isabelle "NoMercy" Mercier - $41,125
youbet - $31,500
Todd "Sam Grizzle" Brunson - $22,312.50
Event No. 15: $500+$30 Pot-Limit Omaha
The $300,000 guarantee turned into a $433,500 prize pool for the pot-limit Omaha event as 867 players entered the fray. The tournament got even more exciting as Poker Stars team member Humberto "Humberto B." Brenes joined the final table action. Brenes was down to the felt a few times during the final table, but seemed unwilling to die as he continued to survive while others were eliminated around him. Finally it was heads up between Costa Rica's Brenes and Finland's Trabelsi. Trabelsi had a 2-to-1 chip lead over Brenes going into heads up, but Brenes narrowed the lead to 4-to-3 within 10 minutes.
However, it was not to be for Brenes, as the final hand arose just moments later. Trabelsi raised preflop and Brenes called. The flop came J 8 7, prompting Brenes to check. Trabelsi bet the pot and Brenes came over the top with a maximum raise. Not to be outdone, Trabelsi reraised enough to put Brenes all in. Brenes called all in and showed A K 6 6 for a pair of sixes and the nut-flush draw. Trabelsi flipped up J 10 9 6 for a straight. The turn and river put out the 2 and the Q, no help for Brenes, and he was eliminated in second. Trabelsi took down the tournament to earn $93,852.75 and the bracelet.
The final standings were:
Trabelsi - $93,852.75
Humberto "Humberto B." Brenes - $58,089
trollguttn - $36,847.50
HaffaHaffa - $27,093.75
starsky - $22,325.25
MailMan99 - $17,990.25
KILLER ACE - $13,872
DONKAFIDE - $9,970.50
LuckyLady519 - $6,502.50
Event No. 17: $1,000 + $50 Limit Texas Hold'Em
Poker Stars pulverized its 17th guarantee out of 17 events with the $1,050 buy-in limit hold'em tournament, leaving it fairly easy to predict whether the final main event today could stand up to the challenge. The 695 entrants contributed to a $695,000 prize pool and $154,985 first prize. In a weird coincidence, the event's final table started just minutes before the H.O.R.S.E. event's final table, despite the tournaments starting at the same time and the limit tournament having four times more entrants.
The final table was an international affair, much like many of the final tables in this year's WCOOP, with players from Hungary, Israel, Canada, Austria, the UK, Sweden, and the US having made the cut. The Canadian player was birdguts from Guelph, teasing observers that it might be poker pro Gavin Smith, although players are known to take over celebrity personas on Poker Stars. Eventually it came down to Hungary's laurentia and Israel's amichaiKK in a heads-up match for the title and the bracelet.
When laurentia and amichaiKK reached heads-up play, laurentia had over a 4-to-1 chip lead on amichaiKK. The two paused the match to discuss a deal and amichaiKK eventually convinced laurentia to give him $10,000 over his guaranteed second-place money. Laurentia eventually agreed, securing himself $135,200 while amichaiKK had a guaranteed $105,000. The two were now playing for $10,000 and the 14 karat gold WCOOP bracelet.
Just three fast-paced hands after the deal was made, laurentia took amichaiKK out when amichaiKK pushed all in preflop and he called. Laurentia showed A 8 and amichaiKK flipped up J 2 and would need to improve. An ace on the flop all but sealed amichaiKK's fate and the turn and river sent him home in second. Laurentia took down the pot for the extra $10,000 and the bracelet, putting his total earnings at $145,200.
The final standings were:
laurentia - $145,200
amichaiKK - $105,000
Pike528 - $62,758.50
LazySunday - $44,480
birdguts - $36,835
jerrod - $29,885
SchockoLinz - $22,935
davmcg - $16,332.50
Marcus85 - $10,722.50
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