Online Poker: Andy McLEOD Wins WCOOP PLO EventWestmenloAA Finishes as Runner-Up, Haxfluxen Takes Down Heads-Up Event |
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The two events to play out last night in the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) had comparable prize pools, despite having a $200,000 difference in guarantees. Both put their guarantees to shame, though, and a heads-up clash of the titans in one event ensured that there were plenty of railbirds. Read the event recaps below to find out who the winners were, and check out the entire WCOOP schedule and results list on CardPlayer.com.
WCOOP Event No. 15: $300 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em
The first event of the night was a $300 heads-up no-limit hold’em event. The tournament had the maximum 2,048 entrants (to ensure no byes for players), generating a prize pool of $614,400. That attendance number meant that the ultimate winner would have to take down 11 straight heads-up matches to be declared the winner — no small feat, by any means. That player could earn as much as $104,448, but heads-up events usually result in a chop before the final match begins.
After 10 heads-up matches, the final two players were Huxfluxen and pandaCHAN12. As expected, when the two first sat down for their match, a deal was on on the table in fairly short order. The two decided to split $70,000 apiece and play for $19,744, almost twice as much as the minimum $10,000 that PokerStars required be set aside for the eventual winner. The two duked it out for about a half hour before Huxfluxen got all in with the chip lead on a board of 10 6 5. PandaCHAN12 called all in and showed K 10 for top pair, and Huxfluxen showed that he needed to improve to avoid doubling up his opponent , as he was holding Q 3. The turn gave that improvement with the 10, giving him the flush, but that was the worst spade possible for Huxfluxen, as it gave pandaCHAN12 a redraw to a full house with any king, 6, or 5, or even to quads with the case 10. In all, pandsCHAN12 had 10 outs to survive, but the river was the A, and Huxfluxen took down his final match to earn the extra $19,744, for a total winnings of $89,744 to go along with his new WCOOP bracelet.
The final results were:
8th- 5th: evilly, pokerjammers, Lucarelli, sqmpork — $16,896
4th-3rd: IFiNishfish, Ben “Benba” Lamb — $33,792
2nd: pandaCHAN12 — $70,000*
1st: Huxfluxen — $89,744*
* Payout reflects an even chop made at the final table with $19,744 left for the eventual winner.
WCOOP Event No. 16: $200 Pot-Limit Omaha (1 Rebuy 1 Add-On)
Because of the chop at the final match of the heads-up event, the biggest prize of the night was won in the $200 buy-in pot-limit Omaha (with one rebuy and one add-on) event. The tournament had a $300,000 guarantee, which turned out to be a sore underestimation of the popularity of Omaha, as 1,223 entrants bought in and purchased 756 rebuys and 751 add-ons, putting the total prize pool at $546,000. That left $98,280 on the line for first place.
Team PokerStars member Chris “Money800” Moneymaker (pictured at right) made his second final table of the WCOOP when he reached the final table of this event. He had finished in sixth place ($140,000) in event No. 5, the $10,000 no-limit hold’em event, and he ultimately finished one place deeper in this event, taking fifth for nearly $29,000.
The final two players remaining in the event were two 2007 Online Player of the Year (OPOY) top-10 finalists: Isaac “westmenloAA” Baron (pictured at left) and James “Andy McLEOD” Obst (pictured below). WestmenloAA had taken down the OPOY title last year, and Obst had come in seventh. The two players decided that they had played for this long, so they may as well play it out without a chop. Andy McLEOD started heads up with the chip lead but, as is often the case with Omaha, the chips, and the lead, switched hands often. AndyMcLEOD eventually held the lead again before the final hand after about 30 minutes of play. The players got all in on a board of 7 3 2, and Andy McLEOD revealed A Q J 2 for bottom pair, and westmenloAA held A K J 10 and needed to catch up. The turn was the Q, giving Andy McLEOD two pair and sealing westmenloAA’s fate. The meaningless river gave Andy McLEOD the win and the $98,280 first-place prize, along with the gold WCOOP bracelet. WestmenloAA made $70,980 for his runner-up finish.
The final results were:
Today features two WCOOP events. The first is a $500 six-handed pot-limit hold’em tournament with a $400,000 guarantee, which starts at 2:30 p.m. ET. Then, two hours later is a $200 H.O.R.S.E. event with a $300,000 guarantee. Check out the entire WCOOP schedule and results on CardPlayer.com’s WCOOP landing page.